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Recent content by dw1305

  1. dw1305

    Agassizii or Gephyra?

    Hi all, Welcome. I can't help with the ID, two reasons, one because I'm poor at IDs and the other that the images are 16 mb in size and I can't download them. If you reduce their size? It would make life a lot easier. Cheers Darrel
  2. dw1305

    Apistogramma Abacaxis Blackwateer Tank

    Hi all, I wouldn't get too hung up on pH. You would need to bear in mind that pH is difficult to measure in water with few solutes. Have a look at <"https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/c02-injection-with-already-low-ph.73966/#post-746064"> and subsequent posts. I'd actually approach this from...
  3. dw1305

    Apistogramma Abacaxis Blackwateer Tank

    Hi all, What @MacZ says, I've never had any joy with Vallisneria in soft water, but it does well in our tap water +~17 dGH & 17 dKH), low nutrient. There are plenty of plants that will grow in very soft, low nutrient water. The problem is that a lot of them won't grow in harder water, so they...
  4. dw1305

    blackwater tank cycling?

    Hi all, There are images in: <"https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/ruby-tetra-axelrodia-riesei.73559/page-2#post-800441">. Cheers Darrel
  5. dw1305

    blackwater tank cycling?

    Yes, Axelrodia riesei. Ember Tetra are Hyphessobrycon amandae. There isn't a lot of data about Axelrodia riesei - <"https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/09-characoids-tetra-relationship/axelrodia_riesei_ruby_tetra_en/"> & <"https://www.tomc.no/fish.aspx?fishIndexID=1957&gruppeID=2'Z>. Cheers Darrel
  6. dw1305

    blackwater tank cycling?

    Hi all, I don't know, I bought eight, I was down to three at one point, and now have about 15. They have never shoaled, they've always splintered into the jungle, where they hold pretty much motionless in their spot. Some mosquito larvae really get them going, but they tend to spar with one...
  7. dw1305

    Is RO really necessary for Apistogramma baenschi, or can I make this work without it?

    Hi all, I actually saw the L100 harassing the Apistogramma, by observing the tank with a red light at night. It ejected them from the bottom half of the tank. You need to supplementary feed your Otocinclus with vegetables, cucumber, zucchini, capsicum etc...
  8. dw1305

    Is RO really necessary for Apistogramma baenschi, or can I make this work without it?

    Hi all, Have a look at "seasoned tank time", it is the "plant and wait" concept. It does away with the guess work of whether your tank is fish safe or not - <"https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/low-ph-vs-cycling-tank.79271/#post-796172">. Cheers Darrel
  9. dw1305

    Is RO really necessary for Apistogramma baenschi, or can I make this work without it?

    Hi all, Pretty much. I've kept Otocinclus spp. successfully with Apistogramma, but growing out L333, L129 and L100 fry with them went very poorly - <"https://apistogramma.com/forum/threads/cacatuoides-with-l260.23717/#post-111167">. I think they are just fundamentally incompatible. I like...
  10. dw1305

    Is RO really necessary for Apistogramma baenschi, or can I make this work without it?

    Hi all, The real problem is the nocturnal activity of the Loricariids, the stop the cichlids from resting in the lower levels of the tank. They will also eat eggs if they can get into the "caves". Point taken Cheers Darrel
  11. dw1305

    Is RO really necessary for Apistogramma baenschi, or can I make this work without it?

    Hi all, What @anewbie says. I think you will also have issues with Peckoltia compta. I don't where you are located, but could you use rainwater? For non-UK members we are in the middle of a record breaking drought and heat-wave, but normally it is fairly wet here. Cheers Darrel
  12. dw1305

    Adding a single a. borelli to a community aquarium

    Hi all, It is a bit of a strange one, the usual base addition ("to raise pH & control plumbosolvency") is sodium hydroxide (NaOH), a strong base that fully disassociates into a Na+ and OH- ions. Because it is a "strong base", all the hydroxide ions are in solution, there is no reserve or...
  13. dw1305

    Stocking for 20 gallon

    Hi all, I think the answer is probably "none", because you would need a much bigger tank. Personally I don't have any practical experience, but others will - <"https://apistogramma.com/forum/threads/ivanacara-adoketa-tankmates.19376/">. What does the tank look like? Can we have a picture and...
  14. dw1305

    Examples of sight lines?

    Hi all, Welcome. Those are some of my favourite fish, but I think you really need a bigger tank for Hatchet fish. I kept Marbled Hatchet (Carnegiella strigata) with Apistogramma agassizii, "successfully" in a tank that size, but it wasn't ideal. Pygmy Corydoras (Gastrodermus pygmaeus) are good...
  15. dw1305

    How long does it take for bacteria to break down nh4

    Hi all, Basically there are assemblages of nitrifying microbes that across the whole range of pH levels and ammonia loadings that occur in freshwater. In low pH situations Ammonia Oxidising Archaean (AOA) may be more important, but in our tanks comammox Nitrospira, which oxidise TAN directly...
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