Six

As dithers I have used:

-Epiplatys dageti with my Pelvicachromis pulcher "Red form" which are "kribs" in a 29g:

the killies have spawned as well as the cichlids

-Montezuma swordtails with Pelvicachromis taeniatus "Lokundje" in a 20L

-Endler's Livebearers with P. taeniatus "Keinke" in a 20L.

A dither fish needs to be a disimilar fish (ie; not another cichlid or benthic dwelling fish) and a fish that can take a little "run around". Apistos qualify as neither and honeslty, I would take them out ASAP to keep each species from getting stressed (ie; the apistos as they will lose any battle to a pelvic, expecially a pair) and possibly sick.

Also, I would suggest keeping your Pelvics in no smaller than a 20L. Sure, while they are acclimating, they'll be fine in anything (even a bucket), but you WILL come across aggression issues eventually. Even my pair bonded fish will harass eachother if there is not enough "personal space". I keep plants in my Pelvic breeding tanks as well as caves for just this reason.

If you just bought "Pelvicachromis taeniatus", you overpaid. $40 a pair should come with a location varient name. Resell value on a species like this without a location name (ie; "Lokundje", "Keinke") won't be much; I'd say as much as a common kribensis.

As for food, like was said, they'll eat through detritus, but any frozen food given in variety should suffice.

GL. HTH.

Six

I realize you said the apistos are leaving this week. That's good news. Also, I looked at your photos of the fish and sometimes you can tell the location from a photo, but I can't tell for sure. Perhaps P. taeniatus "Moliwe" although the male isn't colored up enough to tell. I would ask the place you bought them if that is indeed the location they were collected. I'm suprised they were selling wild fish without a location name, but then again, I'm a cichlidiot ^^.

Also, I would never suggest feeding chicken to any fish. It contains protein, but not one fish would find in the wild. I feed Cycopeeze, enriched brine, daphnia, mosquito larvae (in the summer months), HBH soft pellets for herbivores and New Life Spectrum pellets.

GL!

Zapins

Yes the pet store did say they were P. taeniatus "Moliwe" at the store on the tank.

Hmm thanks for your comments Six! They are helpful.

The veijita apistos seem to be flirting now as well and checking out caves, so I will definately be moving them soon, so they don't start problems w/ spawning disputes with the P.T.'s

Hmm... as for frozen foods I don't have room for a fridge in my room, although maybe if I could find a mini-mini fridge the size of a shoe box I could store some frozen foods for them...

Not sure why the male isn't more colorful but I checked out other pics of P. taeniatus "Moliwe" and the males don't seem to get as well colored as the females so I'm not sure that it will color up any more.

The P.T.'s seem much more active now, and the male has come out of his basement-cave. The pair now patrols the area and regularly chases the apistos. I think those frequent water changes are really helping

Will post more pics soon.

If anyone else has P. taeniatus or kribs or any other similar fish please post your experiences w/ them !!

gheitman

When I kept kribs it was in a 29 gallon tank planted with a lot of Anubias and Java ferns. I had some rock caves for spawning and a half dozen Congo tetras as dither fish. I fed them New Life Spectrum and Hikari freeze dried foods for the most part along with frozen foods such as brine shrimp and bloodworms three times a week. They spawned for me pretty regularly.

Six

If the fish are wild, I would personally go through a "low o2" stage where you simulate a dry season. Then, near the full moon/new moon phase (I think full is best; I forget when our fish naturally spawn...) do a large water change. We'll let the water evaporate out a few inches and even just refill it and get results. Usually the best results come from the simulation though. Also, if you have bad luck spawning the fish, use an RO-h2o mix as your base for their aquarium. The closer the fish are to wild caught, the more they prefer exceedingly soft water. Our F-2 babies don't care either way

Zapins

Don't the pelvachromis come from very hard water though?

I'm thinking of the other african cichlids and their high gh needs.

ed seeley

The other African cichlids you're thinking about are from the East African Rift Valleys. They need hard, alkaline water.

Pelvicachromis (along with Nanochromis and other West African species) come from forest streams which are generally mineral poor and acidic. They aren't usually as soft and acidic as a typical South American river, such as the Negro, and the fish seem to adapt better to harder water better than SA dwarfs (However some, such as Nanochromis transvestitus do need very soft water).
They definitely do not need hard water though.

Zapins

LoL oh ok... that would explain why they seem more active now that I keep changing the water.

Initially I added some Ca and Mg to harden it (matching it to the pet store's parameter that I got them from) and the water changes have been lowering the GH ever since.

Isn't it odd though that the female displays to the male? Normally with other cichlids its the male that must look good for the female.

JanS

I'm a little late here, and I think most of your fish questions have been covered.
Nice looking fish BTW.

But - I want to see the photos of the "stupid tree" now... LOL! They aren't showing up for me for some reason...

Zapins

Hehe, its not too late JanS, I'd love to hear you answer my Q's as well! The more solutions the better!

Oh man... that tree was a beaast!!! Practically tore my hand off lol. I didn't post pics of the tree itself though (or I might shake with fear every time I looked at my website). But it was a type of pine tree... definately a pine tree...