Macmasteri in Metaframe tank

[IHeartFish]

I am new to apisto's and currently have a pair of Macmasteri gold form in a 10 gallon planted tank. They were small when I purchased them in January, but are looking like they need more space now. I am in the process of setting up a 27.43 gallon Metaframe tank for them. The plan was to have it finished this weekend, but the reseal ended up needing a re-reseal- the cost of wanting to replace all my tanks with my beloved Metaframe's.
Anyways, the tank is 36"long 11"wide and 16"high.
The plan is sand, lots of plants, some tall wood, natural caves, 2 apisto huts, leaf litter, gentle filtration, and a small group of otos.
I feed them frozen brine shrimp, X-treme crumble, and occasionally frozen bloodworms.
Can anyone with Macmasteri experience give me advice on this specific apisto? Any breeding tips? Other foods to add to the rotation?
I'm hoping they will breed for me. They are beautiful and personable fish.

 

[MacZ]

and occasionally frozen bloodworms.

scratch those, there's a phenomenon of red mosquito larvae causing sudden deaths in dwarf cichlids. Some people report never having lost a single fish to this, the number of people reporting losses connected with feeding that stuff is rising and people from at least 3 continents report the problem.
Instead feed white and black mosquito larvae, daphnia, cyclops and some actual worms.

 

[Ttw]

I share your feeling toward Metaframe aquariums. I have a number of them that I rehabed with new glass and sealant.

 

[IHeartFish]

I share your feeling toward Metaframe aquariums. I have a number of them that I rehabed with new glass and sealant.

I have 5 now. Always on the hunt for more! Everyone wants rimless, but nothing is a stylish as a Metaframe!

scratch those, there's a phenomenon of red mosquito larvae causing sudden deaths in dwarf cichlids. Some people report never having lost a single fish to this, the number of people reporting losses connected with feeding that stuff is rising and people from at least 3 continents report the problem.
Instead feed white and black mosquito larvae, daphnia, cyclops and some actual worms.

That's scary. I feed them to my pea puffer so occasionally give them to the apisto's. I will definitely stop and add in daphnia. I give them detritus worms when I find them in other tanks.

 

[Paul1006]

I am new to apisto's and currently have a pair of Macmasteri gold form in a 10 gallon planted tank. They were small when I purchased them in January, but are looking like they need more space now. I am in the process of setting up a 27.43 gallon Metaframe tank for them. The plan was to have it finished this weekend, but the reseal ended up needing a re-reseal- the cost of wanting to replace all my tanks with my beloved Metaframe's.
Anyways, the tank is 36"long 11"wide and 16"high.
The plan is sand, lots of plants, some tall wood, natural caves, 2 apisto huts, leaf litter, gentle filtration, and a small group of otos.
I feed them frozen brine shrimp, X-treme crumble, and occasionally frozen bloodworms.
Can anyone with Macmasteri experience give me advice on this specific apisto? Any breeding tips? Other foods to add to the rotation?
I'm hoping they will breed for me. They are beautiful and personable fish.

I’ve got a trio of RedNecks in a planted 20L with caves & huts for them to use on a fine gravel substrate. There’s Pencilfish & Ruby Tetras as dithers along as Melini Corys. The tetras are too small to be a threat and keep to the top 1/3 of the tank but give Apistos confidence to swim around. The temp maxes out at 80F with a low of 76F I use temp controllers on all my tanks. There is a HOB and sponge filter which fry pick at constantly. Diet is high quality dry food like Northfin or Xtreme, frozen gut loaded brine shrimp, bloodworms, tubifex & BBS.

 

[IHeartFish]

I’ve got a trio of RedNecks in a planted 20L with caves & huts for them to use on a fine gravel substrate. There’s Pencilfish & Ruby Tetras as dithers along as Melini Corys. The tetras are too small to be a threat and keep to the top 1/3 of the tank but give Apistos confidence to swim around. The temp maxes out at 80F with a low of 76F I use temp controllers on all my tanks. There is a HOB and sponge filter which fry pick at constantly. Diet is high quality dry food like Northfin or Xtreme, frozen gut loaded brine shrimp, bloodworms, tubifex & BBS.

I’ve got a trio of RedNecks in a planted 20L with caves & huts for them to use on a fine gravel substrate. There’s Pencilfish & Ruby Tetras as dithers along as Melini Corys. The tetras are too small to be a threat and keep to the top 1/3 of the tank but give Apistos confidence to swim around. The temp maxes out at 80F with a low of 76F I use temp controllers on all my tanks. There is a HOB and sponge filter which fry pick at constantly. Diet is high quality dry food like Northfin or Xtreme, frozen gut loaded brine shrimp, bloodworms, tubifex & BBS.

I love that you have tetras! I was told they won't work on another forum. Glad I found a group with more apistogramma keepers. Have you had any trouble keeping the male in the tank with fry? I've heard the female can become aggressive toward him.

 

[Mike Wise]

I have 5 now. Always on the hunt for more! Everyone wants rimless, but nothing is a stylish as a Metaframe!

That's scary. I feed them to my pea puffer so occasionally give them to the apisto's. I will definitely stop and add in daphnia. I give them detritus worms when I find them in other tanks.

This really depends on the brand and how frozen bloodworms are handled. Hikari claims that their bloodworms are clean and bacteria free. I have had no problems using them. Also a lot depends on how frozen foods are maintained from processing, shipping and stored at wholesalers and retailer ... and the hobbyist, but this applies to all frozen foods not just bloodworms. I will admit that frozen bloodworms are only a minor part of my fishes' diet.

