newbie... need advise...

[ptite_ange]

Hi all,
i'm kinda new to the fish world; i've only had my tanks for a year now and althought i do quite a bit of reading i still have questions... lots of them! I apologize ahead of time for the lenght of my post :wink:

So, august first a friend and i bought 19 young caccatuoides from someone on another forum. They live alone in a 20 gal tank with a lot of hiding places. I feed and count them twice a day with microworms (whites worms kept in a mix of oatmeal, sugar and sugar), various powdered flake , powdered krill, and a powdered mix from Sera. Usually a dozen or so of the bigger ones come out to feed at the surface. The smaller fish stay at the bottom and grab the bits and pieces. I try to clean the gravel every 2-3 weeks and change 10% of the water every week. (from what i read elsewhere it should be a lot more...)

The fish are from 3 differents couples : the first litter was born in march of a wild/triple red couple. They are just over 1" with no other color than bold black stripes. I have maybe (i hope) 4-5 of those.
The second litter was born in april of a double red pair. They are a bunch of those, maybe 8-9. Those guys are almost like their "big brothers" almost 3/4 and their stripes are paler. As for the last litter, they were born in june of a double red/triple red pair... They are still quite small only 1/4". I don,t know how many their are because they are so hard to find ...

So when can i expect to see some actual color on these babies? Should they be bigger and what can i do to help them grow?
How soon can we tell males from femalles?

I have a 29 gal tank that will be available soon ( the 77 gal will be ready at the end of the week!!!!!!!) . i'm going to take out all the decorations and gravel to put in the 77 gal and the 29 is going to be filled with 2-3 " of sandbox sand and redecorated. I hope to have it fully planted by christmas...
How soon it safe to move them to a new habitat?
And i had hoped to eventually keep a pair or trio of them in the 77 gal with a pair of angels, one blue gourami, a trio of robin red gouramis, a few cat fish, a pair of khulis loaches and a window sucker (what are they called)... Think thats possible?


That's about it for now...

thanks alot :wink:

Ptite_ange

 

[BigDaddy]

Straight out... avoid play sand... it compacts too much

Pool filter sand is a better choice.

P.S. - Quebecer ??? Little angel?

 

[ptite_ange]

Straight out... avoid play sand... it compacts too much

Pool filter sand is a better choice.

P.S. - Quebecer ??? Little angel?

i just checked on the other bag that i have and it is filtration sand...

P.s. How did you know? It is that obivious? :wink:

 

[ptite_ange]

oh yeah! Does anyone know of a wedsite where i could find differents varietie of apistos... Something with pictures would be great...

 

[BigDaddy]

ummm... www.apistogramma.com :lol:

Go to South Amercian Dwarf Cichlids on the left hand side.

Choose apistogramma (valid taxa)

Pic your species and choose an item to view.

You'll get a page like this one

http://www.apistogramma.com/cms/Apistogramma_Valid_Taxa/Apistogramma_cacatuoides/A._cacatuoides/

 

[ptite_ange]

stupid question!!! sorry :wink:

Thanks for the link though...

 

[Zapisto]

well
hi ptite_ange
welcome to this marvelous world of dwarf cichlids
and in this forum.

well first of all you can know what male or female very easy with a percentage of error very low.

for the sand, you have to make test, some sand is nod good, some are really amazing, so test test test test

what can i do to help them grow?

- feed them well various
- water change
- good quality of water
- give them time

 

[amber2461]

Hey Zapitsto

I am looking into getting some sand as well but would appreicate some info for this. What kind of sand would be advisable and what brand?

I am located in Vancouver and don't quite know my way around yet.

Thanks and cheers

Marge

 

[Zapisto]

As i say , test is the best way to go with that.

i am in quebec and the sand , even from the same brand could be different.
the things you have to keep an eye on is :

• The fact the sand compact or not (put sand on recipient, and add water, let the sand there , if the sand make a sort of skin at the surface , avoid using this one)
• If the Sand raise PH or not (test with Acid, or PHDown, take some sand , and add 2 or 3 drip of acid or phdown on it, if you have buble or foam , avois use this sand for south american cichlids)
• And the color (optionnal , but me i hate the white sand on my tank )

 

[BigDaddy]

Pool filter sand is a safe bet because pool owners don't want the sand in their filters impacting the pH in the pool

A lot of pool filter sand is 100% silica, which is completely inert.

