Bit of backstory: I live far away but my sister got into the hobby so I gifted her my 25G rimless and help her set up a planted tank and cycle it. I taught her about stocking and left it to her, she currently has a betta, some bumble gobys, and guppies. She asked her LFS for things that would go well with her beta and they sold her what I am 100% sure is a Apistogramma. I have no experience with cichlids as I’m a nano fish person but I’m PRETTY sure that’s a horrible idea. It’s been a while since she bought it before she showed me so I doubt they will refund it but I plan to go talk to them tomorrow. If they refuse to accept it is there another way or place to rehome it?
Posted by bent_spork
7 Comments
I wish I had something informative to add here but really I just wanted to say that fish looks awesome
That is an Apistogramma Macmasteri.
Where I am those usually go for $50-$75 a pair.
It certainly might be a bad idea but Apisto’s tend to keep to themselves and are really only aggressive towards each other and other cichlids. In my community tank of mostly South American fish my Apistos are actually my least aggressive cichlids, my Rams are much rowdier.
I wouldn’t have sold you an Apistogramma as a “tankmate for Betta” though. Given your sister is just getting into the hobby I would err on the side of rehoming it. Some LFS take rehomes but it may be worth to reach out to the original store and share your concerns. I would not agree with putting an Apisto and a Betta into a 25 gallon. I would actually not agree to putting any Cichlid into a 25g with a Betta in general. I can see if being maybe fine in a larger setup with someone who can watch for behavior but it’s definitely a risk.
well, you can try to offer to someone, i usually offer fish i cant keep on aquarium group chats
return it with pop and leave it there regardless of refund. pack it up in whatever…clean food container is fine. The current stocking with Betta is tragic and ill- advised already.
whoever sold your sister a macmasteri for a betta tank needs to be fired. apisto’s arent ur average fish, not sayin they r difficult, but they arent what should be brought up when bringing up betta tankmates 😭😭
i will take it off ur hands for whatever you paid if you live in SoCal 🙏🏾
I mean they have similar aggression levels so I’d say they’d be fine in a larger planted community tank with space for territories. However fish personalities vary so I’d always just monitor them first.