My apisto cacatuoides

[Cubeology]

Because is costs more???

There is that.

 

[davidjp1982]

Instead of leaves you could also use Alder cones - I use roughly one per gallon. May be easier to find / identify than leaves if you're struggling with the oak leaves.

 

[MonteSS]

Club member sells these if interested.

Alder cones .05
Almond leaves $10/gallon bag

....Bill

 

[Cubeology]

I have set-up their slightly larger habitat and switched to stand. I've set aside the idea of leave litter for now. What has amazed me that in 8 days (since the pictures previously in this thread) the male appears to have doubled in size, gained a lot of color, and his fins are much more prominent. The female looks better as well, so they must be fairly happy.

 

[Bekateen]

Pool filter sand is fairly clean and wont clog filters. All my apistos love to forage in the sand for food.

....Bill

Leaves: I have thought about the deal with leaves. I have no idea where to find an oak tree but I am uncertain how to determine what other leaves may be suitable. We have a lot of palm trees and fruit trees around. I found this tree with leaves that look the same shape as maple leaves although I am totally ignorant of horticulture. Perhaps someone can tell me what it is and if it is ok from the picture.

Sand: Will desert sand work, some of it is very fine (and plentiful). Sounds like you are almost talking about silt in your description above, geology I do know. Sand from the our beaches is very course, but some sand around lakes is fairly fine. Of course I could buy sand, and it seems I could put it on top of the Flourite and even if it mixed it would give the fish their source of sand. View attachment 2147

I set up my tanks with ordinary "sandbox" sand that is commercially available at hardware stores. It is pre-washed, but obviously you still need to wash it - not just to be sure it's clean, but also because it can have particles that are so small that a powerful external power filter can disturb the substrate and kick up some fine sand particles into the water column. Although this doesn't hurt my fish, it can get into the magnetic parts of the filter and damage them. But once that's washed away, it is a great substrate.