Mixing different types of Apistos

[Cyndi]

Hi everyone,

So I've recently lost my male Red Tail Mamore Apisto. I'm very sad as he was beautiful and had such personality. And his female seems sad too. However, to replace him would be costly because I got him thru a sale - to replace the pair would be about $80 regular price. I'm thinking of adding another pair of apistos of a different variety. Maybe some Super Red cacatuoides

If they did happen to harem breed, would this significantly alter the resulting babies' desirability to other hobbyists?  I'm one of those rare people that doesn't really care about breeding fish, but fish sometimes do! What does your experience say?

I've included a pic for reference. 

[Dwayne Brown]

I cant speak from personal experience but I have heard on other forums that when people attempt to.mix different apisto varieties for some reason the apistos always start fighting.

[anewbie]

It depends on your tank size, setup (landscape) and specific species. I had nij and after a while the male died but now a year later the female is still alive. I put some hongsloi in the tank - she tolerates them as long as they stay out of her corner (a relatively small area) and even then she threatens more than actual attack. Naturally some species are far more aggressive and some less caring. I can't find much about Mamore or if it is a true species as oppose to a colour morph of another species. I would certainly not buy something that is similar that might cross breed but beyond that i cannot give you advice. You might ask this question on apistogramma.com as there are some true expert on that site who might have more experience with this specific aspito. 

-

As to why i did not replace my male nij - a truely wonderful fish - i'm waiting till i move and can use ro water to dilute the tap water which i cannot do in my current residency. I have learned a bit more about the species since their purchase and they lean much closer to blackwater than some of the other aspito or at the very least very very soft water.