Apistos vs Bolivian Rams

[Christina1973]

For a 45 gallon planted tank (36 long, by 20 high, and 16 wide.  This is  my tank.  I have been adding rocks and making sure there are some nice hiding places. Have 6 Cories, 6 dwarf rainbow fish, 1 Bristlenose, & 6 Rummynose tetras. And may get a Pearl Gourami or Honey Gourami as a feature fish once plants grow in more (Love the Pearls, but thinking they may be too big).  We are at the stage of picking a peaceful dwarf Cichlid as we love the personality..  I was almost set on Bolivian Rams, but then saw the the apistos.  Who has Apistos or Bolivians?  What do you have? What do you love about them or dislike about them?   I am planning on getting a pair.    Advice please:)

[Fish Folk]

Love your tank! Nice easy plants. That’s a beautiful stocking. We’ve kept Apistos - cacatuoides super red, bitaeniata, urtegai - and bred a ton of _ German Blue / Gold Rams_. Never worked with Bolivians. They’re a bit more on the mikro-geophagus (earth eaters) side. Apistos vary pretty widely in temperament. If you’re going with a honey Gourami... you may want two, since they love company... I’d suggest Bolivians. Thing with Apistos is they hide a lot, and unless you get a bright colored species (e.g. aggasizzii sp??) you’ll be satisfied with honey Gourami and will enjoy the Bolivians more. My suggestion: (1) add 6x more rummynoae tetras (2) add a pair of honey gouramis (No other dwarf Gouramis!) (3) one pair of Bolivian rams. Mind you, that’s a full tank! Keep up your maintenance. 

[Christina1973]

Thanks so much for this!  Ultimately this is my sons decision.  I am the researcher.  You said that your Apistos hid?  Can you tell me the stocking?  Have there been behavioural challenges with the cockatoos?  I am not sure if I can get these guys here or not- Mac masters are available.  So do you think Bolivians are more confident?  I’m still torn about the honeys vs Pearls, but it sounds like Honeys personalities might be fun.  The space might be too tight for 3 Pearls.  I have great filtration and clean the tank weekly.  

[Levi_Aquatics]

You get less color from bolivian rams but they are a chunky centerpiece fish. If I were you I would go for the apistogramma cacatuoides. I hope this helps you make a decision! That tank looks great!

[AquaAggie]

I have a pair of apistos caucatoides super red, 2 male Bolivian rams, and a pearl gourami al in a 60 gallon. The two Bolivians spar a bit but nothing terrible. My apistos don’t hide at all. Even built a big cave specifically for them and they don’t even use it 🙄. My male apisto is probably the flashiest fish in the tank. But my pearlscale angel is up there as well. If you get a pair of Bolivians the color you get from your male will be pretty good. Have you thought about German blues?

 

there all great. None cause any problems for my other fish

[Christina1973]

wow, such helpful comments!  It seems apparent that the temperament of each fish contributes to how they behave.  My local fish store has MacMasteri, so now it is up to my son- Bolivian or Macmasteri (as it sounds like this may be similar to Cacatuoids except bigger).  These photos were very helpful.  Do both the Apistos and Bolivians dig?  Do they check you out?  I heard about German Blues, but it is my understanding that Bolivians are more hardy (and I don't want to confuse things any further;)).

 

[Siett88]

Bolivians will sand-sift and dig pits if breeding but won't disturb plants, if that's what you're worried about. Bolivians are (in my experience) very hardy, personable, super peaceful cichlids, with some short squabbles amongst themselves. Id say go with them, but I may be partial (see profile pic)...

[CorydorasEthan]

I don't know much about dwarf cichlids, but I think they'd be a good choice for your community. If you decide not to get one though, pearl gouramis are some of my favorites. I had one in my 29 gallon community, but I had to move him due to food aggression (only against cories, but now he is a bit territorial toward guppies and algae eaters during feeding). I currently have him in a 10 gallon for holding purposes. They do not grow very big (in my experience) getting about the size of a dwarf gourami. Then again, I have only had him for three months or so at best, so maybe they grow much bigger in a long period of time (I heard they only live four years though).

I am a bit newer to fishkeeping, with only a couple of years of research and only a year and a half of experience in the hobby, so any other people that have kept these pearl gouramis please correct me if I am giving the wrong information.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

[Christina1973]

I have 6 false Jullis

[CorydorasEthan]

1 hour ago, Christina1973 said:

I have 6 false Jullis

Okay then I would say no to the pearl gourami, as they can be pretty gluttonous and aggressive when it comes to food.

[Christina1973]

I think Cories are not an issue as they are bottom feeders.   I think my main concern is that the Pearls have enough space:). The Pearls are the last fish to go in providing all else goes well with my other fish choices and at this time we are still torn between Bolivians and Apistos.

 

[CorydorasEthan]

5 minutes ago, Christina1973 said:

I think Cories are not an issue as they are bottom feeders.   I think my main concern is that the Pearls have enough space:). The Pearls are the last fish to go in providing all else goes well with my other fish choices and at this time we are still torn between Bolivians and Apistos.

 

Even though my pearl gourami is a peaceful fish most times (except during feeding, which is what I am about to explain), the thing is that he would always, after eating the flake and floating foods I provided, deliberantly go down to the bottom of the aquarium where the cories eat their pellets/wafers/repashy/etc., and start nipping the cories and chasing them away from their food. This was my main problem with him, and is why I removed him. With gouramis though, it really depends on personality of the individual fish, so if you really wanted one, go ahead and try it out, just watch closely for signs of aggression during feeding and make sure you have a back-up plan if things go badly. Maybe do a female instead of a male. One thing I found helpful is dropping the pellets behind plants and rocks in the back and sides of the tank so that the cories can get to it but the gourami can't. Also try feeding the cories before the lights come on in the morning and after the lights go out at night. They can locate food in the dark while the gourami can't. Still, there was always some aggression, as he found a way under the plants behind which I dropped the food, which is why he now lives in my 10 gallon for the time being.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

[Siett88]

I can second what corydorasethan said, my male pearl would divebomb the corys and chase the bolivians relentlessly around an entire 55 gal tank during feeding. He was moved to an angelfish tank and ran them around too. He currently has his own 20 gal.