Apistogramma Bitaeniata Banded Apisto, Two-Striped Dwarf Cichlid

by AhsanQureshi in Living > Education

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Apistogramma Bitaeniata Banded Apisto, Two-Striped Dwarf Cichlid

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I have a pair of these in a 180 liter community tank. The male, being
only 3 cm, quickly turned into a bully. He chases a bigger gourami all the time. He harasses other fish as well, especially cories. He would sneak behind them and make a sudden move, the poor cory would freak out and one day an albino cory hit a driftwood and lost an eye. The female, on the other hand, is extremely timid. She doesn't eat any prepared food, only live food. She grazes the plants all day. Her poop is green, maybe she eats too much algae. Anyway, I think these fish are better kept alone in a species tank. In their natural habitat there are lots of dead vegetation which is impossible to reproduce in an aquarium. Also, they are densely populated in nature, up to 1000 fish in a few meters of a river, so you can keep many of them in a small tank as long as water parameters are OK. Planted tanks are appreciated, tankmates should be small and calm, such as otos, pencilfish, etc.

They are very peaceful fish, are usually kept in
pairs and like a planted tank. They are not very sensitive to pH in my experience and like a temperature of 23-28°C. They usually mature quickly, and are a joy to watch.