30g Tonina Tank

[Brilliant]

"Tonina Tank"

Substrate: Aquasoil
Plants: Cryptocoryne cordata 'rosanervig', Tonina "Belem", fluviatilis & "Manaus"
Lighting: Custom 2x39w T5HO /w SLR reflector
Fertilization: Aquasoil, NPK mix & Flourish
CO2: pressurized 50mm diffusor
Flow: Marineland C220/Hydor ETH 200




This is my 30g "Tonina Tank" with Apistogramma in it. I raised a bunch in a 20L and once a pair formed the remaining were put here.

A new pair formed.

I noticed the eggs. This is the first time I got to see the eggs, I have been keeping apistos for around 4 years.

I also noticed a second female caring for a brood. This is my first trio. No picture yet.

Unfortunately the male has passed away. Luckily the female is still caring for the brood and the original pair has female caring for young as well.

Look for the 20L thread coming soon. ALso updated photos with lush plants and Utapes foreground growing in.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Nice tank, are there any caves? it maybe that the female was forced to lay in the open because there weren't any caves. What are your water parameters? I'm very tempted to try Tonina spp., but I'm not sure I can keep the pH low enough.

If you are more interested in the fish than the aquascape, it would be worth adding some dead leaves and moss to give a bit more cover.

Have a look a these tanks, this is Ruki's (Lukasz) great A. "Breitbinden" tank.

and one of ApistoBobs A. macmasteri breeding tanks.

.

Bob and Ruki are members here and full of good advice. Bobs's web site is well worth a read:
http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/Good_habitat.php

cheers Darrel

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Just thought of another useful person, Ed Seeley is a member of UK APS, an "aquascaper" and an Apisto keeper. Here is his A. agassizii tank.

and link:
http://www.forum.apistogramma.com/showthread.php?t=8309.

cheers Darrel

 

[Brilliant]

Hi Darrel,

No caves just some character to the rocks. Thanks for the suggestion, I appreciate the feedback. The first tank you posted is appealing to me as well as the fish. Soon I will have the chance to setup 36x18 inch biotope. In this 30g setup my primary focus was Tonina. The fish are in proper parameters and dont seem to mind much.

Once the bushy foreground grows in I should be able to build sustainable colony of shrimp. The plant mass is also much greater. This photo was taken shortly after I brough the tank back from co2 issue/algae mess.

The second female went unnoticed. She found a nice spot on the large rock on the left.

I use ro water. My pH is around 6, 0-1kh/gh I suggest avoiding Tonina unless you have low KH.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Hi Frank,

No caves just some character to the rocks.

I think she almost certainly laid on the rock because there wasn't a more secluded spot available.

This is interesting as well

I use ro water. My pH is around 6, 0-1kh/gh I suggest avoiding Tonina unless you have low KH.

do you keep the kh that low even with CO2 injection?

Once the bushy foreground grows in I should be able to build sustainable colony of shrimp

RCS? from personal experience Red Cherry Shrimps and Apistogrammas has been an almost total failure, I did keep a young pair of A. borellii with them in this small very weedy tank,

,
but the A. cacatuoides love eating them to the extent that I now put my spares in as live food. This is the tank, so lack of cover isn't the problem.

cheers Darrel

 

[Brilliant]

Next she layed them on the crypt.

Yes, I use co2 in soft water tanks. Some plants require this setup with co2 and low kh.

My 75g had lots of cacs and huge rcs colony. Look at the shrimp under this sucker. I am so brazen I might do crs in this 30g. :biggrin:

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
"Brilliant", that brilliant. I wonder if it is because mine have always had a lot of live food? my large male would be straight in and there would be fleeing shrimp, and dismembered plant and shrimp bits everywhere.

What are all the plants? I can see Pogostemon, Tonina and Myriophyllum, but is the stem plant with the Otocinclus on it Rotala rotundifolia?

cheers Darrel

 

[Brilliant]

I dont know, most of my fish eat all live food. I would count on them eating the shrimp and the goal would be colony that can keep up. I start with a group of large shrimp and toss them in when the tank has decent amount of plants. In this case I would toss in full grown a-s grade. Ive seen a few crs in my tank that are a bit combative.

Thats Lindernia sp. India the otto is on.

That Myrio one is lousy Rotala hippuris. There is another photo of it in full potential and I am working with it now. The one front center is Rotala mac green, it had lovely colors in this tank you can also see it in the back. Touch of real Rotala mac off to the right but you cant see much.

 

[Bunnie1978]

VERY nice!
I've recently switched to using very lean nutrient supply for my apisto tanks. I have a 29g with RO water and I dose EI, but only one does on water change day, which is twice a week. I also use a little tap water.

In your experience can you list plants that you've been happy with in soft water/high tech set-ups? That would be awesome. I've been happy with what I have so far, but would like more varieties and different colors.

 

[Brilliant]

Thank you. Its getting much better with larger crowns. I cannot wait for lush foreground.

I have a list of plants on my homepage. The only one that I find troublesome is Alternanthera reineckii. Ludwigia sp. 'Guinea' is one of my favorites.

 

[Brilliant]

Here is an updated picture. The foreground grows slowly.

 

[Bunnie1978]

It is very nice!!

 

[Brilliant]

Thank you. I am trying to get a good manicured tank shot but I got too much going on right now. When the foreground grows in I might be more motivated.

I have some Ludwigia Pantanal on the way now so I could add more color somewhere but I am looking to simplify by removing the Manaus using only Belem in the back.