Apisto sp steel blue. .? How many.

[Snowflake311]

I just found a Apisto steel blue at the lfs the other day and had to have it. I never see apistos at the shops.

I love this little guy and I want more. He is in a 80gal planted tank with 4 discus, one large Bolivian ram,1 BN pleco, 8 Cory cats, and 6 guppies + fry.

So how many more of these little apisto can I have? I heard the steel blue are hybrids and tend to be more aggressive. I am thinking if that is true I might just keep the one and not add another. I know cichlids can get nasty to each other.

I thought I would have a problem with the ram and the apisto but they are good together. No harassing going on, they mind there own.

I heard it is hard to sex these steel blues and that finding a female can be really hard so not sure if I will be able to get the sex I want.

[Gsneufeld]

Apistogramma sp. "Steel Blue" are indeed hybrids.. I would not add any more. I don't think being a hybrid makes them any more or less aggressive, but Apistos are known for being especially nasty when brooding, and then you have to deal with the deformities and such that come as a result of inbreeding and hybridization... That said, steel blue are pretty popular, so as sickly as any potential offspring might be, you'd probably be able to sell them. Deliberately making hybrids is frowned upon in the hobby though.

[Snowflake311]

Originally Posted by Gsneufeld

Apistogramma sp. "Steel Blue" are indeed hybrids.. I would not add any more. I don't think being a hybrid makes them any more or less aggressive, but Apistos are known for being especially nasty when brooding, and then you have to deal with the deformities and such that come as a result of inbreeding and hybridization... That said, steel blue are pretty popular, so as sickly as any potential offspring might be, you'd probably be able to sell them. Deliberately making hybrids is frowned upon in the hobby though.

I am not looking to breed them. Just wanted more to watch. I am not good at raising fry. No need to worry about that,

[Gsneufeld]

Why not put something else in then, and use the Steel Blue as a "centrepiece"?

[rainbuilder]

I personally would keep trying even though you dont plant on breeding them. The parents often do a good job of raising the fry and it would be neat to watch that. You could always let the fry get eaten by the other tank inhabitants if you dont want to sell them or keep them. Personally, I think the apistogramma steel blue isn't too bad of of a hybrid because it looks really good and isn't ugly and wildly popular for no reason. It's not like they'll be released in the wild and they also don't breed with other apistos. Just so long as you keep that particular strain and don't keep mixing species I see nothing wrong with keeping them.

[nikonD70s]

i dont have a lot of experience with apisto's. only kept apisto black chins. from my experience and reading online. they are like other small cichlids. only gets aggressive and territorial when breeding. in your 80gallon. i say you can keep 2-3 males and 2-3 females. if u have enough hiding places they should be fine. since they are so tiny. it would be boring and u wont see them often if u only have one and especially if it hides a lot.

[Gsneufeld]

Um... The fact that they are hybrids means that there are at least two species of Apistogramma that they could breed with other than steel blues... Yes, outside of breeding, they're not violent, but the OP clearly stated that there are other fish in the tank, which will fall victim to the parent apistos when they turn into psychotic killers.

[cookymonster760]

yeah apistos will attack anything and everything when breeding just ask the snails who got a chunk bitten off in my tank

[Snowflake311]

I have had differant kind of cichlids breed in my tank over the years, blue acara, angle, discus, and non cichlids sparkling gourami. All were nasty when they had eggs. For the size the sparkling gourami was the nastiest fish ever but not a cichlid I know. The blue acaras were the craziest they would turn on each other a fight like mad over the eggs.

I don't like breeding cichlids too much drama. I do love watching there behavior and interaction. I think I will stick to just one for now.

One more question. The lfs I got this one from had a Apisto sp yellow head? It was gone but the label was there. I never saw it. What do you think it was?