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I'm currently keeping them at 24c and was wondering if they would prefer a little cooler or if there's a recommended temperature to get a good ration of male & female offspring?
You need to find a copy of the following publication:
Römer & Beißenherz, 1996, Environmental determination of sex in Apistogrammai (Cichlidae) and two other freshwater fishes (Teleostei), J. Fish Biol. 48(4): 714-725.
I found 3 battered liquorice gourami in the corner of a LFS who are now sharing the aquarium with the borellii. It's bit of an unusual combo but spotting these was a dream come true and it only cost me £11 for 3, in my gourami days I was looking at £30-50 a pair. I'm guessing there now becoming more available or they ordered some and struggled to keep them alive and decided to put them in the corner cheap.
Now the aquarium will have to stay at 24c and will be going semi-blackwater. Hoping the borellii will be happy with this.
For licorice gourami I would go full blackwater and even lower pH than almost anything from South America would require. A. borellii are not a blackwater species though, so this could go wrong for them.
My tapwater is so soft 5gh/<1 kh, and < 7ph, pretty far of their natural habitat but not hard as rock, I'm definitely keeping an eye on them for the minute but I'm thinking they should do ok. They are definitely looking much healthier already and quickly loose their shy reputation in a large tanks full of inverts and 3 other fish. I just have to fatten them up really, very slow eaters like the borellii, I can't remember what they were with in the LFS but they probably struggled to eat.
I know borellii are clear water but figured they wouldn't mind a little tannins. I always have a little anyway because I'm to lazy to boil wood forever and shrimp like leaves and bits that release them too.
24C not a problem at all. That's close to the average of what mine are kept at through the year.
Tannins from leaves and such shouldn't be an issue, I use lots of leaves and water is always a little tinted at water change. I've never gone lower than 40ppm TDS. Even that was an excursion. Not sure I would keep them at that level long term.