Keeping Apistogramma agassizii

[ahkiatz]

Went biotope, they told me optimal ph for agarazii is 5.5. Recommended me malayan soil or some other soil. But is ph5.5 achieve-able with gex soil?

[joopsg]

Went biotope, they told me optimal ph for agarazii is 5.5. Recommended me malayan soil or some other soil. But is ph5.5 achieve-able with gex soil?

Can be done by using Peat if you think the ph need to be lower further.

[iwishweallcouldwin]

Went biotope, they told me optimal ph for agarazii is 5.5. Recommended me malayan soil or some other soil. But is ph5.5 achieve-able with gex soil?

To achieve a lower pH, most people try africana, in combination with peat and ketapang leaves.

[illumnae]

Such a low ph is not required for Ap agassizii, which is a very hardy species. This is especially so for captive bred specimens, as they have already been acclimitized to our local waters.

Wildcaught Ap. agassizii may appreciate lower ph, but I've bred them in >7 ph before as well.

[ahkiatz]

Thanks all for your valuable inputs. I'm setting up the tank now for them

[ahkiatz]

Day 1 of cycling begin
Intend to add more malayan soil to abt 1.5cm. Still deciding which plant to put. For peat, i just have to put the thing inside the water?

[Tony]

Hi.

Aga red is a very good choice to start with as they are tolerant to ph, colourful and attractive. I kept mine in amazonia and gex mix soil without even using peat and manage to breed a small group (limited because I do not have live feeds for fry). If you are using those packet peat, you can put them in the canister filter.

For plants, I would recommend lots of moss, subwassertang or narrow leave java ferns as they do not require much effort in maintenance and can survive well in low tech tank. If you prefer foreground plants, e.tenullus and c.parva will do as well, though the latter is extremely slow growing.

A point to note is that the apisto do not prefer too strong a current so in my setup, I have my rain bar pointing 45 degrees towards the wall of the tank to reduce to water current.

Last point to note, apisto are cave spawners and would appreciate some hiding caves, over-turned pots, etc if you wish to have a go at breeding.


Good luck!

[ahkiatz]

Hi.

Aga red is a very good choice to start with as they are tolerant to ph, colourful and attractive. I kept mine in amazonia and gex mix soil without even using peat and manage to breed a small group (limited because I do not have live feeds for fry). If you are using those packet peat, you can put them in the canister filter.

For plants, I would recommend lots of moss, subwassertang or narrow leave java ferns as they do not require much effort in maintenance and can survive well in low tech tank. If you prefer foreground plants, e.tenullus and c.parva will do as well, though the latter is extremely slow growing.

A point to note is that the apisto do not prefer too strong a current so in my setup, I have my rain bar pointing 45 degrees towards the wall of the tank to reduce to water current.

Last point to note, apisto are cave spawners and would appreciate some hiding caves, over-turned pots, etc if you wish to have a go at breeding.


Good luck!

I will be getting my cave this weekend And rainbar is pointing 45 degree to the wall as you suggested. Thank alot for your input

[Tony]

Remember to wrap your inlet with sponge or get those ready made from gex to tie. You wouldn't want the little fry to get sucked and blended inside the canister.

[genes]

I would also recommend low maintenance plants for your tank since you are not running co2. Java, Nana are some plants you can consider. Go for low lights too to prevent brown algae from building up. You can also put some leave litter in the tank. Tear the ketapang leaves into smaller bits and lay them in the foreground to create a more natural looking scape.

For peat, i just tie them using using those nylon nets that can be purchased from LFS and hang them near the outlet of the filter. I never like putting them in the filter because they ran out of their acidity within a month or 2. Putting them in the net makes it easy to replace.

Finally, if you are one who hates having a brownish looking fish tank like i do. After afew weeks of water change, your water will be crystal clear even with the leaves in the tank.

Here's a picture of my diplotaenia with leaf litter and crystal clear water. Trust me, you will enjoy the fish more in tank like this then a brownish tank. Also watch them dart in and out of the leaf litter when they do their courtship.

[ahkiatz]

I would also recommend low maintenance plants for your tank since you are not running co2. Java, Nana are some plants you can consider. Go for low lights too to prevent brown algae from building up. You can also put some leave litter in the tank. Tear the ketapang leaves into smaller bits and lay them in the foreground to create a more natural looking scape.

For peat, i just tie them using using those nylon nets that can be purchased from LFS and hang them near the outlet of the filter. I never like putting them in the filter because they ran out of their acidity within a month or 2. Putting them in the net makes it easy to replace.

Finally, if you are one who hates having a brownish looking fish tank like i do. After afew weeks of water change, your water will be crystal clear even with the leaves in the tank.

Here's a picture of my diplotaenia with leaf litter and crystal clear water. Trust me, you will enjoy the fish more in tank like this then a brownish tank. Also watch them dart in and out of the leaf litter when they do their courtship.

Thank for your advice. But won't ketapang leave rot in the water? Anyway, i decided to remove all the ADA amazon soil and replace with ADA malaya soil. Back to day 1 of cycling

[genes]

They will disintegrate into bits and pieces and those can be easily siphoned away since they are at the front of the tank. You can see from my picture some of the leaves already rotted till the "veins" are left behind.

[ahkiatz]

They will disintegrate into bits and pieces and those can be easily siphoned away since they are at the front of the tank.

ok. I more or less know what scape to go for already.

[sheng]

A small piece of advise, please dont feed your Apistogramma with live tubi-worm.

[ahkiatz]

Any reason why don't feed tubi?

[joopsg]

it is very toxic to apistogramma.
they tend to get internal bacteria from tubifex worm feeding.

[ahkiatz]

Ok, then i think i stick to tetrabits.