# Rainbows vs killies vs apistos?



## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

So after just getting rid of my Black widow GBR.( still can't beleave she killed her male when he had a inch on her) I'm trying to deside what I want to add to my hex tank. Its currently set up as a "black water" set up, but a couple huge water changes and pulling the peat from the canister will fix that.

I've having a hard time making up my mind which way I want to go with the tank.


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

What size is this tank? I have 0 experience with killifish/apistos but have kept a few different rainbows. I didn't particularly like them just because they are very active swimmers. They outcompeted most of my fish at feeding time and just kind of drove me crazy. I had heard that killies are probably a lot more calm and that they don't do well in the community tank environment but I'll let someone with real life experience give you more information there. If you like really active swimmers and your tank is large enough, I'd go with the rainbows.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

its a 45 hex. 2' across 2' deep each side is 1' 

I was really thinking about some thread fins if I go rainbow.


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## Wire Fox Terror (Apr 7, 2006)

Oh ok, so size isn't an issue but still just decide based on whether or not you want really active fish because the other two in comparison will be much calmer. What fish do you currently have in the tank?


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

nada. The Pair of rams was it for the tank.


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

You could quite easily keep a group of non-annual killies with a pair/trio of apistogramma. I'd suggest A.cacatuoides as an easy to keep apisto and Aphyosemion (Chromaphyosemion) bivitattum as an excellent small killie. 

If you put a group of pots for each female spread well apart at each end of the tank you could probably keep two females and a male of the apistos and then lots of plants, including floating plants, will give the killies places to spawn and cover for the fry to hide and survive with no extra help. 

Just feed them all lots of baby brine shrimp and the adults will get into spawning condition and the babies will have food to eat!


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Apistos are fabulous. You should also give the W. African dwarf chiclids a look. They're at least as pretty as GBR's and they're a whole lot less finicky IME.


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## Fishtory (Jan 21, 2009)

TAB said:


> So after just getting rid of my Black widow GBR.( still can't beleave she killed her male when he had a inch on her)


WHAT?? Oh dear. I didn't know that. I have 3 pairs of GBR.... yikes.

Anyway, just wanted to chime in. I, too would choose threadfins if I were choosing rainbows. But right now I've got 2 tanks of killies. They are gold australe, and chocolate australe. I'm really liking them! They are friendly and funny. The golds are with a group of rummy nose tetras, and they've encouraged the rnt to come out where I can actually see them . The choc. have their own tank, they are smaller/younger.

I didn't know if it would work mixing them with GBR so I didn't do that.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

i would most defenitly choose the threadfin if you plan to do a species only tank. unfortunatly beauty comes with a price, they are so delicate. you might be able to keep a few killies that are not too large and too active since threads are faster swimmers and more open kind of fish. i have a pair of killies (not sure the name, but mostly orange for the male and lighter orange-yellow for the female) they seem to spend a lot of time in the bottom middle areas and they hide a lot too. they were with my threadfinds a long while and did well.


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

I'd do big r'bows.. I used to be a dwarf cichlid lover but 'bows are soo much easier for me these days. GL!


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## jamesstill84 (Mar 29, 2009)

I keep a pair of Fp. Gard. Akure killis in my 55 with a pair of Long Finned GBR's. The Killi's and rams are very active in my tank. No one nips or anything. I'm looking at getting some Apisto's in the near future, but don't have any experience with them yet.


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## taoyeah (Aug 8, 2007)

2' across is not enough swimming space for big bows.


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## geeks_15 (Dec 9, 2006)

I have kept apisto borelli in a 29 gallon community and they did fine. They are beautiful fish.

Currently I have a female apisto cacatuoides in my 75 gallon community. I just found a male to add to the tank and he is currently in the quarantine tank. The female has been in there since I got her at the ACA in august and is doing fine.

I also have a pair of pelvicachromis taeniatus 'moliwe.' These are my favorite. I have them in a 20 gallon el natural alone and they are spawning. When I removed the fry, after the parents were obviously done with them, they immediately spawned again.

My pair of pelvicachromis taeniatus 'lobe' is in the adjacent el natural 20 gallon alone and doing well. They quickly laid eggs, but I haven't gotten any farther than that as far as breeding them.

I love the p. taeniatus (both species) because they are beautiful and have been undemanding and easy to breed (the moliwe that is).

I really enjoy all these fish. I have been hooked on dwarf cichlids since I started in the hobby. Hopefully I can get some more at my local club auction today.


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## wi_blue (Apr 5, 2005)

I prefer rams (bolivian or blue) or apistos. Their interactions with tank mates are fun to watch and they have great colors. 

Killies....well the few I've had were great at finding the smallest holes to leap out of. 

Can't say as I have had rainbows though...


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## LVKSPlantlady (Oct 4, 2009)

So I realize that this fish was not in the title but I must say that Kribis, Pelvicachromis pulcher, albino or not is a great hardy SMART fish to keep. My 5+ inch albino MJ<that's his name>comes to the front of the 29 gal tank when I sit down and will follow my finger. He get more active when I sit down with the red dish I use to dethaw bloodworms in than when he can see I dont have the dish, And he's shy, if anyone other than me comes to the tank he will dart around trying to see you with out you seeing him... yeah yeah yeah most people say don't give human emotions to animals especially not fish...but I know my fish...on the other hand he's pretty mean, I keep him with yo-yo loaches, and the can hold their own, but when I tried to get another one, he would not let him eat and beat him up so bad he got a Huge Cut on his head, I took him out but he never got better, I dont think a NPT make for a good clean place to prevent infection... So I though maybe if I got a female, well my LFS did not have any adults so I bought what we both though was baby female kribis, and 4 months later his belly turned red and tail fin got pointed, so they let me trade him in for another try, and I struck out again.

So I though maybe I sould google it " Sexing Kribis, Pelvicachromis pulcher" and after a few BS website I found some info on water quality and sex determination in cichlids, people who study this kind of thing seem to think that Kribis, Pelvicachromis pulcher, can wait a very long time before before a finaly sex is established depending on what's needed in the enviroment, so maybe that's why i can't get a female.

Also when I got the new fish he was about half the size as MJ, so maybe if you buy 3 little babies at one time and put them all in there at the same time by the time they are 5+ inches in about a year they will have a pecking order, and if that study was right you should have 2 females and just one male!

....And that's my Pitch for Kribis, Pelvicachromis pulcher!


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