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  1. Siggi

    Less aggressive and hard water

    Without knowing you specific parameters, generally speaking, the best way to soften aquarium water in my opinion and experience is to avoid chemicals (drops and/or reagents) and use peat. It's normally sold at small pellets and can easily be put in a 'lady's stocking' inside your filter, sump or...
  2. Siggi

    Less aggressive and hard water

    I think you should change your water hardness and acidity before considering to house Apistogrammas. They are softwater fish and should be given soft water to thrive. If your water is hard at pH7, none of the species you mention in the OP will be good. When you want to have fish - or any other...
  3. Siggi

    Which Apisto to choose?

    A. borelli should normally be kept, and especially for breeding, in rather cooler water than most other Apistos. Goes well with neon tetras, panda cory's and likewise cold (cool-) water fish. Normally peaceful. A. uaupesi is a typical Blackwater cichlid... Needs very acid and low (~0) hardness -...
  4. Siggi

    Buying males and females - same species?

    Yes, that can be the only help available... My LFS knows me - quite well I'd say...have sold some 'excess production' from my breeding tank a couple of times and once changed me a female - should have been a nijsseni and turned out to be a baenschi (I think...) But there isn't really much else...
  5. Siggi

    Buying males and females - same species?

    Nice intro... The problem, as I see it is from the point of capture (where locals often can't tell similar species apart) all the way to the employees in LFS's (who often can't tell the difference between a krib and an apisto). Even in nature several apistogramma species live side by side in the...
  6. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    Only in extremely soft water do snail make their shells more brittle. As long as you pick the empty shells, you can even remove some carbonates ;-)
  7. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    When you start up a new aquarium it frequently has a boom of algae, while the plants don't grow and take up the available nutrients. Snails can be good to keep the algae in check, so to begin with I wouldn't do anything to control the snails - I'd rather have snails thank algae... If and when...
  8. Siggi

    Buying males and females - same species?

    Hi, all. When buying apistos at LFS, what way do you recommend to have at least some certainty that the males and females are the same species? Thx
  9. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    I totally agree with you, Darrel. Plants are a major (and often neglected) factor as a source for de-nitrifying bacteria. That's why I am so confident TuvaM's tank will be cycled in 'no-time' (when compared to 6-10 weeks in a 0-up fishless cycle...) - of course it will take time, but my guess is...
  10. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    Oops - I had the impression you already had oto's in the tank. If you dont have any fish you are doing what is traditionally called a fishless cycle. If you add just a few drops of ammonia once or twice a day you will be cycled in 'no-time' - and believe me: your plants and the bacteria they...
  11. Siggi

    Dwarf cichlids in 54 liter aquarium.

    Some Apistogramma species pair up, don't make harems. In these cases, once the pairs are established they can case the remaining females to exhaustion, to death even... I know this is an old thread, but I thought it might be relevant.
  12. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    I was taking the pics on the cellular phone - small image, looked like hairgrass... I can see it isn't... Sorry. You can get moss for free at a LFS, if it's just a few strands. It'll take a while before you have enough to be visually worthwhile, but if you tie it to the roots and tie it back up...
  13. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    Wow. Finally - pictures!! Very nice! My suggestion: Harigrass in the front, left and right - cut it short when planting and it will normally stay short... A few Anubias attached at the base of the root/wood and moss tied to it in various places. Some stem plants (e.g. Bacopa) at the back to...
  14. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    If your water quality deteriorates after a few weeks you are overstocked! The amount of fish should always be below your filter's capacity. If your ceramic balls are doing their job, even your small quantity should be enough for for a couple of oto's, a pair of apistos and a few (<= 6)...
  15. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    You are right about guppies and danios. They (G) will even endure slightly brackish water. If you already have oto's it'll be fine.
  16. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    Just looked at this thread again and wanted to add a detail: @TuvaM - don't add cichlids as the first fish in the tank. Start with a little shoal of less sensitive tetras/guppies/danios and once the parameters are stable and the vegetation grows in a little, add a couple of apistos.
  17. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    Your filter is rather small. The space freed by the sponge should be filled with the ceramics. So it won't float around... If the fish store gives you ceramics from their filter, it will be cycled material. You could put fish in your aquarium right away.
  18. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    I agree... If the tank has a lot of vegetation, the bacteria will kick in by themselves and start colonizing the ceramic microporous filter media. There is nothing like a handful of bioballs from a cycled tank, though :-)
  19. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    It's about the same - perhaps a little smaller. If you can get a handful of ceramic medium - either small light-brown balls or light-gray rings (here the leading brand is sera and tetra - product name is siporax). Best place will be the fish store where you got the filter - they will have sumps...
  20. Siggi

    Apistogramma Agassizii

    If I'm not mistaken, the Eccoflow is an internal filter with two or three blue sponges and a plastic container with carbon. IMHO the best way to use that filter is by leaving only one sponge to make a mechanical pre-filtration and fill the remaining space with ceramic filter medium - it has a...
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