Bananalobster Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Hello again. I have come to rely on the information given on this site over the last few months (when I stumbled across it googling). It has helped me greatly through so many things. To get to the point.. Im looking to tap some of the experience from the many expert fish keepers on here. I have a tank I am setting up at the moment for dwarf cichlids. It is 84CM long, 40CM wide and approx 35CM high. I have decided on the orange flash cockatoo dwarf cichlid for the inhabitants. What is everybody's experience on these? I have researched and found they are very territorial to other fish. There will only be cockatoo's in here so that will not be an issue for me. PH is 7 and temperature is 24 degrees celcius. Would 1 male and 2-3 females be happy in here? I have many terracotta pots laid out aswell as large pieces of driftwood breaking up line of site and creating boundaries. I really would like to get everything right first time on this tank. So if there are any ways to improve I would love to hear. P.S I will have an external HOB filter that pumps 1000 LPH, will this be okay? Sorry for the long drawn out post! And thankyou in advance for any comments and advise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 your pH and tank are definitely adequate for your intended fish. You could probably even keep 2 males and 4-6 females, trusted you have a lot of hiding places, and plants. This would look very cool. Dwarf cichlids are awesome, good luck with your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananalobster Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Thankyou Antwan! I want to try keep the tank lightly stocked in hopes the mums to be will raise the fry to a size that I will be able to pass on to other keepers. Ive just asked caserole if he has any of these for sale at the moment I was told he was the guy to go to. Im not sure if I want to go for two males because I havnt heard many good things about more than one in a tank. Maybe I will go for the one male and make up three distinct territories for three girls I had heard keeping the PH acidic is not necessary for this fish but I have a hunch all the driftwood should help keep it nice for them 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Yep, caserole is definitely the man to see for apistos, he can breed anything! A low pH is not necessary for cockatoo's but will definitely help. One male is a good choice, would hate to see a death due to a territorial issue. The male's look awesome when displaying. You could perhaps try using a few dither fish e.g. tetras, or danios. These will help keep the parents on their guard when guarding eggs/wrigglers/fry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananalobster Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 I was thinking of some danios or fancy tetras but I read on one site that these fish do not need them as they are not shy and particularly good parents... It also stated they would chase dithers untill they killed them !! Is this a bit of an over exaggeration? I did want 4 or 5 mid water dithers to liven it up a bit. I dont want a fish massacre on my hands either though lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 They shouldn't be too bad since the tank is quite large. Apisto's in general are good parents, but it really depends on the individual, and with a lot of inbreeding and cross breeding, these fish (particularly cockatoo's) tend to lose their natural instinct's of being good parents. But hey, you may just be lucky and get a great group of fish that are wonderful parents to their young. If you keep plants in there, it will be a good refuge for the tetra's to hide in if they get bullied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananalobster Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 cool Ill try it then. Hehe yeah I forgot to add in the first post that it will be planted. Just the basic fast growing easy to care for stuff. They had some awesome looking dark blue/black/purple colored tetras in the hollywood fish shop in Auckland and I cant remember for the life of me what they were called. I thought it was black phantom but when I searched this name on google it came up with a silver colored tetra with a black spot in the middle. The ones I saw were very dark with beautiful long fins. Don't usually like tetras but these were neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 emperor tetras? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananalobster Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Possibly sharn.. Just searched google for them and many of them were silver with a black stripe although I found one picture of that type that had a similar coloring, but the ones I saw had a much "deeper" body I think they call it.. Higher back? http://www.petsforum.com/characin/carey ... 17_720.jpg Similar to that with longer fins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 bleeding heart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananalobster Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 I havnt heard of them.. Ive just read that it is the female that harrasses the male to spawn? Is this true?? I have always seen it the other way around with most cichlids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 lol you should see one of Ants breeding pairs (cant remember the name lol). shes a total monster- the boy hides in the back corner most of the time cause shes always wanting action :lol: i suppose it depends on the fishes personality? heres a bleeding heart http://images.google.co.nz/images?hl=en ... rch+Images Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananalobster Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 (Sorry bout the double post guys..) If this is the case and the female is the one that initiates the spawning would it be better just to have 1 male and 1 female so that the male is not hassled 24/7? If that is the case I probably will need some dithers as the tank would look very empty lol. I saw some pencil fish in the lfs that I forgot about.. Neat looking fish and look to be fish that feed from the surface. Would these pose a threat to fry? I would want something a little less predatory if I was to go for dithers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananalobster Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Nup dont think so sharn, but thanks heaps for the suggestions! Im a lost cause when it comes to remembering stuff. :roll: I am dead set on the orange flash cichlids, caseroles are so bright and vivid.. I have black gravel aswell so they would look so pretty if I could get some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 http://www.petsforum.com/characin/carey/species/characin/tetra/other/images/black-emperor Bananalobster, note the name at the end of the URL. This is just another reason that scientific names should be used. Mistakes CAN'T be made then, when identifing the fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Hi, Bananalobster you have a PM. There are a few things I would add to what has been said. Starters Cockatoo's are not as fussy as other apisto's like you have read 7 ph is just fine with soft water - very soft water is not need. I would not use medium to large tetras - tetras are carnivores, rummy nose or carinals are better with this suggestion ... The temp you said ( 24C ) is a little cool, they will breed at that but you will find they breed easyer at 26C. In your 800+ length tank with lots of pots/caves, wood and plants to block the line of site I would only use 2 females if you really want fry to servive and 1 male. You could fit more BUT AND THIS IS THE CATCH THAT PEOPLE FORGET and that is, WHAT if both females breed at the same time ( this is likely ). Where will the males go - they will be pushed together by the females and 1 or both will die. The male will need a space to be where he is not pushed around (to much ) by the girls if they have babys. The female does start the courtship for spawning, however if the female is not feed properly ( and there for not ready to breed ) the male will harrasse her and may even kill her ( this applys to all apisto's ) This is why live food including bbs are best( but not a must so don't get worryed ). You could start making live food cultures now - micro worms, white worms, water fleas (live blood worms in the bottom of water flee culture) and get brine shrimp cyts( yes for the adults ) - and anything else you can find or buy. Actually what has been said applys to all apisto's with the exception if number of females (deduce to 1 )and water conditions (softer and acidic 5.5 - 6 ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted November 6, 2006 Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Oh by the way antwan, althou your statement about me is a nice compliment, it is no way true. Just follow your research and things work. And feed carnivores live food is a good tip :lol: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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