Setting up my first tank, need some guidance.

[madmike]

Thanks. I will keep a close look at it and see if it fluctuates too much.

 

[madmike]

My fiancé sent me an update now as I'm at work. Apparently 4 tetras are dead (two found, two missing). I hope that this is due to their natural pet store weakness and won't affect my gorgeous apistos in any way. To say the least I'm worried like mad!

 

[madmike]

It seems like it was the apistos who killed them, at least the a. nijsseni.

 

[madmike]

On further inspections by my father in-law they died of natural causes. I am eager to get home to see it by myself.

 

[Mike Wise]

The fish in the 2nd photo (and elsewhere) is a Pseudocrenilabris species - a haplochromine cichlid from central & southern Africa. They have a reputation for being highly aggressive for their size.

 

[madmike]

I see... That makes some sense, as it's one aggressive fish. I will trade it in at the store again, thanks.

 

[Rod]

Mike....perhaps you should appreciate that kids read these forums.....???
Pseudocrenilabris are also a hard water species.....not compatible with other species from a water chemistry point of view....a. nijsseni. is an aggressive apisto as well

I believe pH change doesn't kill fish.....it's most likely a change in TDS and osmotic pressure....that may accompany a pH change that kills fish.....in wild situation pH can change significantly from morning to afternoon and back again overnight as plants absorb Co2 during the day and expel it at night
pH killing fish is an urban myth....imo

 

[madmike]

What do you mean by that first sentence? I am taking the fish back tomorrow due to the different needs, plus the fact that it's not South-American.

 

[Rod]

I think the swearing is unnecessary .....
Old school perhaps....???

Do you have any plants in the tank?

If not add a bacterial supplement to cycle your tank....or fish will die of ammonia poisoning

 

[madmike]

I'm sorry, I did not think of that and I will keep it in mind for the future.

No, there are no plants as of now. Hopefully they will be here later today.

 

[Neptune's Neighborhood]

pH killing fish is an urban myth....imo

I'd love to talk about this off-line not to derail the thread

 

[Rod]

http://www.tbas1.com/Exchange/The New England 11.pdf

Everyone should read this!

The article by Joe Gargas....

 

[madmike]

The fish seems to be doing well and they're gaining color, some more than others. I tried some different techniques and settings on the camera today, they look better than the previous ones at least... I think I will have to order a macro lens to get decent shots. Got one to recommend for said use on a Canon EOS 450D? Not too expensive.

Paracheirodon axelrodi. Only 10 left now as they've been so generously eaten by the others...

Mikrogeophagus ramirezi

Mikrogeophagus ramirezi "Electric Blue"

Apistogramma agassizii "Double Red". Now if you look at the pictures below you'll see how the color has changed. The top five pictures are from just now, the sixth from yesterday and the seventh from the day I got him. Can anyone confirm the sex of these fish? Do they look all male? The agassizii seems to be the most calm one of them all.

Pseudocrenilabris victoriae multicolor??? Are you able to identify it?

 

[madmike]

A. viejita looking for edible material in the substrate...

 

[rdfs87]

Picture 1-5 defo looks like a female!

 

[madmike]

So I've been told. Is it a agassizii or cacatuoides?

 

[Neptune's Neighborhood]

I'm not too confident in the nuances of sexing A. agassizii, but normally a more rounded caudal fin would be an indicator of a female. In the beginning you could see the tail being more elongated and not rounded..

Maybe someone else can chime in as to whether or not A agassizii will exhibit the false female trait on non-alpha males like A cacatuoides..

Your GBR is female though.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Is it a agassizii or cacatuoides?

The female "Double red" is A. cacatuoides. Apistogramma viejita is A. macmasteri.

Everyone should read this!

I like the Joe Gargas article as well, it is linked to here: <http://apistogramma.com/forum/index.php?threads/ektozon-salt-to-apistogramma.13408/#post-72808>.

...in wild situation pH can change significantly from morning to afternoon and back again overnight as plants absorb Co2 during the day and expel it at night... pH killing fish is an urban myth

I largely agree with Rod, with the proviso that this is only really true in soft water.

Have a look at this post <http://apistogramma.com/forum/index.php?threads/hard-water-to-softer-water.11442/#post-62021>

cheers Darrel

 

[madmike]

I see that now, thanks for the ID. I've ordered a new viejita, hongsloi and gephyra. Looking forward to identifying them too. Is there any kind of book or internet site where one can find the traits of the different apistos and what separates the sexes within the different species? I am eager to learn. I did find http://apisto.sites.no/page.aspx?PageId=116]this[/url] by Mike Wise that helped me a lot. Are there any other means available?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I've ordered a new viejita

It will still be A. macmasteri, A. viejita probably isn't present in captivity at all at the present.

Have a look at this thread: <http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/index.php?threads/are-these-viejita.14571/#post-76386>

by Mike Wise that helped me a lot. Are there any other means available?

A DESCRIPTION OF APISTOGRAMMA SPECIES-GROUPS: <http://apisto.sites.no/page.aspx?PageId=116>
No probably best to, stick with Tom C's web site, Mike's article and this forum.

cheers Darrel