South american blackwater biotope

[K-Holed]

Hi new to the forum and I just wanted to ask a couple of questions.

I've recently inherited a 24x12x12 tank and I was wanting to set it up as a south american blackwater biotope. I would be keeping a shoal of tetras and some corries. I also wanted a feature fish and my friend from another forum suggested perhaps a pair of apistos. would they be suitable for this environment? After looking at them I've fallen in love with them and I'd almost be tempeted to abandon all my plans to keep them

Tank you in advance for any advice you can give

James

 

[aspen]

hi james. a true blackwater biotope tank is stained very black with peat, and the water is very soft, gh < 1, ph can be as low as 4.0, more like 5.5. this is perfect for most s/a fish, like most tetras, cories and esp apistos or rams. however, there is no need to use pure r/o ,many of us use our tapwater or a tap/r/o mix depending on how hard it is.

try doing a search here for apistogramma cacatuoides or a. borellii, and see if these beginner fish suit your fancy.

you are right, a pair or trio of dwarfs in the right tank kept properly is worth the effort. there are lots of posts here about keeping and breeding lots of different types.

rick

 

[K-Holed]

Thnkyou for your reply The species you have mntioned are truely beautiful. I'm fairly lucky in my area as we have soft slightly alkaline water (around 7.2-7.5) so its fairly good water to start with. I''m thinking of adding peat to my canister filter, is this a good idea?

 

[aspen]

i would put a bag of peat in a corner of the tank where there's flow. i don't buy the stuff from the lfs, the stuff from the garden center is much cheaper.

rick

 

[apistodave]

If you get it from a garden sneter make sure there are no additives