Apistogramma nijsseni

[StephenMidTN]

Hi All,

I'm curious about keeping and perhaps breeding Apistogramma nijsseni. I'd like to hear from any of you who have kept and bred them.

Specifically, how would you compare them to other Apistogramma species and/or to Blue Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) and Columbian Rams (Mikrogeophagus altispinosus) in terms of:

-- water parameters required;
-- feeding requirements;
-- aggression levels;
-- proper breeding set-up;
-- full adult size attained and recommeded minimum tank size.

I've found a few articlea online about them but would appreciate hearing from anyone with first-hand experience.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

[Lisachromis]

I've had them but lost them due to a problem in that tank before they spawned. They are fairly aggressive for an Apisto. I had mine in a 30 gallon tank. They ruled the tank which also had A. bitaeniata and N. parilus. They were kept at 7.8 and were doing just fine until the tank disaster. They were forever out and displaying at each other, and the other fish.

Hmmm... one day I will get some more again!

Sorry can't help with the breeding though.

[Lab]

Hi Stephen.

You can keep them in most water parameters, but breeding requires soft and acidic water. pH should most likely be below 6 and preferably below 5.5 to full amount of fry.

Feeding requirements are the same as other dwarfs.

Can be very aggressive. Once you have a pair formed, they can be kept in fairly small tanks. I just had a pair in 10 gallons, but larger is obviously better. You may not be succesful in keeping more females to one male. They tend to be more of pair species than most other apistos.

Good luck,
Lars

[StephenMidTN]

Thanks for the information, Lisa and Lars!

Lisa: Sorry to hear that you lost your pair before they could breed, but it is encouraging that they were happy at pH of 7.8. My 'liquid rock' tapwater is about 7.6 to 7.8.

Lars: As I noted, my local tapwater is quite alkaline and quite hard (about 180-200ppm). I dilute my tapwater with distilled water at a ratio of about 1:1. That gets me a pH of around 7.0 and a general hardness of 80-90ppm. That enables me to keep and breed Blue Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) without a problem. Do you suppose that would be good enough to breed Apistogamma nijsseni successfully?

[Lab]

Lars: As I noted, my local tapwater is quite alkaline and quite hard (about 180-200ppm). I dilute my tapwater with distilled water at a ratio of about 1:1. That gets me a pH of around 7.0 and a general hardness of 80-90ppm. That enables me to keep and breed Blue Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) without a problem. Do you suppose that would be good enough to breed Apistogamma nijsseni successfully?

Frankly: Unfortunately no. The good news is that you are not so far away from better conditions, that you may think. You should lower your pH to be sucessful. Exactly how much is hard to say exactly, and can probably vary a little. The easiest way to lower pH is by using peat. It is important, however that you carbonate hardness (KH) is not higher than 2-3. If it is any higher, the pH will only bounce back up to neutral after a while. The general hardness should not be a big problem for you. You will need a little patience in the lowering process, but don't worry, you will get there at last.

Liquid rock? Where I live the tapwater is 300+ ppm. So you got it easy

[StephenMidTN]

Thanks again, Lars!

Yes, I've used peat in the past to lower the pH but was hoping it might not be absolutely necessary. I'm lazy I guess.

So your tapwater has hardness of 300+ppm? Ok, I'll stop whining about my water then. LOL.

[CichFreak]

-- water parameters required;
I would say that nijsseni can be a little more challenging, especially for breeding. They will prefer a pH well below 6, even for regular maintenance. If you want to avoid bacterial infections and such they will do better with softer, more acidic water. They can be kept in less than ideal conditions, as many fish, but will be less forgiving about maintenance and stress. That said, water is water. It's not really *hard* to make the water soft, it's just an extra step.

-- feeding requirements;
About the same as any other dwarf. If you get captive bred fish you may even get them to take a high quality pellet.

-- aggression levels;
I've found they can be a bit aggressive, but if you are able to get several, let them choose a pair and you shouldn't see too much marital strife.

-- proper breeding set-up;
As Lars said, even a 10 can be used, though I prefer 20 longs in general. More space, room for fry for a while, nice viewing window. But if you've already got the 10, why bother getting another tank. I like planted setups with natural gravel and driftwood, but each their own. Some people use bare bottom tanks and clay pots, so you can choose. Just be sure to use inert materials that won't harden your water and offer them cover for comfort and places to spawn.

-- full adult size attained and recommeded minimum tank size.
Not a real big fish, maybe 2.5" at most for males.

Not to try and steer you away from nijsseni, but have you considered panduro? They are a little easier to breed, similar in color (some would say nicer), and perhaps not so aggressive. I still wouldn't try to keep them in liquid rock though. Try to shoot for 2-3dKH and a pH around 6, and if you can measure TDS, around 100-150ppm.

[apistomaster]

I have also found Apistogramma nissenji to be best kept in pairs rather than harem and to get eggs to hatch I had to go to very soft water and I had the pH at between 5.0 and 5.5. I has been a long time since I have had these. The fish I had were wild caught. Maybe the tank raised fish have become more forgiving?

[Hassles]

I am currently attempting to breed a single pair of nijseni myself (in Melbourne, Australia) so I shall report upon the progress. This pair is currently in water <PH 6, GH=3 / 60ppm, KH=3 / 30ppm and they are going through the motions. They appear to be less than impressed about the 4 Golden Pencilfish also present but also seem somewhat tolerant of them - well at least at this stage anyway. This pair are on the cusp of maturity so the current scenario is quite interesting from my observers perspective.

I have also been communicating with a fellow in Sydney who also has a pair of nijsseni but he is struggling to get his water PH down.

[Paulo José Alves]

Hi

I bred several times A. nijsseni at PH 6,5 GH 6, 27ºC. No problem.