Shane's Fishroom

[ApistoShane]

I had 2 when I first started this hobby, from a lfs that wasn't very informative on them and I didn't know anything about water parameters, especially the specific water parameters these guys need, I was also told they were community NOT they were very aggressive, but they are an amazing fish I will one day have an apisto tank as they are stunning fish
Apistos https://imgur.com/a/ryxji

Ahh cacatuoides was my first too... here is my pic of a male that I received in my second or third spawn with them.

A. cacatuoides "Orange Flash" - I believe 3 months old at this point.

 

[Potluck]

Ahh cacatuoides was my first too... here is my pic of a male that I received in my second or third spawn with them.

A. cacatuoides "Orange Flash" - I believe 3 months old at this point.

Yeah he was amazing i didn't know they needed very specific water parameters so they passed away unfortunately, it wasn't about the price of them it was I was taken advantage of by a lfs that that just reached to make money, the one I go to now is amazing though, but while I had them it was a joy, I will have to do a special process I guess to get the pH for them to their desired environment as my pH from the tap is 7.5, I'm assuming I would have to go to, also my kh/gh from the tap is 6 so unfortunately I cannot keep them at this point.

 

[ApistoShane]

Yeah he was amazing i didn't know they needed very specific water parameters so they passed away unfortunately, it wasn't about the price of them it was I was taken advantage of by a lfs that that just reached to make money, the one I go to now is amazing though, but while I had them it was a joy, I will have to do a special process I guess to get the pH for them to their desired environment as my pH from the tap is 7.5, I'm assuming I would have to go to, also my kh/gh from the tap is 6 so unfortunately I cannot keep them at this point.

pH at 7.5? Ha, thats not a problem. I breed and raise majority of my fish very close to that...

kH and gH sound great too...

PM me... I have a plan to assist you!

 

[Potluck]

pH at 5? Ha, thats not a problem. I breed and raise majority of my fish very close to that...

kH and gH sound great too...

PM me... I have a plan to assist you!

No my pH is 7.5 not 5 lol and right now I'm focused on my rainbow tank getting that Squared away then I have another project lol gonna be a while before I can sink money into a new tank.

 

[ApistoShane]

No my pH is 7.5 not 5 lol and right now I'm focused on my rainbow tank getting that Squared away then I have another project lol gonna be a while before I can sink money into a new tank.

I meant 7.5 lol... mistyped while eating popcorn

But the majority of my tanks are setup with less than 60$... including everything except the stands... (I personally use racks). I reckon you could setup a nice Apisto tank with that much. Maybe an additional 25$ for a quality pair and you are off!

I just bought 9 tens for 40$, not a bad deal

 

[Potluck]

I meant 7.5 lol... mistyped while eating popcorn

But the majority of my tanks are setup with less than 60$... including everything except the stands... (I personally use racks). I reckon you could setup a nice Apisto tank with that much. Maybe an additional 25$ for a quality pair and you are off!

I just bought 9 tens for 40$, not a bad deal

The ones I bought in the pictures were $30.00 each lol, from what I have read Apistos need these values
72-86° F
KH 2-15
pH 5.0-7.0

 

[ApistoShane]

Many misconceptions...

I keep most Apistos between 65-79 depending on season, I don't track the water chemistry in the tanks. Lots of leaf litter, caves, frequent water changes, and a netural pH is all that is necessary for happy keeping. Good food is very important, lots of worms (preferable nonaquatic), daphnia, mosquito larvae etc. Additionally, significant lack of flow would be beneficial (I suggest sponge filtration).

Looking at the pictures you sent I can see two semi-significant problems. 1) The substrate is much too large, it is not ideal... a fine sand would be the best, otherwise painted barebottom would be better. 2) I can see significantly larger tetra/characin species in those photos, which likely means that the food that got down to them probably was not sufficient... additionally, whatever did reach them probably got stuck in the large substrate.

I actually wrote an article on keep A. cacatuoides, I will link it once the site has been finalized and edited!

 

[ApistoShane]

I would pay 30, maybe 50$ shipped for a really nice pair of cacatuoides... I was selling groups of 6 for 60$ shipped or less. I think my first sale was 40$ shipped for 6 juvies that looked like that in the photo.

Apistogramma cacautoides is one of the most widely distributed Apisto species for its ability to adapt to a wide variety of conditions. Its a generalist species!

 

[Potluck]

Many misconceptions...

I keep most Apistos between 65-79 depending on season, I don't track the water chemistry in the tanks. Lots of leaf litter, caves, frequent water changes, and a netural pH is all that is necessary for happy keeping. Good food is very important, lots of worms (preferable nonaquatic), daphnia, mosquito larvae etc. Additionally, significant lack of flow would be beneficial (I suggest sponge filtration).

Looking at the pictures you sent I can see two semi-significant problems. 1) The substrate is much too large, it is not ideal... a fine sand would be the best, otherwise painted barebottom would be better. 2) I can see significantly larger tetra/characin species in those photos, which likely means that the food that got down to them probably was not sufficient... additionally, whatever did reach them probably got stuck in the large substrate.

I actually wrote an article on keep A. cacatuoides, I will link it once the site has been finalized and edited!

