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Apistos in Paradise

BeastMaster

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5 Year Member
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Location
Honolulu, Hawaii
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12L housing pair of nijsseni
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60P housing pair of trifasciata
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60F housing pair borelli

I've been into planted tanks for about 5 years & have accumulated 8 rimless planted tanks ranging in size from a 60P (17gal) to a 20 cube (2gal).
I've decided to turn my 3 largest tanks, 60P (60cmX30cmX36cm), 12L (36"X8"X9") & 60F (60cmX30cmX18cm) into dwarf cichlids displays. I know that apisto biotope tanks are usually scaped w/ fine sand, leaves & drift wood but, I decided to keep the existing aquascapes in each tank to accommodate each Apisto pair.
Each tank utilizes canister filtration & CO2 injection. Lighting is accomplished w/LED fixtures that operate w/ split photo periods (5on/6off/5on/8off). All 3 tanks use AquaSoil substrate, established w/ groundcover of HC/MC. Rockwork & driftwood are used & plantings of Anubias & Bucephalandra accent each.
Invert tankmates in each tank include ramshorn snails & Neocardina shrimp. Also a single Otocinclus is included in each. For "dither" schools, the 60P that houses the trifasciata pair includes cardinal tetras, the 12L that houses the nijsseni pair includes harlequin rasboras & the 60F that houses the borelli pair includes dwarf pencilfish. Pics of the Apisto pairs to follow.
 

BeastMaster

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
19
Location
Honolulu, Hawaii
In the initial post I've described their digs so, here's the cast of characters. In the 60F there's a pair of borelli.
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Female
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Male
In the 12L there's a pair of nijsseni.
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Female
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Male
In the 60F there's a pair of trifasciata.
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Female
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Male
These pairs based on size are still fairly young. The nijsseni tank will undergo some scape changes (replacing bonsai w/ spiderwood) but, the other 2 tanks will remain the same. It's only been a couple of weeks and tank harmony has so far been calm. Males periodically chase their counterparts but the females have their hides, move out of visual to relieve pursuit or challenge. Will post updates when significant events can be documented.
 

BeastMaster

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
19
Location
Honolulu, Hawaii
Update: placed terra cotta “huts” or tubes in Apisto tanks to encourage spawning.
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Now have a trio of trifasciata w/ a more colorful male for the harem. 2nd male in adjacent tank to provide territorial stimulus.
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Also have a trio of borelli too. The original male found dead unexpectedly about 2 weeks ago so picked up a new pair. Trio working out well so far.
Added a pair of T candidi to another planted tank. Not 100% sure if I have a pair. Any educated guesses?
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