Planted Tank Catered For Apistogramma

[marle]

Just set up a new tank(1 day old) catered for a new pair of Apistogramma.

Tank Specs:
1.5Feet

Fauna: 5 Cardinals, 5 galaxies, 5 otos.

Flora: Rotala(green), Japanese Hairgrass, Spiky moss, MM(not sure.)


Apisto's cave.


Needs alot of trimming in due time.


Plan for a slope from left to right.

Thanks for viewing.

[Verminator]

I feel it lacks places to hide. Such as larger, higher, deeper pieces of wood. Seems aside from the 'cave' there isnt many places for the fish to go. Perhaps tmo more pieces of similar wood then placed upright to replicate vertical tree roots with which you can add plants such as Anubias to the wood itself to provide cover, and lower plants that will spread out and provide cover, such as crypts of sorts?

I like the idea of a slope, adds another dimension to the tank.

Does seem quite a small tank for Appisto's, certainly doesnt seem to be a very high tank.

[barmby]

marle, do consider adding apisto pair much later until the thicket is ready else the male will kill the female. 1.5 feet is not sufficient to escape from a hot male.

[iwishweallcouldwin]

Nice concept, nice tank.

However, like what Verminator and Barmby said, I would suggest that you add more pieces of wood or caves into the tank to break lines of sight, and try introducing a tank cover which will not impede the spread of lighting if not your plants will suffer, because your tank is pretty shallow in terms of height and apistos are pretty good jumpers..

[marle]

I feel it lacks places to hide. Such as larger, higher, deeper pieces of wood. Seems aside from the 'cave' there isnt many places for the fish to go. Perhaps tmo more pieces of similar wood then placed upright to replicate vertical tree roots with which you can add plants such as Anubias to the wood itself to provide cover, and lower plants that will spread out and provide cover, such as crypts of sorts?

I like the idea of a slope, adds another dimension to the tank.

Does seem quite a small tank for Appisto's, certainly doesnt seem to be a very high tank.

Great idea. I cannot agree more and have since worked on your suggestion. Yeah, its a really short tank but i guess i have to make do with it. Thanks alot dude.

marle, do consider adding apisto pair much later until the thicket is ready else the male will kill the female. 1.5 feet is not sufficient to escape from a hot male.

I have the exact sentiments, however, my impatience has caused me to purchase a pair of apisto already. When the "poison" hit me, i guess it did so quite badly. =p.

Nice concept, nice tank.

However, like what Verminator and Barmby said, I would suggest that you add more pieces of wood or caves into the tank to break lines of sight, and try introducing a tank cover which will not impede the spread of lighting if not your plants will suffer, because your tank is pretty shallow in terms of height and apistos are pretty good jumpers..

Yes! Apistos are really really good jumpers, thanks for your reminder. It was a good thing this old tank of mine came with a cover. But it means i have to sacrifice my fan which isn't really good for the growth of moss.

[marle]

Picture taken immediately after slight rescape. ( thanks to Verminator, barmby and iwishweallcouldwin's suggestions. )



Added a coconut husk with some moss (Two caves now for the apisto pair, i really hope its enough cover for them now at least). Waiting for the plants to grow to trim to my desired shape. My only concern is that my tank temperature is constantly above 30 as my tank cover prevents me from using a fan.

By the way, the main star of the tank is a pair of juvenile Apistogramma Bitaeniata.

[Verminator]

Certainly better, only thing i would suggest now is perhaps increasing the height the wood covers, or perhaps if you find a suitable piece to add height. Also, as mentioned previously, this will help break the line of sight for your fish. Creating more places to hide, swim, and generally increase the chance of male and female co-existing

Certainly a nice little scape though i must admit.

[iwishweallcouldwin]

Nice rescape! Looks really cute.

I agree with Verminator, maybe you need higher wood pieces. But alternatively, you can also try adding in bushy or shady plants like nanas or winderlov ferns in the middle of the tank, or just add more moss to break the line of sight for your pair. Do play around but hey, ultimately its your tank! I love both mossy caves, much nicer than mine!

By the way, are you the one who purchased a pair from bro senjie? If you are, please take good care of my grandchildren!

