Possible to house 1 pair of Apisto in a 12'' X 8'' X 8'' tank?
Hey guys,
I'm a super newbie when it comes to Apistogramma spp. For the past 2 months, I have been researching my Arse off about Apistogramma cacatuoides.
So I set up a small tanks 12 X 8 X 8 (inch) for just a pair of them and 2 otos. Got a bunch of vallis and mini nana's in it too and a coconut shell tied with Taiwan moss. DIY CO2 going well and plants are flourishing. Temperature is pretty constant at 27.5 to 28 degrees celcius. pH at 6.
So the tank's been cycling for 2 months with just 2 otos inside. My question to you seasoned Apistogramma cacatuoides keepers is...
Would the tank be big enough to house just one pair of these cool fish?
Will post pictures of my tank as soon as possible.
Thanks guys!
Last edited by benny; 10th Mar 2006 at 00:20. Reason: spelling
Hmm.....I think it should be possible...
A. cacatuoides are not so fierce unlike other species, but do provide lots of cover just in case. CO2 in my opinion is not require. just a sponge filter and a light will do. Use easy plants like nanas and ferns.
Are you using ADA Aquasoil?
Last edited by benny; 10th Mar 2006 at 00:22. Reason: spelling
Aquatic Dreams
Custom Made Aquarium Tanks, Cabinets & Stands
Contact Us: [email protected]
Website: http://www.aquaticdreams.com.sg
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/aquaticdreamsg/
Yup. That's the substrate I'm using... with some gravel on top of it.
As for the CO2 I just put it in for the plants to do a little better. Oh yah, I forgot to mention that there's an overhang filter in there as well.
Last edited by benny; 10th Mar 2006 at 00:23.
Hi CacaManiac,
Welcome to Aquatic Quotient!! How did you find us? We are actually more of a plant forum than an Apisto forum. But recently, interest in these fishes seems to have taken off.
Anyway, I think housing a pair of Apistogramma cacatuoides in a tank of that size is not a problem. However, you need to put in enough decoration so that there is no "line of sight" between the two fish to give them a bit of hiding space during mating season.
As mentioned, CO2 is fine, but DIY CO2 is usually a disaster waiting to happen. Using low light and low maintenance plants will indeed be a better consideration since the star of this tank are the fish rather than the aquascape. Do consider Anubias barteri and it's variants as well as Java ferns as you can do away with the DIY CO2 with these plants.
Lastly, a few dither fishes such as cardinal tetras or pencil fishes will make your dwarf cichlid feel a lot more comfortable in the tank.
Looking forward to your pictures!
Cheers,
I have dwarf cichlids in my tanks! Do you?
Hi CacaManiac,
Welcome to the forum!
A pair of Caca in that tank size with plants as you have described is fine.
At PH6, and ADA Aquasoil, they should even spawn for you.
You can do with or without dither as the tank is already fairly small.
Just ensure that the pair you have is of compatible size.
It's NOT "Chee lick", NOT "Chee Chee Licks"!!! Cichlids is pronounced as "Sick Lids"!!!!!
well, w/o ada soil & tank less than 1ft (as i partition it in to 8" & 4"), my caca also spawn. Try not to have other fish in the tank if u want more fries to survive.
Well, i kept my trifisciata in the 5 Plan s Size tank be4. Spawning is not a problem but bringing them up pose a problem cos water parameters change to frequently as the volume of water is low n risk of overdosing medication if required.
Benny:
thanks...yah i indeed will be adding more plants rocks etc... cos the tank is very cycles already... also i have prepared a seperate tank of same size in an event i may have to seperate the fish..
also i found out about this forum thru Biotope. i called to ask when their latests stocks were arriving and they introduced me to this place.
Yorky
thanks.. yeah i'm going down this saturday to Biotope to hopefully get a pair of caca.. i don't know if any would be left after all the regulars had their pickings.. but i guess it's no harm to check out the playing field. who knows i might get lucky and bring back a cool pair of fish.. as for dither fish.. i've got 2 otos in there already... don't think i'll add anything else.
Sheng
yah not gonna add any dither fish
joopsg
as for bringing up any fry that may arise.. i do have a second clone tank just for such an occasion. thanks
Bro,should be no problem,if u provide lotsa hiding space.if you see some of my post...i manage to breed my tri and uaupesi pair inside an even smaller tank 8" cube tank but when the pair breed,do watch for the male cos the female tends to be more aggressive and the male will be hiding.Originally Posted by CacaManiac
if ur thinking of breeding,do add 1-2 dither fisher as when the female is ready to spawn,she will try to attack other fisher so the male will be much safer cos the attention is diverse and not to the male only.
furthermore from my experience,when there are dithers around the female tends to take care of her brood longer than when there's no dither at all.
outspoken
thanks for the advice dude. will keep it noted
well well
it was great meeting you guys at Biotope yesterday(sat).
Coolness!
anyway... i got myself a pair of Apistogramma cacatuoides Triple Red. indeed a very stunning fish. i put them in their tank with 3 Golden WCM (dither).
i fed them on some Frozen Daphnia and 4 bloodworms each.. and they took the food with great interest. looks like they settled in well. both of them are constantly following each other. going in and out of the coconut cave. they made that their home instantly... the moss on the cave is slowly growing though...
the WCMs are forever checking out the upper quad of the tank... getting chased by the male. even the otos who are just doing their job.. get chased away occasionally..
Really cool.
It was nice to meet you too! Good to put a face to a nickname.
Anyway, what are WCM? Abreviations can be confusing as there are so many of them around.
Cheers,
I have dwarf cichlids in my tanks! Do you?
it was nice to meet u too
WCM those are the Winter Cloud Mountains sorry bout that.
( anyone can tell me how to put an avatar image? )
Sorry bout the Low Quality images.. was using my DV cam to take the pics..
Saw your substrate is white in colour. As mentioned by some elsewhere, you might want to have a dark color substrate to bring out the colour of your apisto, with ADA Amazonia a good choice for its colour and low pH.
there is ada but it's under the gravel... i guess i'll have to put a layer on top..
If I were a fish, I'd BREED all Day!
dArnit! i just realized that i have no more ADA soil.. anyone knows where can i get some at a small quantitiy?
NA will sell half packs of ADA soil... Think mentioned in the threads before that somewhere else also got half packs...
The othes shop is more expensive than NA. Suggest to get from NA.
a full pack costs like 46 dollars right? so how much does a half pack cost? i only need like 3 hand fulls.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks