Barmy Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Hey guys. I'm thinking about getting a pair/trio of some sort of apistogramma from Fishchicks for my 4ft display tank, however at the moment there are 5 Yoyo Loaches in there, all of them 5cm+ (the largest is about 9/10cm) and I'm a bit worried they might be a bit too much for apistos. They give my Angels plenty of unwanted attention as it is, chasing them around and stuff (but never doing any damage at least) and since apistos are even smaller I'm not sure if having them together will work? If not, which other readily available loaches could I replace them with that won't be so boisterous? I'm thinking dwarf chain loaches might be a good alternative, but I don't know what they're like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briztoon Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Hey Barmy, If the Yoyo loaches give the Angels a bit of a hard time, I certainly wouldn't want to mix them with a trio of apistos. Are you thinking of adding any other cichlids apart from the Angels and Apistos? And are there any other bottom dwelling fish in the tank? Apistos can look after themselves to an extent, but they aren't as hardy as many of the other dwarf cichlids. Which apisto species are you interested in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric A Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 Dwarf Chain Loaches are a better option for sure. or even better, Kuhli loaches... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barmy Posted February 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 If the Yoyo loaches give the Angels a bit of a hard time, I certainly wouldn't want to mix them with a trio of apistos. It's mainly just chasing that they do, I've never seen them actually have a go at the Angels, but still. And no, I'm just thinking of Angels and apistos at this point. I'm interested in either the agassizi (I've kept these before in a species tank) or the veijita II super red (after seeing them at fishchicks; although I've read that these might not be ACTUAL veijitas?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briztoon Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 The veijita are more than likely a line bred form of macmasteri. Jodi-Lea does have 3 agassizii variants in store at the moment. I'd pick one of the wild forms, before I went the line bred variant, but that's just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted February 6, 2010 Report Share Posted February 6, 2010 One of the first things to consider from the perspective of cummunity tanks is will hte fish conflict. Fish conflict when they are either living or trying to breed in the same spot. Apistos breed in pots/caves - and loaches love to hang out in the same caves. IMO apistos/ loaches/bristlenoe are all bad mixes. Good mixes for catfish with apistos (bearing in mind hat any catfish in the lower area is in Apisto territory) are whippies and ottos - both breed on the glass - not in the apisto owned caves. Once you have a conflict someone is likely to win. As Pete said if the loaches are beating the angels - they will beat the apistos. The ones you have selected are good strong fish - you will have no dramas with them. (You are right - viejita itself does not truly exist in the hobby. same as a number of others...... Problem is some areas are too damn hard/scary to get too. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