Yes but my tank is totally different now that pic was from 6-7 years ago, it's not sand as I hate sand I have Caribsea supernaturals super fine gravel, what I have In the tank now are here we go lol...
1 boseman rainbow
1 irani red rainbow
2 Chilatherina sentaniensis rainbows
2 Melanotaenia Duboulayi rainbows
1 Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi rainbow
1 Melanotaenia parva rainbow
6 lemon tetras
6 candy cane tetras
1 calico Bn

My current is swift as I have 2 aquaclear hob on my tank a 110 and a 70
My temp is 77

Water parameters are
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 15-20
Ph 7.5
Phosphate 1.2
KH 6
Gh 6
Many different rainbows to list https://imgur.com/gallery/a1SEN

 

[ApistoShane]

Yes but my tank is totally different now that pic was from 6-7 years ago, it's not sand as I hate sand I have Caribsea supernaturals super fine gravel, what I have In the tank now are here we go lol...
1 boseman rainbow
1 irani red rainbow
2 Chilatherina sentaniensis rainbows
2 Melanotaenia Duboulayi rainbows
1 Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi rainbow
1 Melanotaenia parva rainbow
6 lemon tetras
6 candy cane tetras
1 calico Bn

My current is swift as I have 2 aquaclear hob on my tank a 110 and a 70
My temp is 77

Water parameters are
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 15-20
Ph 7.5
Phosphate 1.2
KH 6
Gh 6
Many different rainbows to list https://imgur.com/gallery/a1SEN

Yes, then Apistogramma are not the best. Sand or barebottom is a must in my books...

I would say that any Geophagine fish should be on sand, or a substrate that has a solid mix of sizes, mainly sand though. There is a wonderful picture by Ivan Mikolji of A. hongsloi sifting through the sand...

I sprinkle a layer of sand around 1/8th inch on the bottom of almost all my tanks housing Geophagine fishes.

 

[ApistoShane]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...low-and-apistogramma-starter-kits-363056.html

New listing of Apistos/Materials for keeping Apistos!

 

[mbkemp]

Ok, those allpahuayo just made my short list. I like them better than the caca’s

 

[ApistoShane]

Ok, those allpahuayo just made my short list. I like them better than the caca’s

They are pretty awesome... it is a species I have been targeting for a long time. Ted Judy has some awesome video of each of the forms on his Apistogramma Breeding guide.

9:30 mark.

 

[mbkemp]

Stellar!! Thank you. I need to watch him more

 

[coralbandit]

How are you testing your water parameters like gH /pH and kH ?
Do you use a TDS meter?

 

[ApistoShane]

How are you testing your water parameters like gH /pH and kH ?
Do you use a TDS meter?

To be honest, I don't have any of those tools, mainly because I don't trust them. I rarely even test temperature (I have a few thermometers here and there).. I can tell my walking into the fishroom.

I bet it would be a good tool to test tap water and make sure there are no major changes, but often the accurate tds meters require calibration in solution. I see many uses, maybe I need to get one!

I found a post from a local fishkeeper regarding water quality/characteristics:

"pH 6.8 to 7.2
Hardness, measureable hardness, kH, etc. -- pretty much nothing.

Our water here in Portland, Oregon, USA comes out of a large resevoir near the foot of a andesitic volcano (aka Mt. Hood). There is little limestone to be found in western Oregon, most of it outside of the Willamette Valley/Portland area where I live. The water that goes in the resevoir is all either snowmelt or rainfall that has had the chance to percolate through old growth Douglas Fir rain forest first.

Sometimes in the summer the pH goes up a little bit, especially in a drought situation, as the wells by our International Airport get turned on. However, our bedrock is all basalt here so there is very little dissolved minerals in the water."
-Joe Middleton

 

[TMRC Exotics]

I really like my tds meter, you can get an accurate one for under $25, the calibration is easy as well. At the expense of a few points of accuracy you can calibrate it using known values. I used a couple specific types of bottled water that publish their tds value, I know I'm within about 5, which isn't a big deal.

 

[coralbandit]

To be honest, I don't have any of those tools, mainly because I don't trust them. I rarely even test temperature (I have a few thermometers here and there).. I can tell my walking into the fishroom.

I bet it would be a good tool to test tap water and make sure there are no major changes, but often the accurate tds meters require calibration in solution. I see many uses, maybe I need to get one!

I found a post from a local fishkeeper regarding water quality/characteristics:

"pH 6.8 to 7.2
Hardness, measureable hardness, kH, etc. -- pretty much nothing.

Our water here in Portland, Oregon, USA comes out of a large resevoir near the foot of a andesitic volcano (aka Mt. Hood). There is little limestone to be found in western Oregon, most of it outside of the Willamette Valley/Portland area where I live. The water that goes in the resevoir is all either snowmelt or rainfall that has had the chance to percolate through old growth Douglas Fir rain forest first.

Sometimes in the summer the pH goes up a little bit, especially in a drought situation, as the wells by our International Airport get turned on. However, our bedrock is all basalt here so there is very little dissolved minerals in the water."
-Joe Middleton

That is just too easy for a kid as smart as you !

 

[tunamanphd]

The ones I bought in the pictures were $30.00 each lol, from what I have read Apistos need these values
72-86° F
KH 2-15
pH 5.0-7.0

Many Apistos can thrive with higher PH and hard water. They might not breed but thrive nonetheless. I have some doing very well. My local water has a ph greater than 8 and the hardness = concrete (BTW I have Hongsloi)

 

[V227]

I handle things much the way you do Shane, no testing or measuring gizmos, just sight, smell, sound and instinct. Then again, I'm not a commercial breeder. I bet Bandit could out do both of us using our shared unorthodox methods if he wanted to.