Hi from Sydney, Australia

[PeachSlices]

Hey i'm Simon,
i keep apisto gibbicep and mendezi.
i need advice on getting them to spawn like tank size filtration food substrate how to get a low PH.
What do i need to do?

Simon

 

[regani]

Welcome to the forum.
In brief: a 2ft tank with sand as a substrate, a few caves and plenty of structure in there (DW, plants etc) is usually big enough for most species. Set it up so that you generate territorial boundaries and structures that break line-of-sight.
One or two pieces of floating pipe can provide shelter at times when there is a lot of aggression.
Dither/target fish are optional, if you go for them use pencil fish (I use golden pencils) as almost all other fish will eat apisto fry or eggs.
Water needs to be reasonably soft (low KH, GH, conductivity/TDS), you can use rain water or mix rain and tap water.
PH can be lowered using peat or other methods. Don't use things like 'ph Down' as they raise conductivity too much.
Have a look around in the older posts, plenty of info there about water chemistry and how to get it right.
Apistos don't like strong currents, so a sponge filter on slow bubble is good. The mature sponge will also provide food for the fry.
To successfully raise fry you will need small live foods such as freshly hatched brine shrimp or microworms.
Many of the apistos are not terribly difficult to breed. Good luck

 

[Linus_Cello]

To get low pH water:

Collect rain water/snow
Collect water from your de-humidifier/air-conditioning unit (may want to stick some polyfil in it if you are concerned with copper or other metal contaminants)
Buy a 40 gallon trash bin, fill it with garden peat moss and water and let the water steep for about a 72+ hours, then use this water (it will be tea colored from the tannins). Refill bin with water and continue to use until the water stops becoming stained and use new peat moss.