Ultimate Apistogramma Care Guide: Setup, Behavior, and Breeding

[@AquascapingCube]

Do you have any Apistos? Any problems with keeping them? Let us know in the comments!

[@tinadoyle3803]

I have a 65g tank with 6 corydoras and 7 rummy nose tetras I want to breed Apistos in there can you recommend how many apistos would work well on 65g tank and also the male to female ratio please. My ph is 7 with gh at 4 I have leaf 🍃, sand and natural bogwood so nice tannins in there also have several coconut huts to add also beautiful beautiful live plants. So could you recommend the species of Apistogramas that would be best suitable to this tank please ? Thank you.

[@stephanmenzel9457]

My first Apistogramma's I bought 56 years ago. Very interesting and nice !❤

[@AquascapingCube]

Yes, Apistos are one of the best fish to observe. Especially if they start breeding ;) Such a beautiful fish!

[@guccisgooch9661]

Hollup you say 56???

[@theorigionaldrew]

What do you keep today?

[@TheBeny2000]

This was a good one! Thanks for sharing. Nice Apistos you have there.

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you :)

[@martincregg]

Excellently produced video with great information. Looking forward to more videos and seeing your subscriber count hit 100k

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! :D Very nice to read :)

[@dudusiagata3117]

Apistrogramma beautiful fish,hello welcome to yt👌👌👌

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! Agreed, they are incredible fish!

[@trak957]

Another wonderful video matt, have a great weekend :)

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you Tracy. You have a nice weekend as well!

[@andreacasoli3371]

Hello I have a 110 liters aquarium in which i keep struggling with dwarf cichlids, i've tried different species (Apistogramma macmasteri, Apistogramma cacatuoides, Nannacara anomala and Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) and they only live in my aquarium for 3 month then they die (they are happy and active but one day, kater they are bloated and 3 days after they are dead, i think that they have problems of dropsy), I assure to you that i kept water changes weekly (don't know, maybe too much frequently?) and i checked the parameters if they were good (and they were), so i came to the conclusion that maybe the circulation of the water in my tank is not optimal so recently I bought a movement pump to help with this aspect, is it correct in your opinion? I wish i could understand the problem because i love this type of fish so much

[@AquascapingCube]

Hi. Apistos like mostly slow-moving waters, so be careful with pump. Thay don't like strong flow. What about feeding? Are you giving them live foods or frozen ones? Frequent water changes are fine, just don't make them to big (10-15%). Also: do you have some hiding places for them? Possibly wood that would release some tannins in the water?

[@paulbolton1071]

Hello please can you tell me which varieties of apistogrammas would you recommend to someone who hasn't kept them before i liked this video, and have now subscribed to your channel, all advice will be most welcome Paul from the UK

[@AquascapingCube]

Hello! Welcome to the channel :) I would definitely recommend to start with Apistogramma Cacatuoides. They are easy to buy, quite hardy, easy to breed. They also come in many different kinds like Double Red, Orange Flash etc. Borelli is also a nice choice, but here it depends on the quality of the fish.

[@southtexasSunandsea]

Hi I am planning to have a 40 gallon Breeder with multiple apistogramma's single of each variety which ones would you suggest and how many can be in there with a school of tetras may be in a panted setup

[@AquascapingCube]

In that tank I would just put 1 type. Macmasteri or Hongsloi are good choices if you are starting with Apistos. Or 1+3 Cacatuoides for example (1 male + 3 females). With multiple types - you will have problems with aggression and there is a good chance they will kill each other.

[@southtexasSunandsea]

@@AquascapingCube thank you very much Hongsloi ,cactoides ,Agassiz' are the one readily available in my LFS , and one more question what type of schooling tetras wouldyou suggest with apistos

[@AquascapingCube]

@@southtexasSunandsea Rummy-Nose Tetras are fantastic for this. Ember Tetras are also nice. Plus check Harlequin Rasboras - I had great success with them and Apistos.

[@tinadoyle3803]

Can you tell me the best temperature for Apisogramma Borelii please . 🙏

[@AquascapingCube]

They should be perfectly fine at 24C (75F).

[@tinadoyle3803]

Hi i have 2 female Cacatoides and 1 male kn a 29g tank alone it has sand live plants and bogwood with lovely tannins also coconuts shells bt my ph is a regular 7.6 anything i can do too lower it ? My water is soft and water changes once a week i also have a sponge filter in there. Tia.

[@majorbruster5916]

1). Add citric acid to your water changes at pH 6.6, over time the pH will drop slowly. Monitor 24 h after the change. 2). Introduce a bag of peat above the filter outlet. This releases tannic acid more quickly than bogwood. 3). Look for any sources of alkaline substances such as mollusc shells, coral gravel in your tank, perhaps the sand is leaching basic ions into the water? Sometimes, the chemical balance of the system will naturally tend towards one side of the neutral point and this is difficult to overcome.

