[hollyfish2000]

My male apisto aggassizi recently died and based on advice on this forum, I got another pair last night to add to my sole female, so the new boy has a harem. All is going swimmingly! Each female has staked out a front corner of the tank, each with a nice, lush variety of plants. Neither corner has a "cave," though. I don't really care about breeding, I just want harmony. Do I need to add caves for the ladies to be happy? If so, what kind of cave? I don't like flower pots or coconut halves. If I don't do caves, will that stop them from breeding (which would be fine with me). Any input is appreciated!

 

[cichlidaholic]

I would add the caves just to make them feel more comfortable. I used small pieces of slate stacked to make caves when I kept apistos. But one of my females chose her own "cave" under a piece of driftwood.

Kim

 

[DirtyBlackSocks]

if you've got extra money to spend just look in the reptile section at Petsmart or PETCO and find a cave there - or you can buy slate or rocks and stack them into caves.

 

[hollyfish2000]

All the caves I've seen in Petsmart are cheesey looking. I really don't have much room as the tank is very heavily planted. I think I'm going to take some mopani wood and see if I can carve out a cave. I'll figure something out . . .

 

[cichlidaholic]

The cave my apisto female chose under the piece of driftwood was formed by heavy dense plants behind it...So if you have a piece that you can position that is open underneath, you might easily achieve what you need.

Kim

 

[dwarfpike]

The reptile caves from Petco's paint will disolve underwater ... at least my two pieces did ... looked like they had pox or something. Convicts still used them to breed though! :lol:

 

[naegling23]

i posted a similar question here a couple of weeks ago. Since I dont have any rocks in my tank, adding them for caves would seem out of place. I decided to go with a coconut half and cover it in java moss. I found a nice spot tucked way in the back of my tank. All I need to do is eat my coconut now.

 

[iLuvAngels]

Can the reptile coconut huts at Petsmart be used in water? Or is that not a good idea because it could do harm in an aquarium? I ask this because I bought one for my son's snake (yes, snake ) and he didn't use it so I was wondering if I could use it in my holding tank. :-?

 

[cichlidaholic]

The ones I have in my tanks came from the reptile department.

I've never had any problems with them...

Kim

 

[Dutch Dude]

I use pvc tubing with a diameter of 1 to 2 inch and 3 to 4 inch in length. Grey doesn't look nice but becouse of the small size it is easy to cover with some pebbles, plants or driftwood.

 

[DCguy]

If you don't care about raising fry there is no need for caves. In a densely planted tank there are plenty of hiding places if they need them.

It is likely that at some point there will be spawning taking place. The female(s) will find a secluded spot to lay eggs. She might put them on a broad plant leaf, the tank wall, on the driftwood or in some other spot. It's most likely that any eggs produced this way will be lost but it is possible that you could end uyp with fry.

Bottom line, in my experience, the females will only spend time in a cave if they are brooding eggs or if there is no other shelter where they can escape agression.

DC

 

[hollyfish2000]

The three apistos are doing really, really well. In fact, they are often hanging out together -- all three. I suspect the boy may not be quite mature enough for mating. Neither of the girls is looking "in the mood." They're doing very well as they are and the tank is quite densely planted, so I think I'm going to leave it be for now.

BTW, I've been feeding frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms and NLS flake. Is brine shimp OK for apistos?

 

[DCguy]

Frozen brine shrimp are not a food I would recommend as a staple diet. The fish love them but there is not a lot of nutrition in them. They are fine as a food that you rotate in but I would make sure to offer them a varied diet. Live food is great if you can provide it. Here's more info about feeding Apistos www.dwarfcichlid.com/Good_food.php

 

[hollyfish2000]

Brine aren't a 'staple" just rotated in. Someone I spoke to "thought' they were unhealthy specifically for apistos for some reason . . . Apparently he was misinformed!