Flaring apisto

[benetay]

comments welcome . Enjoy =)

[Trevor]

Wow, they sure grow fast and nice.

[]

[Mez]

Nice apisto benetay!

[Alfa Low]

Bene,
Now i know why you are so interested in Apisto as they are really gorgeous when they are flaring their fin.

[jljx]

HELP!! HELP!!
I am new to this forum but its been very educational thus far. But, I would like to learn from some of you "sifu" on keeping Apistos.
I was at Biotope recently and left the place bent on keeping (and hopefully breeding) these little fellas!! But I really need your help here guys.
I have a 2ft tank (those that has a height of 1.5ft). Have had it planted and all. But I need to know... how best to make it an ideal home for these beautiful fishes (have not bought). Here are some qns:

1. How many can I keep in my tank??
2. How "planted" should/could it be??
3. What do Apistos eat??
4. Any other fishes (eg: Jumbo Neons) can I keep with the Apistos?? And how many??

Well stuf like that...

[Simon]

1. How many can I keep in my tank??
best keep only 1 pair or a trio.. if your intention is to breed them.. ideal tank size will be bigger the better, but should be a size manageable.. if u have a bigger tank (eg. 4ft, then u could increase the number of females or even add another species in)
2. How planted should/could it be??
it depends on yr preferences, same as above, it depends on whether u want to enjoy the fishes rather than only for breeding purposes.. for breeding, u just need a simple tank, gravel or no gravel, pot/driftwood, a sponge filter
3. What do Apistos eat??
frozen bloodworms, dun expect to feed yr apisto flakes and expect them to go up to the surface to feed, they need time to adjust.. plus for breeding, the females need to consume high protein food... other sinking food may be acceptable, avoid live worms as they might carry parasites
4. Any other fishes (eg: Jumbo Neons) can I keep with the Apistos?? And how many??
yes, but do not overload.. usually these fishes act as dither and u shld see the behaviour in which the apisto protect their young.. add a small school is usually acceptable, too large a number and they may threat the frys if u r breeding your apisto

[jljx]

Hey Simon,
Thanks for the info.
Just wondering if its all that imposible to keep 2 pairs of different species of Apistos in my tank?
Was thinking of keeping maybe just 6-8 tetras with them...
I would really like to see them breed in my setup... will the trio (2 females and 1 male) increase the chances of spawning??
One more thing... any problem keeping Yamatos with these fellas??
Will the CO2 affect the Apistos (using canister at 30bpm) ??

Sorry about the barage of qns... really wanna find out as much as i could before buying the fishes. With this new setup, how long should i wait before introducing the fishes??
... VMT!!

[Trevor]

Can tell that yr're so excited, in the meantime. Do some research on yr own, can use the local search engines or the famous informative website.

WWW.THEKRIB.COM

For a 2ft, I suggest a pair or trio. But personally, i prefer getting a pair. It looks nicer with just 2 apistos in there. Since yr're thinking of spawning them so much, howa bout trying out the A.cacutuiodes. Alot of ppl will tell u how easy it is to spawn this species.

8 tetras will be fine, but when the trio/pair spawn. The tetras from what i know, they're egg snipers. They will dart at the eggs and makan !!. So imo, a pure 2ft with just a pair of apistos is beautiful and sufficient.

Keeping yamatoes ? Sure no problem, as long as u keep yr apistos well-fed they wont bother yr yamatoes. But im not sure for apistos cause my fren had yamatoes with his rams. And his rams pecked at his yamatoes. Prolly out of curiousity, and most prolly same goes to apistos.

As for the Co2 qn u mentioned, im not sure bout that. Sorry. Lastly, a 2ft is too small for 2 pairs of diff species. Conflicts will arise, especially during spawning period when the female gets real violents. Deaths may occur u know.

Thats about it. [:0]

[Trevor]

Just read yr last sentence, ur're talking about how long do u need to cycle yr tank am i right ?