 

[Mike Wise]

I’ve got a trio of RedNecks in a planted 20L with caves & huts for them to use on a fine gravel substrate. There’s Pencilfish & Ruby Tetras as dithers along as Melini Corys. The tetras are too small to be a threat and keep to the top 1/3 of the tank but give Apistos confidence to swim around. The temp maxes out at 80F with a low of 76F I use temp controllers on all my tanks. There is a HOB and sponge filter which fry pick at constantly. Diet is high quality dry food like Northfin or Xtreme, frozen gut loaded brine shrimp, bloodworms, tubifex & BBS.

How are your Red-necks at breeding? Just curious.

 

[Mike Wise]

I share your feeling toward Metaframe aquariums. I have a number of them that I rehabed with new glass and sealant.

I do too, especially my slate-bottom Pemco tanks, although they are a major hassle to properly seal.

 

[MacZ]

I love that you have tetras! I was told they won't work on another forum.

Tetras always work, except if you want to breed. Or the tank is much too small.

Have you had any trouble keeping the male in the tank with fry? I've heard the female can become aggressive toward him.

That depends a lot on the species and the tank size. E.g. A. hongsloi in a 60 Liter tank are a guarantee for mayhem once the female is brooding and the male will get hacked on a lot. On the other hand, A. nijsseni, which are quite co-operative in brooding but also known to be very aggressive in that situation will terrorize the inhabitants of a 400 Liter tank, but not harm each other.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Hikari claims that their bloodworms are clean and bacteria free.

I'm not sure I believe them.

I've had the good / mis fortune to visit a lot of sewage works and the only place you get commercially collectable quantities of Chironomid larvae are grossly organically polluted.

I have no compunction about feeding Bloodworms that I've <"ranched"> myself, but I'm not going to feed any commercially collected ones whether they are live, frozen, freeze-dried, gamma irradiated etc.

cheers Darrel

 

[Paul1006]

How are your Red-necks at breeding? Just curious.

The females are the instigators of the breeding behavior. They dance in front of him but he’s a little slow on the uptake. They’re also young so he’ll catch on.

 

[Bob Dixon]

scratch those, there's a phenomenon of red mosquito larvae causing sudden deaths in dwarf cichlids. Some people report never having lost a single fish to this, the number of people reporting losses connected with feeding that stuff is rising and people from at least 3 continents report the problem.
Instead feed white and black mosquito larvae, daphnia, cyclops and some actual worms.

What is sold as "white mosquito larvae" are actually glassworms. In the 1980's the US banned the sale of actual frozen mosquito larvae under the false assumption that they could lead to the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. That's when "frozen white mosquito larvae suddenly appeared on the market. I don't know if they are still banned, as I haven't been raising fish for a while.

Bloodworms are also not "red mosquito larvae". They are midge larvae.

 

[Bob Dixon]

I do too, especially my slate-bottom Pemco tanks, although they are a major hassle to properly seal.

Slate is slightly porous and the water gets between the slate and the silicone. Try "painting" the area around the edges of the bottom with a thin coat of epoxy. The epoxy will seal and stick to the slate and also binds well to the silicone.

 

[MacZ]

The proper distinction is:
red mosquito larvae = Chironomidae (non-biting midges), also known as bloodworms
white mosquito larvae = Chaoboridae (phantom midges), also known as glassworms
black mosquito larvae = Culicidae (mosquitos proper)

So it's just a matter of terminology, none of them are actual worms, all are the larvae of different, closely related Diptera-families.
In many languages there is no distinction between a mosquito and a midge, that's why in Europe, when speaking English, most people (including many people I know from the UK) are talking about mosquito larvae and make the distinction only by the colour, same for many hobbyists in North America.

What is sold as "white mosquito larvae" are actually glassworms. In the 1980's the US banned the sale of actual frozen mosquito larvae under the false assumption that they could lead to the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. That's when "frozen white mosquito larvae suddenly appeared on the market. I don't know if they are still banned, as I haven't been raising fish for a while.

According to my contacts in the US all three variants are available in the US nowerdays and they are the same as in Europe.

 

[Mike Wise]

I surely would like to know where in the US one can get frozen mosquito larvae (Mückenlarven). Yes, I could raise my own, but with mosquito-borne West Nile Virus common in my area it's a bad idea.

 

[MacZ]

I surely would like to know where in the US one can get frozen mosquito larvae (Mückenlarven).

One of my contacts is in Chicago, the others in Boston and New Jersey.

Btw. in German they are all called "Mückenlarven" rot, weiß and schwarz (red, white, black).

 

[anewbie]

One of my contacts is in Chicago, the others in Boston and New Jersey.

Btw. in German they are all called "Mückenlarven" rot, weiß and schwarz (red, white, black).

I just knew i should have stayed in boston. never should have moved.

 

[Yvonne G]

I surely would like to know where in the US one can get frozen mosquito larvae (Mückenlarven). Yes, I could raise my own, but with mosquito-borne West Nile Virus common in my area it's a bad idea.

Have you checked out Joshsfrogs.com?

 

[Mike Wise]

Have you checked out Joshsfrogs.com?

Thanks for the suggestion. Lots of frozen mice & rats, but too big for my fish to eat. I didn't see mosquito larvae listed.