Landscaping sand is a good alternative source too.. again, put some of the sand in water and check if the pH is affected over time before you use it in your tanks.

Some people suggest simple acids like vinegar aren't strong enough to get the sand or slate to react... muriatic acid will.

Avoid sandblasting sand... it is usually slag from smelters. While inert... it is also magnetic and could react havoc with your impellors.

 

[boyohboy]

I've just been trying some sand from HomeDepot. Vancouver has HOmeDepot too, right?

Anyway it's called StoneMason Decor sand, in the concrete/sand section. The label says it's 99% silica sand. $6.xx for a 50lb bag. You do have to wash it ALOT before using it the tank.... altho one person told me he just used it without washing, which I wouldn't recommend I know at least a few other ppl also using this sand, so I think it's ok.

 

[amber2461]

Home Depot is all over Vancouver =)

I will check it out later ... if it works, it would be wonderfully ... cheap when compared to the sand that the LFS are selling.

Another question is, where can I find a reputable seller to buy Apitos? I am looking into getting a pair to fit into a 10 gallon tank.

My water readings from the tap is

PH 6.2 - 6.5
KH >10mg
GH >20mg

I would appreciate some suggestions and recommendations here.

Cheers
Marge

p.s. I have a 10 gallon running with some plants and Seachem onyx sand. It is housing 10 Japonica shrimps and I was thinking of moving them to the 108 gallon tank. I had intentions of breeding them but the fry needs seawater to survive, that I cannot afford. I might convert it to a Dwarf Cichlid tank.

 

[BigDaddy]

If you are going to keep apistos in that 10 gallon, you might want to reconsider the Onyx. Onyx says it helps to buffer your pH... which means it will increase your TDS. Since you want to keep total dissolved solids down to a minimum for most species (with exceptions of course), you'd be wise to consider an alternate substrate.

 

[Zapisto]

My water readings from the tap is

PH 6.2 - 6.5
KH >10mg
GH >20mg

I would appreciate some suggestions and recommendations here.

Cheers
Marge

Your tap is close to mine
mine is a bit softer but yours is not to bad for lot of apistos.
keep in mind what bigdaddy tell you , it will avoid you some future trouble.

 

[amber2461]

Hey Big D

Could you please lay it out in plain English there, sorry but you lost me at TDS and after

I do have another 10 gallon tank, it is housing 2 dwarf puffers, 2 ottos and some ghost shrimps (this one has got medium sized rounded gravel), perhaps this one can be converted.


Hey Zapisto

Perhaps you could recommend me the kinds of Apitos that would be appropriate for my tap water. I envy you for having a softer water =)

Cheers
Marge

 

[johnnotis]

TDS = total dissolved solids, and pretty much means the same as total hardness. Practically speaking, it's like GH + KH, and I bet you don't want anything in your tank that will increase either, if you're on this forum. From SeaChem's site: "...Onyx Sand has a carbonate content that will offer a slight buffering ability.", which means it will add KH.

Watch out for recommendations for Home Depot (or any other brand) general purpose sand. The sand sold in a store where you live is not the same as the same sand in another city. Since it's basically an inexpensive commodity, it costs a lot more to ship it any distance than it does to obtain it locally. Depending on where they actually get it, the sand might change seasonally, or unpredictably even from the same store. So really, like Zapisto said, test it for yourself. That's not to say that it can't be a great cheap source of aquarium substrate, by the way.

 

[cootwarm]

I've come to like filtration sand from FilPro. It's made from pure quartz and I've found it not to effect the pH or Hardness. I mix 2 parts #1 grit to 1 part #0 grit and find it to look very natural. The color is a few shades of Tan. I takes a bit of rinsing to get it clean, but it doesn't effect the water, the plants seem to like it, and I know some of my apistos love it.

Michael