Substrate conditions for breeding

[nekomi]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to breed a pair of a. cacatuoides "yellow gold" in the near future, in a heavily-planted, 75gal community apisto setup (a. macmasteri, m. ramirezi, neon tetras, dwarf gourami, corydoras or SAE).

Two questions... first, do I have to worry about the corydoras bothering the eggs or young fry?

Second question is regarding the substrate. My planted tank will be coming in at about 3.5 watts per gallon (high-light setup), and I'd like to have a planted carpet of riccia or dwarf hairgrass on the bottom. Do the apistos require sand as a substrate, or can I use a carpet successfully if there are caves/rocks/driftwood available? I'm a little concerned about losing track of the eggs or the fry before they are free-swimming.

Thanks for any information you can give!!!

 

[BigDaddy]

Right off I will say forget the SAEs. Not only are they egg eaters, but they will graze your riccia until there is nothing left.

If you are looking for a "safe" cleanup crew.. your best bet is otos. They won't touch eggs or fry. However, they are on the smallish side, so ensure you get a good school of them for your 75 gallon

 

[nekomi]

Thanks so much for the reply. I'll go with the Ottos then.

What do you think about carpeted vs. sand substrate for the cichlids to spawn?

 

[BigDaddy]

Given that cacs are cave spawners.... I wouldn't see why not

Some apistos are real diggers though, so you might want to do more research on substrates for each species you keep

 

[nekomi]

Thanks a lot for your reply! I'll definitely investigate a little further, but I'll proceed with some confidence in planting my dwarf hairgrass.