Apisto Cacatuoides uncoloured

[Vitor Villar]

Hello everyone! I'm new here in the forum! Sorry for the long text.

I have fish tanks for about 4 years now, and one month ago, I've got my first Apistogramma couple.

I have realised that my male is very uncoloured, while the female is in a good shape. My tank is composed of:

• Stocked with Neon Tetras
• Drift wood
• Sand as Substrate

The hardware are:

• Canister filter Tetra EX600
• UV filter

And the parameters are:

• pH: 6.5
• KH: 5dH
• Ammonia: 0 PPM
• Nitrite: 0 PPM
• Nitrate: 0 PPM

But there is a mitigating factor, I live in Germany and the water here is very very hard. The GH level is 22 dGH from the tap water, and I'm struggling really hard to lower it down, but I can't afford a RO system. I started a few tests with distilled water to try to revert this.

I don't know if the GH could be the cause of the male being uncoloured, because the female looks super fine, and the other Tetras are very colourful as well.

I have another theories about why he's in this condition. I've been thinking and there is a few factors that could contribute. First I realised that the male is not eating the flakes food and barely eating dried bloodworm (Tubifex). He feeds himself pretty well with live bloodworm.

Second, I read somewhere that what could be causing this is the rejection from the female. But I'm not really sure, cause I see them together quite a lot.

Third thing, I thought that it could be some kind of parasite, I gave to them food with a little bit of garlic, I gave it a few times but it didn't change anything.

I have a few pictures so you can see the difference:

And this is general overview of my tank:

So guys, what could be causing this uncoloured situation?

If you need any other information, let me know. And thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!

 

[Chromedome]

First, I noticed that the Tetras are Paracheirodon axelrodi, commonly called the Cardinal Tetra. Neon Tetras are P. innesi, and have less red color.

Your male does not look that poorly colored to me, but he is a bit pale. This could be from the white substrate and too much light. Those roots do not appear to provide much shade. Another consideration would be the temperature. Cockatoos are not really warm water fish, but the Tetras are, so if the water is too warm, it could be another factor in the male looking pale.

 

[chris1805]

I would say your male looks fine as well. Maybe try to feed some frozen brine shrimp. My fish tend to love that food

 

[Mike Wise]

Your male appears to be a good fish (health-wise) but not the best Triple-red specimen. This is probably more due to genetics than health. Also note that Red Neon Tetras are efficient fry predators. If you want to produce more than just a few fry, they need to be removed.

 

[Vitor Villar]

Hello Guys, thank you so much for your answers!

I’m glad to hear that regarding his health, he is OK

I’m gonna try more live food. Like the brine shrimp. Currently I have bloodworms, is this still OK?

I bought today a coconut shell, which is nice for the breeding and also I’m trying to reduce the light.

About the GH, is that a problem?