Apistos and Amanos

[Rycraft]

So I recently set up a 20 gallon planted tank aquascape (picture attached). Plants are starting to fill in (there is a large group of various Rotala species to the left that you can't really see) and so far I have 10 Amano shrimp in there and 4 otocinclus. When I was working on the hardscape I ended up creating two caves.  When trying to think of what to put in the tank I was doing research and found that Apistogrammas would appreciate a cave. 

I was specifically looking at either a pair of Agassizzii, Macmasteri or Viejita. I've never kept a Apistogrammas before but looking for opinions of those that have. Will these make dinner out of my Amanos or is this one of those depends on the individual fish situations?  

I don't mind if the Amano shrimp are more stealth to hide from the Apistos but I don't want them living in fear and ultimately they are there to eat algae which they won't do a great job of if they are constantly hiding.  So do I have a shot with the Apistos or should I move on and try something like a school of Celestial Pearl Danios instead?  

[Fish Folk]

This is beautiful! Wow, well done! Can't wait to see how it grow in too. Love Apistos . . . but they'll hide a lot. I'm not sure they'd be amino-shrimp-safe. As you describe, they'll be aggressive at times, and things won't function properly. Big YES! to the school of Celestial Pearls Danios. But what for a keynote, feature fish? Hmm . . . 

[Fish Folk]

Is your lid tight-fitting? Maybe try a Killifish centerpiece. They're not easy to come by, but can be exquisite. Kind of the "orchid" of the aquarium hobby. Here's a few selections to consider . . . 

[Biotope Biologist]

Depending on your locale, you may be able to find other betta species that are kinder and a bit more shy. They from what I have seen of others tanks, like to hide often and only come out when they fully trust their owner.

 

I have always had a soft spot for Betta macrostoma and Betta albimarginata. Bettas other than Betta splendens are rare, so if you live in a place without a LFS you may be out of luck. 

 

Bonus betta species Betta foerschi if you want a more subdued "centerpiece" since pearl danios tend to steal the show from all but the most impressive species of fish.

 

Be prepared to pay anywhere from $30-$125 for these bettas

[Fish Folk]

Or . . . If you're willing to go cold water . . . I've been thoroughly enjoying our Notropis Chrosomus, USA natives from southeastern streams -- Rainbow Shiners. Here's 19 seconds from our 29 gal tank:

 

[Rycraft]

@Fish Folk thanks!  Currently running without a lid at the moment. I may add one, I may not. Right now it's definitely easier without as I'm doing minor maintenance almost daily since the tank is only a little over 3 weeks old.  Those Rainbow shiners are really cool looking. Appreciate all the suggestions!

@Biotope Biologist one of the LFS here actually does get in some pretty interesting stuff. I'll have to ask him about the different Betta species as I know he stocks quite a few things that you wouldn't normally see. 

 

I may end up going with the Celestial Pearl Danios. Then I can run the tank on the cooler side to keep algae at bay. This is my first aquascape and am running CO2 still learning a lot as I go.  This is my first time keeping Otos and they are such fun little guys. The tank is right next to my desk in my home office and I've enjoyed watching them swim around all day. Here's a pick of one enjoying a little relaxation in the Rotala forest. Thanks again!

[anewbie]

I would think a betta would be as aggressive as an apisto with regards to shrimps. I know the female i have will eat anything it can catch. I have apisto but haven't tried mixing them with shrimps (and different species of apisto are more aggressive than other species) so i can't really provide any insight but i will note that all my females (I have 3 species) are some what more active hunters than males.

[AquaAggie]

I have an apisto in a community tank. It has Amano shrimp and they do fine. He also is not shy at all and completely ignores the cave I built for him specifically. 

[anewbie]

3 hours ago, AquaAggie said:

I have an apisto in a community tank. It has Amano shrimp and they do fine. He also is not shy at all and completely ignores the cave I built for him specifically. 

You have a male cockatoo. It is important to state the species and sex since apisto comprise of more than 100 species and frequently male and female behavior are very different.

--

btw nice tank.

Edited April 3, 2021 by anewbie

[Biotope Biologist]

11 hours ago, anewbie said:

I would think a betta would be as aggressive as an apisto with regards to shrimps. I know the female i have will eat anything it can catch. I have apisto but haven't tried mixing them with shrimps (and different species of apisto are more aggressive than other species) so i can't really provide any insight but i will note that all my females (I have 3 species) are some what more active hunters than males.

The Betta splendens seem to be the only "aggressive" species out of that genus. Whether or not that is because they were bred that way is up for debate. The above mentioned Betta species are very timid. Especially Betta albimarginata. 

 

But these are all just suggestions at the end of the day it's not our aquascape. To answer the question though even though dwarf cichlids are tamer than some of their larger counterparts they just never seem to do well with delicate species. I shouldn't say never it depends on the personality of the fish. 

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 4/2/2021 at 5:19 PM, anewbie said:

You have a male cockatoo. It is important to state the species and sex since apisto comprise of more than 100 species and frequently male and female behavior are very different.

--

btw nice tank.

I know this is an old thread, but I have a group of seven Amano shrimp and a trio (1M:2F) of Apistogramma cacatuoides all waiting to go into a 55 gallon community tank. (The shrimp are waiting for the biofilm/algae to build up a bit and are currently on their own in a fairly densely planted ten gallon; the apistos are about halfway through quarantine.) Most of the Amanos are about as long as the apistos. While I know that every fish can be different, especially cichlids, should I rethink my plan to house them all together?

I pulled this quote because I inferred it to mean that A. cacatuoides is more likely to be Amano shrimp-friendly than other Apistogramma species, but maybe I'm only seeing what I want to see.

[SwampDonkey]

I'm interested in this as well...I have three amanos, one is a near fully grown female and two slightly smaller and younger males.  They are all bigger than a dwarf shrimp at this pont and I think will hold their own if I introduce a pair of cacatoides. However it still feels risky for some reason. Other tank inhabitants are clown killis fully grown and some otocinclus.  

[Guppysnail]

All of my Apisto are relatively shrimp friendly except my cacatoides. They are voracious neocaridina hunters including full grown adults.  Wiped out a 209+ shrimp colony in weeks. Amano may be a bit bigger so a bit safer until the cacatoides breed. 
My moms are fierce fry protectors.  I have watched them kill a stray leaf floating too close to their babies. 

[anewbie]

On 2/26/2024 at 8:31 AM, Guppysnail said:

All of my Apisto are relatively shrimp friendly except my cacatoides. They are voracious neocaridina hunters including full grown adults.  Wiped out a 209+ shrimp colony in weeks. Amano may be a bit bigger so a bit safer until the cacatoides breed. 
My moms are fierce fry protectors.  I have watched them kill a stray leaf floating too close to their babies. 

My cockatoo (old names for cacatoides) are excellent guppy hunters. I can only imagine what they would do the smaller shrimps. This itsy bitsy female has killed more guppies than fingers on my hand. On the bright side the aquarium is no longer over populated 😉

(i had uncountable number of guppies in my 40B many of them are a bit deformed from inbreeding as they have been in there for years and years).