[@majorbruster5916]

Additional info: test a sample of your water first before adding the acid. Make up a solution of citric acid by dissolving say, 1 gram, into 100mL tap water (sorry, I work in metric). Take out 2 litres of the tank water into a container, measure the pH, make a note. Add 1mL of acid solution to the container and stir vigorously. Aerate the container for about 30 minutes, then measure the pH. Make a note. You are aiming to lower the pH by 0.4 to 0.5 pH units. If the result is less than 0.4 pH units, ie 7.4,,then add more acid solution either dropwise (there are usually 6 drops in an mL) or by single millilitres. Remember to stir the container. If the result is more then repeat the test using less acid. IME most fish can tolerate a difference of 0.5 pH units in 24h. Once you have achieved the desired test result, you can calculate how much acid to add to your tank over a period of days to lower the pH. Check the tank water for pH drift every couple of days. Adjust the pH of new water before any changes. Stay vigilant and keep a log.

[@tinadoyle3803]

Will bog wood filled with tannins help to lower my ph ? Its 7.2 now .tia if not what can i do to lower it please. 🤔

[@AquascapingCube]

Yes, it will lower ph, but very slowly. You can add some leaves (beech, catappa) and alder cones - this will also help with water quality.

[@ArnoldQMudskipper]

Disregarding individual fish personalities. Which varieties would you say are the most peaceful? Don't want to turn my community tank into the Thunderdome. Cheers

[@AquascapingCube]

Definitely Apistogramma Borelli. They are probably the most peaceful of all dwarf cichlids. Also my Ap. Agassizii were always quite calm, but here opinions are different from one fish keeper to another. I would stay away from Ap. Cacatuoides and small Nannacaras - those are devils during breeding period.

[@tinadoyle3803]

Hi again . I have 4 apistogramma Borelii now they are very young i was advised to keep them in temperature of 24 its very cold so im just wondering if anyone has any advice on this is it too cold ? They arent showing any colour yet they are 4 months old i have leaf litter live bog sand substrate . Is 24 too cold ? 🥶 Tia.

[@AquascapingCube]

Hi. No, 24C for Borelii is good enough. They like lower temperatures compared to other Apistos and are often kept even in 22C and doing fine :)

[@mihail4098]

how often do you change the oak leaves? how long does it last in water without affecting the quality of the water?

[@AquascapingCube]

I change them every 3-4 weeks. Depends on the tank. but it really doesn't spoil the water. They are just decaying slowly and don't cause any problems (more benefits)

[@mihail4098]

@@AquascapingCube thank you

[@MantoYT49]

how often do u change the water ??

[@billfutz]

Thank you for the great and informative video!

[@AquascapingCube]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@frauleinhohenzollern]

What species @1:24? Great info, just subbed

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! It was Apistogramma Cacatuoides orange

[@MARKET_GARDNERI]

My apistogramma who is 2 years old (still young I think) I have bred myself have suddenly died just a few hours ago without showing any signs of stress or disease (his siblings are all so healthy he just suddenly died, the conditions are optimal for apistos and I keep/breed apistos all the time, I don’t know what caused him to die while his other siblings bred by me are all so healthy!)

[@tinadoyle3803]

How often do you recommend feeding them per day i feed mine twice a day i use a variety of food ie good quality flake, frozen blood wormd and brune shrimp plus live bbs is there anything else i should feed ? My tank set up is exactly like yours but i cant lower my ph below 7.6 😢 will they ever breed for me ? I have Cacatoidies . Please help.

[@AquascapingCube]

I never feed adult fish more than once a day. And you should be carefull with Bloodworms + Apistos. Blood worms have a hard shell that can be very dangerous to their digestive systems and cause bloat and eventually death. Blood Worms are great for Corys, because thay can handle them, but NOT Apistos. Don't worry about pH to much, they can still breed, but change the food to frozen ANYTHING but blood worms :P For example: Mosquito larvae, Daphnia, Cyclops.

[@robertshields6214]

Wow, I had no idea bloodworms are bad for apistos. I have 2 in an Amazon puffer and bosmani rainbow tank. Also have a blue acara. They all get along great and love blood worms. I also feed them fluval cichlid sinking pellets and mysin shrimp.

[@seanlucy6432]

Try adding some bottled water to lower the ph if you don't have a reverse osmosis system that's what most bottled water is

[@tinadoyle3803]

Are they good with bloodworms frozen ?

[@AquascapingCube]

I very often feed my Apistos with frozen foods, but not necessarily bloodworms. White mosquito larvae, daphnia, tubifex, brine shrimp in my opinion are safer for them. But overall frozen foods are totally fine ;)

[@tinadoyle3803]

@@AquascapingCube Thank you so much.