Joe

I bought these as A. cacatuoides 'Orange' from Organism in Christchurch. They were $45.00 each which is pretty good. Hollywood Fish Farm has them for $40.00 and sells them as 'Triple Red' although it is quite obvious that they are not. And if you think that they are really cool now, they still have tonnes of growing to do and will get much more colourful :happy2: The male is approx. 35mm SL and the other ones are even smaller!

Thanks guys Jennifer you should get some :bounce: And don't sell your Apistos, you will definately regret it

Male Sleeper? Female (I hope)

That dormouse is soooo cute :love: I want one :happy2: The baby and dog are just annoying :lol: Especially the baby.

Apistogramma of course :thup:

Wow it looks fantastic! The koura is really cool :thup:

Thanks for that I'll check Placemakers later on.

Thanks for your suggestion but the substrate will be vaccumed because it will get dirty if I get lots of baby fish, so the bottom will still get stirred up. I have read that there are two types; abrasive and smooth. I assume anything sold at a pet shop is the smooth stuff, and that most hardware and gardern shops sell the abrasive. Does Placemakers sell both or just the abrasive one? I have to be very careful with what I put in because the Apistos will sift through it and I don't want them to get hurt. Apart from silica, what other types of sand are available for aquariums that don't leach anything into the water or alter the pH and hardness? Keep in mind that it has to be non-abrasive for the Apistos, and no darker than the stuff I currently have because in an Amazon biotope the sand has pale colouration.

I found out what is causing the cloudiness in the water - the sand has small bits of clay in it. I will definately have to buy new sand now, because this is going to be a nightmare during maintainance and also when the cichlids sift through it Filtration won't really help much because of these other issues. I think I might get some silica sand. Hollywood Fish Farm sells 25kg bags for only $20.00 Shipping will cost a bit though.

Probably 60x45x45cm for a pair.

I know it's horrible isn't it :facepalm: :oops: I need to cut back the photoperiod.

I know they're pretty cool huh When are you going to get in to Apistos Sophia? :bounce: So far from the 'trio' that I bought there are definately two males. I'm hoping that the one that is in the last couple of pics is a female...

Wow you have really flash equipment !drool:

I bought some at Organism once. It died when I transfered it to a pot (it was just a plastic mesh pot with gravel in it). It will do best under high lighting with CO2 and a nutrient-rich subtrate.

Thanks everyone for all your help

Hi everyone, I'm thinking of getting some silica sand for my blackwater biotope aquarium. I have read on google that low pH can cause it to leach silicates and stuff into the water which I am worried about as this tank will have a low pH. Would quartz sand be a better option? I have read that this is completely inert, and will not leach anything into the water or alter the pH or hardness. Thanks, Joe

I definately rinsed it thoroughly. No the filter isn't hooked up yet. I'm debating whether to take the filter off of my main tank and put it on this one (because the main tank has heaps of plants) or to leave it and buy a new one for this tank. I will need the bio media because there should hopefully be lots of little fry Apart from the cloudiness, I quite liked the colour of the sand when I bought it, but now that it's in the tank it looks very yellow :-? . I think I will actually replace it and get something paler. It was only $13.00 for the bag anyway and it makes great potting sand for the plants in my main tank, so I still have a use for it

I think I might try a different type of sand because this stuff has made the water really cloudy and it hasn't cleared a bit since I filled the tank :-?

Cyperus helferi is what you want It looks much nicer than val !drool:

Too late. I already went and bought a huge 40mm thick sheet from Mitre 10 Mega for $25.00 I have some bogwood organised with a local Marlborough Aquarium Club member :thup:

Quick update New fish - Apistogramma cacatuoides 'Orange Flash' :bounce:

I think it's beautiful !drool: Amazing work, well done :thup: :happy2: