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I also recommend apistodave and wetspot.
Especially since both are in our region of the country.
Wetspot doesn't sell pairs with any assurance you will receive a male and female. I don't like that because they price them at true pair prices. It has prevented me from placing any Apistogramma pair...
Recommend that you follow Tom's advice.
Cacatuoides can adapt to a wide range of water chemistry since the majority have been tank raised for countless generations.
No so with Apistogramma atahualpa.
I'd consider A. borelli.
Not hard to find, easily kept and bred.
A very pretty species and usually not too expensive.
Over the years I've bought 95% of my Apistos on line.
If shipped overnight it is usually safe for most of the year.
I still can't believe how back in 1968/1969 that I paid no more than $0.25 each for A. bitaeniata in 25 lots wholesale.
Things have sure changed. I had difficulty selling them at $0.79 each retail back then.
A. agassizi are probably my favorite species. Especially the blue varieties.
The wild...
I begin to make partial water changes as soon as the eggs have hatched.
I use however much methylene blue as needed to stain the water enough to where visibility is barely possible.
Since there are a variety of solution strengths on the market it is hard to prescribe the exact amount you need to...
Best not to expect the wine making as the basis of a DIY CO2 system and keep the projects separate except the yeast starter should work well enough.
The yeast/jelly method Darrel mentions is intriguing, at least as far as DIY CO2 goes.
Your first photo is definitely showing a stem of Hygrophila difformis aka Water Wisteria and not Water Sprite.
H. difformis is a stem plant with opposing pairs of leaves. The Ceratopteris spp. aka Water Sprites are all ferns.
One of my favored aquarium plant sources is www.aquariumplants.com.
I...
Peckoltia species are primarily aquatic insectivores. They don't eat algae if that is what you want with a pleco.
I have raised hundreds of Peckoltia compta(formerly L134/leopard frog).
Common Bushy Nose is my recommendation for an algae eating pleco which doesn't get too large.
You may keep...
I have kept Crenicichla compressiceps and Cr. notothalmus with Apistogramma successfully.
These Dwarf Pikes did not pay any attention to the smaller Apistogramma.
The situation was a 75 gal, heavily planted tank with a variety of sized caves.
I never kept both species of Dwarf Pikes together.
I...
I strongly recommend that all new fish, especially Rams, be subjected to two or three weeks in a quarantine tank.
Don't be afraid to keep them as warm as 88*F/~31*C.
Feed them live foods daily. Newly hatched brine shrimp will do nicely.
I have kept this species many times and always found them to be very shy.
I have tried all the "tricks" I know to no avail.
One way I have found helpful with all Apistogramma species is to keep them at the highest level possible so they aren't subject to passing shadows.
Pretty much as I have...
I haven't ever tried a large Apistogramma colony breeding setup.
However I have successfully kept and bred a trio of A.borelli in a 4.5 gal tank with their own fry so they are an easy species to work with.
You have nothing to lose by trying to artificially hatch eggs.
A one gallon container of water from the breeding tank, enough methylene blue to stain the water deep blue and air stone mildly bubbling is all it takes.
Sometimes the outcome can be surprisingly good.
Use a cheap marine Saltwater mix.
This allows a lower salinity since 1 tablespoon/liter is all that is required.
Also a temperature of ~27*C/80*F will hatch them within 24 hours.
Try my method.
I use a 2+ liter hatching cone.
I use 2 liters of water and 4 tbs of marine salt with heavy aeration.
Marine mix salt produces much better hatches than other salts.
I hatch 2 tsp of cysts.
I use a 15 watt compact fluorescent lamp near the hatching cone.
I cover the entire...
Remove the eggs and spawning substrate to a small tank filled with water from the main tank. This assures some fry to be future replacements.When presented with this opportunity to raise a brood artificially you have everything to gain by trying.