New to Apistos

[Alleycat]

I broke the threshold and bought a reverse trio of A. cacatuoides. I've bred many (25+species) tanganyikans, and several malawians but yet to accomplish an Apisto. With that being said, I guess the word rookie is on my doorstep.

My water could be categorized as liquid rock...hard(200 + ppm) alkaline (8.6Ph) water. Ideal for Tangs, not so much S/A or C/A species. I have them in a 10g that was used mostly for rearing some guppies and other livebearers for BAP, and I would like to use it to breed my latest purchases. Is my tank too small?

What can I add to my water to help me lower the Ph to a more neutral / acidic zone? Peat?

I know I will spend a few hours over the Easter holiday reading posts here, and gathering information and get started on some changes.
I've read they are a difficult first Apisto to have chosen to breed, but I'm always up for a challenge.

TIA,

Glen

 

[Mike Wise]

Welcome to the apisto forum, Glen. I think your 10 is a bit small for 3 A. cacatuoides, but since you've had experience with other cichlids, you should be able to get away with it. Make sure that the tank has many hiding places and that the bottom is divided into distinct territories with boundary markers like rock, wood, etc. You want to make it so that the fish can't see across the tank. A. cacatuoides is fairly adaptable to water values, but yours are a bit extreme. Try to get the pH to at least 7.4. I don't know if peat alone will do this. It mostly depends on how much of your hardness is due to carbonate hardness (KH) - most of it is my guess. You might consider softening the water with some distilled water or even rainwater.

 

[Alleycat]

You might consider softening the water with some distilled water or even rainwater.

Thanks Mike for some ideas and things to re-arrange. I have plenty of materials to make sight breaks and define territories, and I have already collected a 55g drum of rain water so you've given me some hope, as I had forgotten about it. I use it to collect mosquito larvae but as it's not quite skitter time in Ohio yet, I'll steal a few gallons and see what we can bring the Ph down to.

Just another question you may have an answer to.. At an LFS I was told that "Slate" could be used to decrease my alkalinity, and this is something I've never heard of. I used slate in my Angel tanks years ago for somewhere for them to place their eggs, but I thought it was inert?

 

[Mike Wise]

Technically, slate is a form of metamorphic rock in which the ancient mud (clay and silt particals) have been welded together by high pressure and heat. It should be inert for the most part. I guess if it had a large quantity of anaerobic mud in the first place, it could be high in sulfides. These sulfides might decompose to form sulfuric acid, but I doubt that it. The other possibility is that the "slate" is actually a hard sedimentary shale. This is more likely to release H2S, a toxic compound that will kill fish. I know; I did this once! Either way, I think you should ignore the store's advise on this and use some peat or leaves high in tannins (oak or beech) in a power filter.

 

[Alleycat]

Another attempt at breeding apistos has arrived. I bought some German blue rams, and have them in a 10g sorting themselves out. I have 2 maybe 3 distinct pair that I want to separate and give them their own tanks. Is a 5g too small for a pair? Would a 10g or 20g be better, or will they manage in a 5 with some najas grass, and clay walls to hide behind? I have 12 young adults in a 30B and some have paired off, and holding territorial sparring sessions.

TIA,

Glen

 

[Tattooedfool83]

A pair should at least a 20 gallon

 

[Alleycat]

At least a 20g? Seems a bit large for one pair of apistos?

 

[Tattooedfool83]

At least a 20g? Seems a bit large for one pair of apistos?

German blue rams aren't apistos though

 

[Alleycat]

You are correct they're Mikrogeophagus ... but 40 years ago when I had them, they were known as Apistos to me.
My bad!

So a 20g is the smallest size tank a pair of blue rams should be attempted to spawn in?

 

[Tattooedfool83]

You are correct they're Mikrogeophagus ... but 40 years ago when I had them, they were known as Apistos to me.
My bad!

So a 20g is the smallest size tank a pair of blue rams should be attempted to spawn in?

Yes, they both are dwarf cichlids. Blue rams are awesome

 

[Mike Wise]

You might be able to keep a pair in a 10. Just don't expect successful reproduction unless you're ready to remove the eggs immediately after spawning and then hatching them, sort of like angelfish breeder do. Don't be surprised if one of the pair damages/kills the other. These are small, peaceful cichlids but they are cichlids.