[marle]

Certainly better, only thing i would suggest now is perhaps increasing the height the wood covers, or perhaps if you find a suitable piece to add height. Also, as mentioned previously, this will help break the line of sight for your fish. Creating more places to hide, swim, and generally increase the chance of male and female co-existing

Certainly a nice little scape though i must admit.

May i know what do you mean by adding height to the wood covers? To lift up my exisiting piece of wood a little or to add more wood? I doubt i'll be adding any new wood unless i find a really good piece. My tank has 5 pebbles tied with spiky moss which are located around the husk and the exisiting piece of wood. I'll highlight them later when i find time.

Have been wanting to add nana petite too, probably at the area between the husk and the wood, and the slope down along the wood.

Nice rescape! Looks really cute.

I agree with Verminator, maybe you need higher wood pieces. But alternatively, you can also try adding in bushy or shady plants like nanas or winderlov ferns in the middle of the tank, or just add more moss to break the line of sight for your pair. Do play around but hey, ultimately its your tank! I love both mossy caves, much nicer than mine!

By the way, are you the one who purchased a pair from bro senjie? If you are, please take good care of my grandchildren!

I do have some windelov ferns with me right now, however, the plant does not seem to complement my existing group of plants. Thus, its absence.

Yes! Are they? Their parents are absolutely beautiful. Nice! Yes, i will also try to give you a periodic update on them. Meanwhile, they are quite shy at the moment. =/
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[doppelbanddwarf]

I think what Verminator means by incresing the height the wood covers is that you try to create a sort of "barrier" using pieces of wood in the middle so that there are times when your pair can't see each other.

If you are planning to breed them, those cardinal tetras could prove to be a threat to the fry and may be hard to remove in the future.

[iwishweallcouldwin]

May i know what do you mean by adding height to the wood covers? To lift up my exisiting piece of wood a little or to add more wood? I doubt i'll be adding any new wood unless i find a really good piece. My tank has 5 pebbles tied with spiky moss which are located around the husk and the exisiting piece of wood. I'll highlight them later when i find time.

Have been wanting to add nana petite too, probably at the area between the husk and the wood, and the slope down along the wood.



I do have some windelov ferns with me right now, however, the plant does not seem to complement my existing group of plants. Thus, its absence.

Yes! Are they? Their parents are absolutely beautiful. Nice! Yes, i will also try to give you a periodic update on them. Meanwhile, they are quite shy at the moment. =/
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Agreed. I think nanas and nana petite would suit your scape more. You can also try increasing the height of your current wood piece by letting it stick out from the substrate. But I'm not too sure how the scape would be affected. Its always a struggle planning for both a planted and an apisto breeding tank, but of course it is far from being an impossible task, so jia you!

Continue to groom the pair well and I'm sure they'll become as pretty as their parents

A picture of your pair's grandparents when they were much younger:

[illumnae]

is that the pair that i eventually got?

[iwishweallcouldwin]

Yes it is!

[marle]

I think what Verminator means by incresing the height the wood covers is that you try to create a sort of "barrier" using pieces of wood in the middle so that there are times when your pair can't see each other.

If you are planning to breed them, those cardinal tetras could prove to be a threat to the fry and may be hard to remove in the future.

Ok, i didn't increase the wood, but i added more cover(nana petite) as seen in the picture below.

Yes i plan to breed them one day, and have since removed the cardinals. Great advice.

Agreed. I think nanas and nana petite would suit your scape more. You can also try increasing the height of your current wood piece by letting it stick out from the substrate. But I'm not too sure how the scape would be affected. Its always a struggle planning for both a planted and an apisto breeding tank, but of course it is far from being an impossible task, so jia you!

Continue to groom the pair well and I'm sure they'll become as pretty as their parents

A picture of your pair's grandparents when they were much younger

Thanks for your encouragement!

I have added nana petite like what you mentioned and i liked it. I hope this provides more cover for the apistos too.

Yea, i can't wait for them to grow. I am feeding them hikari micro wafers currently as the previous owner, bro senjie, has been feeding them that. Am planning to change to NLS growth though.

[marle]

Added Nana petite and more MM (background) to create a more prominent slope in the future. Thinking about riccia input but the thought of maintenance in the future is holding me back. Glossostigma is on my mind as well.

Tank temperature is still a b*tch at 31degrees in the afternoon when the lights are on.