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Why not have12 neons (or cardinals as they are nicer imo) ? 6-8 Cories and a pair or two of dwarf cichlids. Bolivian rams are very hardy for example. Avoid the plec unless you mean a Bristle nose, common plecs get very large!
RO water is fairly pure. In many ways it ought to be neutral but it's likely that some CO2 from the air has made it a little acidic. The Amazon on the other hand is full of decaying leaves and wood and the water is full of Tannic and Humic acids, hence the low pH.
I believe it is unwise to use a...
Hi Kyle, I'm in the BCA. We have a forum and a facebook page so try joining one of those. Peter Clarke is probably most likely to have these although he's based in Chesterfield, I think he posts. Alternatively try Kesgrave Aquatics in Ipswich.
You might also like to look up the East Anglia...
I don't think a reprint is on the cards, some of the pictures are incorrect and quite a few species have since been described. It would need to be a complete revision which would take some time I would imagine.
Still, here's one at a reasonable price...
A TDS meter is worth having if you want to breed Apistos, they cost about £10-20 in the UK.
However, as your gh is zero you probably have fairly low TDS. Just dilute even more with RO or rainwater. The KH is too high and is buffering the pH.
Firstly, there's really no need to boil them. Secondly, the impact on pH depends on the current parameters or your water. Do you know the KH?
Thirdly, it doesn't actually matter too much, most Apistos will be happy at low pH.
You're not missing anything, some people don't know what the word biotope means. Here's an example of a true biotope, mud, leaves and wood, no aquatic plants... http://apisto.sites.no/page.aspx?PageId=51
If you want a nice planted tank, go for it, perfectly fine for apistos and looks nice in the...
An Apisto biotope wouldn't have plants, just mud and leaf litter, some wood. So you might as well choose the plants you like, but if you want to go low tech, use Crypts planted in sand, Java fern and Anubias attached to wood.
The dithers are personal taste but if you want to stay south american...
You don't need to keep Apistos in trios, some make very stable pairs. Others do fall out after spawning but your tank is large enough for them to avoid each other until they make up.
I'd avoid the kuhlis or any bottom dweller tbh, they will disturb the Apistos and may be attacked by them...
Just answered the same question on fb. I use mostly oak and beech as they add tannins to the water and I've also tried Acer/maple and chestnut leaves. They appear to be safe but breakdown quite quickly.
There's no need to dry the leaves imo if you are using them straight away, just rinse them in...
Do you really have ammonia in your tapwater or is it an error caused by the test kit. Have you tried testing other sources of water such as rain, bottled or from a mature tank?