• Hello guest! Are you an Apistogramma enthusiast? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Apisto enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your fish and tanks and have a great time with other Apisto enthusiasts. Sign up today!

Recent content by Ben Rhau

  1. Ben Rhau

    Setting up new 10 gallon

    Maybe Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis could work? I think @anewbie has done that.
  2. Ben Rhau

    question ph

    If his ppm is 30, it matters little whether it is GH or KH. The water is soft. Chestnut bark is acidic, so I think that's the reason. Did you make sure that the chestnut stump has been dead for some time (completely dry)? You want to ensure there are no sugars from a recently living plant...
  3. Ben Rhau

    Should Apisto Agassizii be kept in threes?

    Sure-- I wasn't making a claim about whether or not there would be aggression with this species or all species. Just that adding an additional female introduces variables that are often not taken into account when the general advice is given to keep trios to avoid too much attention/stress on...
  4. Ben Rhau

    Should Apisto Agassizii be kept in threes?

    I've kept trios of apistos (not agassizii) in a 20-long that was planted and scaped such that you could not see the other side of the aquarium either from the front or from either side. In my experience, having a third fish present makes the social dynamic more complicated (not necessarily...
  5. Ben Rhau

    Newbie questions

    I’ve used air hose before to keep plants separated from the air pump output. But I always had protein scum accumulate on the still portion, so I eventually stopped doing it.
  6. Ben Rhau

    Breeding question

    Here are things I've used my 2.5 gallon for: Breeding pairs of small fish, like many killifish or parosphromenus. They go back to the larger tank after spawning, however. Medication, recovery, or separation of small fish (less than 2" in size). Inverts (asellus, shrimp, or blackworms)
  7. Ben Rhau

    question on water hardness and leaching

    It's possible if you're using leaded crystal (quite unlikely) or painted glass (possible). But the amount of lead that would leach into the water would only be a few ppm, and it might take weeks to get to that point.
  8. Ben Rhau

    question on water hardness and leaching

    I don't think I could conclude anything from the results you've given, but I also don't think the substrate was leaching (independent of your test). If there's a diffrence with fresh substrate, I would think it's from debris that will eventually be rinsed away.
  9. Ben Rhau

    Apistogramma from Colombia and Venezuela

    The technique is far more important than the equipment.
  10. Ben Rhau

    question on water hardness and leaching

    I use mason jars.
  11. Ben Rhau

    question on water hardness and leaching

    In the future, it’s good to do all the treatments at the same time so the only thing that’s different is the thing you’re varying. i.e., the water starts the exact same, temp is always the same, etc.
  12. Ben Rhau

    question on water hardness and leaching

    Did you do a negative control with no substrate?
  13. Ben Rhau

    different borelli "color" morphs

    Borellii aren’t commonly imported (at least not in the States) so wild caught is a nice find.
  14. Ben Rhau

    Pair of A. Hongsloi or Borelii in 35 gal community tank?

    It is very difficult for pH to crash even with distilled water, and in fact I’ve never seen it.
  15. Ben Rhau

    D39

    Where did you get them?
See more
Top