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Apistogramma


Sheepsnana

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sorry no, its one of my agassizzi males, coloured up quite impressively i thought. got it from hollywood mt roskil about 8 months ago. cheers.

I've been looking into Apistogramma (Dwarf Cichlids) and I would like to know a lot more about them. Does anyone know a good site to find out what required to keep them happy?

I'm thinking environment, tank mates, ph, food, planted/non-planted, anything you can throw at me. I'm gonna see if MTS will strike. :lol:

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And you forgot about Apistogramma sp. 'Steel Blue' and A. nijsseni (I'm not sure how many people bought A. nijsseni and whether or not they will stay in the country). Both of these are really nice fish :P

BTW I recommend that you start off with A. macmasteri as in my experience they are really hardy and pretty bullet-proof as far as water chemistry and diseases go. In my big tank I have a trio of these. I also bought two pairs of Apistogramma trifasciata, but slowly over the couple of months I had them they all died from random infections. $45 each plus shipping... for a beginner at Apistos like yourself that would be a very costly loss. I have made a mistake so you don't have to :thup: The macmasteri were the same price as the trifasciata, however the fact that they are very hardy makes them good value for that price IMO and the purchase was definately worth it :)

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To be confirmed but here's hoping, they are beautiful fish :)

We have quite a few in the country at the moment too

A.agassizi

A.cacatuoides

A.hongsloi

A.macmasteri

A.trifasciata

Done a quick google image search. Is each species limited to certain colours, or are certain colours just more likely with certain species?

Apisto pertensis very odd shape, various colours shown. prob wont get this one.

Apisto agassizi very nice fish, this is the one that I got hooked on.

Apisto cacatuoides orange and grey with red fins. Very nice fish, especially the longer fins.

Apisto hongsloi orange and pink, not so great looking.

Apisto macmasteri grey with colour splashes (no better way to explain it really). Not as defined as the other species.

Apisto trifasciata various colours, but definitive outward fins and a black strip down it's side. Very nice, especially in blue.

Apisto nijsseni Def. not this one. I would stress that a patch is a disease.

Are there any that are incompatible with others? I'm thinking Agassizi and/or Cacatuoides and/or Trifasciata.

Knowing my luck, I have chosen the three hardest to keep or the most expensive?

I have had a look at some of the sites mentioned, but none really have a "beginners look here" function, except the same sort of beginner info that applies to ANY fishkeeping. It seems that they like slightly lower pH and soft water. How do I check a water's hardiness?

Many cichlid keepers have mentioned that they use an RO/DI system. Is this required for freshwater? I thought this was more of a seawater requirement. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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Sheepsnana - before you write off some of the fish you have listed above due to the google images of them, may I suggest you use the search function on this forum. I have seen some stunning hongsloi in NZ fishkeepers tanks and I am pretty certain there will be photos on here.

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I seriously recommend macmasteri. When I recieved mine I sort of thought that they were pretty boring and I wish I didn't get them. After a few months the male coloured up and was really stunning! Also, although they might not have colours as nice as other species, they have the most stunning fins! My male has filaments on his dorsal, anal and pelvic fins, and is starting to develope them on his caudal fin too. Also they have a great character, and they don't just sit there looking pretty like a lot of Apistos. They actually swim around and do stuff!

Here's a pretty recent pic I took of him. Not the best but you can see what I mean, they really are stunning fish! I think a lot of the pictures on the net are of juvenile fish.

271111034.jpg

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Yes, I was a tad concerned that Google Images wasn't going to give me a fair representation, which is why I asked on here :wink: Generally people with experience can explain what a picture can't - sometimes painting a thousand words is in a different language :slfg:

Here's a pretty recent pic I took of him. Not the best but you can see what I mean, they really are stunning fish! I think a lot of the pictures on the net are of juvenile fish.
I think before I commit to any additional tanks and fish, I am going to want to do a tank crawl, and ask EVERYONE for their photos.
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Can you tell us what size tank you have.

Apistogramma need a good amount of swimming room, good quality soft acidic water and plenty of good hiding spaces. I would normally recommend a pair or a trio in a tank with a foot print of at least 600mm x 400mm.

I can put up some pictures of my tanks if you would like.

That macmasteri is a :nfs: Joe and I would also recommend cockatoos as another good first apisto.

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Depending on the species, soft water isn't really an issue. Mine don't have soft water and they're fine. It is necessary for most species to breed though. My macmasteri are very healthy and happy in the slightly hard water in my tank, and spawn heaps, but the eggs never hatch. Which is why I am setting up a blackwater biotope for them so hopefully I will get little baby Apistos :D

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Get your hardness test kits from your LFS or trademe. Kh is the more important one in my own oppinion as this keeps your Ph stable.

Increase your Kh with Baking soda this should also give you a Ph of 8-8.2 (ideal)

Increase your Gh with epsom salts.

A good start is 1tsp baking soda, 1 tsp epsom salts and 1tsp marine salts or non iodised table salt to give. This is for per 20l of water. Cheers.

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That's quite salty isn't it? Have I missed something? I thought these were freshwater fish... :oops:

A bit of salt and baking soda in the water raises the hardness. That's what hardness is - dissolved salts and minerals in the water :) Saltwater has heaps of minerals and salts, whereas hard freshwater has a lot less. You won't be needing to increase the hardness for your Apistos of course. The water can be softened with peat, alder cones, oak leaves or indea almond leaves. You can buy indian almond leaves from trademe. The test kit is just to indicate what your water is like so you will have an idea of how much stuff to add to it to make it soft. The best way to get soft water is to just use rainwater and soak it with peat. Rainwater has no hardness. You can also use an RODI unit but they are really expensive.

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