Mixing Apistogrammas...

mohawkdome · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

I would appreciate any advice on whether or not I can mix a pair of
cockatoo cichlids and a pair of borelli cichlids in a 29 gallon
aquarium. This is a planted tank also containing a dwarf bristlenose
pleco and a clown loach (snail control).

Archived from group: rec>aquaria>freshwater>cichlids

dc · Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 37

"mohawkdome" wrote in
@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

> I would appreciate any advice on whether or not I can mix a pair of
> cockatoo cichlids and a pair of borelli cichlids in a 29 gallon
> aquarium. This is a planted tank also containing a dwarf bristlenose
> pleco and a clown loach (snail control).

That is a little tight, but I wouldn't rule it out. You're bound to run
into some aggression problems and not all of your Apistos are likely to
display their full colour.

In the wild some species of Apistogramma live in extremely densely
populated areas. You may actually have better luck if you keep a fair
number from each species. The crowded conditions will make it less likely
one fish gets constantly singled out by another.

The more dense cover you have in your tank the better. Most species of
Apisto live near the river bank or in flooded forests where there is a
large amount of brushwood and leaf litter debris for them to hide and claim
territories amongst.