The Apistogramma is a member of the cichlid family and is a great addition to any freshwater tank. With more than 100 species to choose from, your tank can come alive with this lively fish adding color and enjoyment. While many hobbyists enjoy keeping them, they can be a harder to raise than many other species. Before you add any to your tank, here is some information for you to consider when deciding if an Apistogramma is the right choice for you.

Aquarium Setup

This fish is very particular about its environment, particularly the water. Your Apistogramma will need soft water that is acidic with a pH around 6.5 to 7.0 and a water temperature needs to stay around 76 – 78 degrees. If you are skilled at controlling your tank water and keeping it at a high quality, you can keep around 6-8 Apistogrammas in a 10-gallon tank.

Your tank must have good filtration and even so, replacing the water is required a minimum of once per week. In addition to a good filtration system and regular cleaning, you can use scavengers like a small Cory catfish to aid in cleaning the tank.

Apistogrammas like a lot of cover in the tank consisting of plants and submerged driftwood. The natural habitat for this fish includes sunken logs, caves, rocks, and crevices to live in, so it is a good idea to imitate this as much as possible in your tank. By including these items in your tank, they will feel right at home and be happy in the environment you create for them.

Diet

Apistogrammas are what is referred to as micropredators. They live on insect larvae and the fry of other fish. An optimum diet is one that combines live food and a high-quality flake food. The live food that Apistogrammas like is black worms, bloodworms, crabsticks, and brine shrimp. Feeding your fish live food will encourage breeding but many hobbyists warn against this as it may introduce diseases into your tank. To be on the safe side, you can always purchase frozen food for them.

Breeding

Breeding your Apistogramma is not impossible but you need to do several things to encourage it. Some of these fish breed in polygynous harems, while other species form monogamous pairs. The best way to pair your fish is to buy them as juveniles and let them grow up together. This way, they will naturally select each other and pair off.

Your fish will lay eggs several times per year. Provide places for your Apistogramma to spawn by placing upturned flowerpots or pieces of coconut shells in your tank. This imitates their habitat of caves and rocks which they are used to. To encourage breeding, feed the female a diet high in live food such as blackworms or bloodworms for one week. If the fish are not interested in breeding, you can also separate them into different tanks during the week that you are giving the female her special diet. After returning the male to the tank with the female, they are usually interested in breeding and will begin their courtship.

Breeding can also be encouraged by removing 25% of the water and replacing it with cooler water. You need to be sure that the quality of the water meets the previously discussed requirements, just cooler. This imitates their rainforest habitat and triggers breeding.

The female will lay her yellow to brownish eggs in the flowerpot, shell, or under some rocks in the tank. The eggs are adhesive and you will be able to see them attached to the sides of one of these items. After 2-5 days, the fry will hatch and the female will take responsibility of raising them. With careful attention, you can greatly increase your Apistogramma population.

Apistogrammas are an enjoyable fish to add to your aquarium and although they take extra care, by providing the right tank setup and food, you should have no problem raising these fish. Review this information and decide if an Apistogramma will be the right addition to your tank.