Proposed New Office Setup

[Savant]

I think if I decommissioned my overgrown CRS tank in my office, I should be able to start an apisto tank in its place...

Now my CRS tank is a 1 footer rectangular regular qian hu tank... If I were to upgrade, it would be to a 1 ft cube... what do you guys think? Can I properly fit a pair of nice apistos in a 1ft cube?

Setup in this tank will have to be low maintenance and fuss free... WC can be done easily and often... (I can use filtered water from my watercooler (after its temperature stablised of course)...

Which apistogramma would you guys recommend... and how much should I invest for such a set up? So far the species that have caught my eye for such a tank would be the candidi, the elizebethe, the bitaenama and the vijeata.... (I cant quite remember how to spell the names off hand, so I hope I got it right).

[illumnae]

a 1ft cube should be ok for an apisto pair. i've heard that candidi are especially aggressive after breeding though, so you may want to take that into consideration and look at the other species you like instead.

investment wise, how trustworthy are your colleagues and your office cleaner? If it's possible that somehow some contaminants might get into your tank, i recommend a lower cost fish such as viejita/macmasteri. some good specimens can be found at c328.

[jacian]

If you don't mind agassizii, I can spare you a pair to try it out.

[exotic_idiot]

If you want to use 1ft cube tank, it's better that you get a young pair...
Since bro jacian is offering you a nice pair.. you save on the fish already

[Savant]

Hi all...

I think I will actually go ahead with this...

Will be ordering a one ft cube shortly...

[exotic_idiot]

So you decide what apisto to put in? Bro jacian's agassizii?

[wasabi8888]

while i love apistos, i am not sure the feasibility of keeping apistos in a 1 feet cube tank in the office. let me explain why.

Apistos can get agressive when they are in breeding mood, hence you need to have a lot of hiding places. in a 1 feet cube tank, that may be a challenge. When you start having fries, sometimes there is a need to take out the male or female or the fries in case they are eaten up. Thus, you may need to set up another tank when that happens... I know of people that may be able to do it without setting up that tank, but it does depend on the character of the apistos.. the 1 ft cube tank that i had, eventually only 2 fries made it... and it took quite a bit of stress to ensure that they survive the whole process...

and moreover, when there are fries, you may need to hatch bbs to feed them, if you can do so in your office, that's fine, if not then....just my thoughts, i am sure there will be other people with different opinions and experiences...

[Savant]

So you decide what apisto to put in? Bro jacian's agassizii?

Too early to decide bro... I guess the first step is to complete the setup of my tank...

BTW, do let me clarify. I decided to keep apistos in the office tank because I like the way they move and behave as well as their breeding behavior.

Raising fry is not a priority for me and I would not know what to do with all that fry...

[exotic_idiot]

Yeah.. Better take the first step of setting up your tank first... Just get those things you need and set it up asap if not will delay.. Like me always got things to do can't have more time for hobby.. Sianz(Upset)!!!

[Savant]

A quick update.... I ordered a 30cm cube from weeyang... lead time of about a week...

In the meantime, I am working at decommissioning my shrimp tank in the office...

[genes]

I can see a interesting scene with your colleagues looking at the female brood caring for her fries.

Why not try Ap. cacatuoides. Inexpensive, readily available, colorful, and easy to get them to breed too. Doll up the tank with some nice driftwoods and some pots of nanas. The tank will look great.

[Savant]

Sounds interesting... the Caca was my first apisto... cost me a blue note back then... But I worry that they may be a little too large for a 1 ft cube?

So far I am considering Illumnae's Netz Agazissi, Jacian's Agazissi (what variant is it?), the Vijeta at 328... Whatever is available at that point in time...I guess...since I like them all...

I am wondering what tank mates I can consider in a apisto tank... am tempted to populate with malayan shrimps at the start... some dwarf cories... a couple of zebra ottos or normal ottos (tigers would be too fragile) and some small rasboras or tetras?

What would you guys suggest for interesting (and useful) tankmates?

[exotic_idiot]

How about agazissi tefe? Saw them that day seems like not bad too?
Hmm 1ft cube tank seems abit small if you want to add so many fishes???

[Savant]

Erm, yeah. I dont quite have a sense of how big a one ft cube would actually be... not necessary for so many fishes at all... just some suggestions as to what I might want to add...

I did think about trying those dwarf corydoras but will stick to a discipline of an apisto pair and an otto if thats all I can have :P

[genes]

Agassizii or Viejita/Macmasteri will not be any smaller then a Cacatuoides. Since you are not worried about the lost of fries if they do breed. I think some cardinal tetras will spice up the tank along with some juvenile cories. I see some very cute panda cories in polyart. But got to take note not to overstock the tank.

[Savant]

I do have a tendency to overstock... especially if I see something I like but had bought something else earlier... as such, I find that some advance planning helps me to maintain the discipline...

The tank will have a fair bit of overfiltration. Filter of choice will be a 2211 (so there is some allowance)

For tankmates, I am thinking of 6 pieces of ember tetras (or rubies), 8 pieces of pygmy cories, 2 otos and 2-3 pieces of yamato shrimps...

Still thinking about what plants I will use...I have some unused ADA amazonia/africana somewhere in the house that I can use... would like to try crypts and some mosses but not sure if they can absorb enough nutrients to prevent algae...

[Savant]

Got a call from Weeyang that the tank is ready... but I was not free to collect that day... Now have to wait a further 2 weeks (for him to finish his reservist)...

In the meantime, my 2211 is cycling.... I will also need to find the opportunity to net home the CRS from a previous setup... Slow and steady is the way...

[Savant]

Short update...

Weeyang will probably have the tanks ready next week... in the meantime I have proceeded to order the lightsets for my 1ft and 1.5ft cubes from Mizuworld taking advantage of their tuesday delivery promotion.... I will also get those ADA books as part of the promotion...

Bought some pieces of ADA stones and small woods as a test order too...

Buying online is scary in a way as you don't get to choose your stuff... but I've heard some good things so far, so keeping my fingers crossed...

[illumnae]

all the best! hope you like your new purchases

[blue33]

Short update...

Weeyang will probably have the tanks ready next week... in the meantime I have proceeded to order the lightsets for my 1ft and 1.5ft cubes from Mizuworld taking advantage of their tuesday delivery promotion.... I will also get those ADA books as part of the promotion...

Bought some pieces of ADA stones and small woods as a test order too...

Buying online is scary in a way as you don't get to choose your stuff... but I've heard some good things so far, so keeping my fingers crossed...

Recently Colourful got quite no of beautiful rocks, you can check it out.