my first apistogrammas

[Jason82]

i bought one male and one female apistogramma today. never had apistos before, so I'm pretty happy to have these fish Sold to me as apistogramma cacatuoides super red
took a couple of quick pics with my mobile after putting them in their tank
female

male

and their tank at the moment

i have a couple of home made caves in there at the moment, but have ordered some apisto caves from plecocaves com website. i also only tied the moss and anubius to that wood in the middle today. the betta box at the top of the tank is temporary too.

 

[Samzter]

That's a really pretty tank! I'll get photos of my apisto's future homes. One heavily planted with 3 caves and a rock sculpture, and the other is lightly planted with lots of rock and a cave.

 

[slimbolen99]

Like the caves out of the clay pots. I would add a couple more to provide adequate hiding places; maybe two with holes at the top instead of the side? Add some driftwood or oak leaves or more plants to break up the sight lines between the pots. Looks like a good start.

 

[Jason82]

Ok I will add more stuff today. I might buy some plants and leave them in their pot, as I don't think they will stay in the substrate.the substrate I have used is a thin layer of play sand from my hardware store. I have a planted tank as well which I'm trimming moss off it almost weekly, so I will get some more wood and attach the moss to it. Samzter I would love to see your pics as well.

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Jason82]

I bought another piece of wood from my Local Fish Shop, but will look for some java fern before putting in the tank.
Here is a pic of the fish about 1 hour ago after I put some Sera flake food in the tank:

 

[Samzter]

What size tank are they in?

 

[Jason82]

24imch by 12 inch by 10 inch tank. Almost 50 litres or 13 gallons?

 

[uberape]

I suggest you lift the pots every now and then as they will collect ammonia if never frequented. I sort of put the openings of caves half in the current so some fresh water moves through them. I'm not sure, but they might be two males and if they are the bigger one is going to chase the other half to death when it settles in. ask other members if it is a female or a sneaker male.

 

[Royal Gramma]

Looks like a genuine female to me....

 

[Jason82]

I hope it's a female. I am thinking of removing the pots, as the apistogrammas seem to prefer going under the IAL rather than going in the pots.

 

[Jason82]

this is the best pic I could get with my mobile phone after work last night

sneaker male?

 

[Jason82]

My order of Apisto Caves from plecocaves.com arrived today from the US of A. I took out the flower pots, and put 3 of these apisto caves in this afternoon. Here are some pics:
tank shot

male

female?

another tank shot

I also put a tri colour lotus in the tank, as well as a very sad looking cryptocoryne from another tank in this tank. Not sure if I mentioned in an earlier post, but I also added another piece of wood to the tank on the weekend, and tied a fair bit of java moss on to it. I think it's looking better. I'm surprised at how small the Apisto caves are. I think they look great too! And it makes sense that they are smaller than the big ugly flower pots I was using. I also got a burrito cave, as I will be setting up another tank for some kribs at a later stage.

Thanks for looking

 

[davidjp1982]

You could also try making caves from a coconut shell for a more natural look you just drill a hole in the side and cut in half to make your two caves. Also adds tannins to the water which your fish will love and I think I'm right in saying that the shells will harbour micro organisms that the fry can feed on. Nice looking fish by the way

 

[Psycho74]

I like the natural look, but only have the hollow log with one end blocked. I must try the old coconut DIY one day. How do you ensure it stays in place at the bottom of the tank?

 

[davidjp1982]

They sink so just push it down into the sand to make a nice small entrance

 

[Jason82]

I really like the look of the coconut shell caves, but the apisto caves have definately done the trick. I took your advice and added more tannins to the water by adding more IAL's. The water has been tea stained from the tannins for about a week and a half now, and when doing a water change this afternoon, I noticed some free swimming babies. I quickly got my mobile phone and did a quick video. Here is the video:

 

[Psycho74]

Congrats! Now get the BBS hatchery going!


Cheers,
Shane

 

[Jason82]

I don't have one. I'm using Hikari First Bites. Will that do the trick?

 

[Psycho74]

You can try it, but in my opinion no. Do you have a lump of moss in the tank that may be harvesting some micro organisms they can eat?


Cheers,
Shane

 

[davidjp1982]

Hatching BBS is easy and cheap - you only need a plastic drinks bottle, an airline, some salt, baking soda and a lamp! Have a look at this vid:

I feed my cory fry BBS and they eat it until their bellies go orange