I guess, shouldnt be too long. Reason why u have yr plants to absorb the bla and bla. Not really sure for this case, but imo. I would cycle for 2weeks, or mebbe up to the extent of a month.

Thats about it. []

[kubrich]

in a 2 ft set up like ures,apistos of 2 diff species wouldn't be recomended,they're really territorial and things could get ugly should they decide to spawn.i suggest keeping a pair would do.if u keep a trio,sometimes if a male and a female pair off and they dun like the other female,they might juz massacre her.as for yamatos,well fed or not,dun think it's a gd idea to mix the 2.my apistos wiped out most of my shrimp in my planted tank and they were pretty well fed.heard tt shrimp is one of their fav foods.As for how planted and all,it's really up to u.but i guess the more cover they have the better,makes them feel more secure. Co2 will be ok for them,cos CO2 will lower ure pH and they'll probably like it better and will be more likely to spawn.provide them with lots of cover as they are shy creatures and maybe a piece of driftwood,a small pot or pile some rocks and make a small cave for them as they are cave spawners.tetras i guess should be ok,and with sufficient hiding places and cover from plants i dun thin they will pose too big a threat to ure fry.cycle ure tank sufficiently,once it matures and all,then add ure apistos,tt way u can really enjoy them in their full splendor without having to worry too much. []

[jljx]

Hey thanks everyone...
Currently, I have prepared two "caves" made with slabs of stones... but I wonder if the enterance to the "caves" are big enough...
Also, why do the Apistos eat up their fries and eggs??
How should I remove the fries then (especially since they are in my cave)??

Well, I have not got them yet... still waiting for my tank to mature... so I figured that I should make the most of my time finding out more about Apistos... =)[]

[Trevor]

Firstly, what rocks did u use ? Where did u get it from ? And erm, don worry about the entrance. If its like 3-4cm wide also can. Try having more caves, not juz 2. And erm, have lotsa hiding places and make sure the line of sight is not there.

Line of sight means like, the area whereby is not covered properly, then 1 apisto can see another. So in other words, maybe make yr setup higher a little. Why do apistos eat their fries/eggs, i cant really comment much but from what i know its partly due to stress. Maybe the male don wanna co-operate in patrolling a perimeter of 30cm arnd the eggs and female. Then the female so sad that the male so irresponsible. She eats the eggs, another possible scenario is their experience.

Maybe first timers spawners, they donno so they go and makan de eggies !! Oh ya, they also eat the eggs if it has contracted fungus already. As for why the mummy eating the fries, i really not sure about it. Maybe the fries weak ? Like leaving the dead sheep behind so the rest can move on ?

Can u tell us more about yr setup, like gravel size, what kinda rocks, what kinda filter. Etc..

Regards,
Trevvie

[jljx]

Well actually its the height of the cave enterance that I am worried about... 2 cm high enough for them to go in?? And How deep should the cave be??

Anyways... I have a pretty long piece of driftwood that I coated with Moss... it forms sort of an arch over about 3/5 of my tank. Rocks are from Gen-X (in clementi). Looks/feels/smells/tastes... (watever) like granite slabs.

Filter... wanna know how powerful a filter should I use for a 2ft x 1ft x 1.5ft tank...?? Current filter is a tiny Eden 304 (240L/hr : too small??) running into a CO2 reactor (both from N.A). CO2 injected into reactor from canister a 30bpm (wanna know where to find a needle valve??).

I have a small bag of SERA super peat in there to bring down the ph... I dunnoe about wat you think but I bought a small chinese tea pot (never used before) as a decor and posible spawning place...

2x36 Watt light on for about 8-9 hrs/day... temp at a cool 25-26 deg C. Plants... errr... really have no idea what are the names...

Fauna includes 2x Otos, 7x Neon Tetras (JUMBO), 2x Unidentified shrimps and 1x Baby puffer... Thats about it...

Would really like to know wat you guys think... []

[Trevor]

jljx, u have pm !!