I cant help it. i gotta get em all!

[gurds]

after viewing through the discussions on a few different species i really cant help it but say OMG i have gotta get em. so since im selling off my africans i think ill buy a few different pairs of some different types like borelli, agassizi, cacatuoised, trifiasca and some others that look nice.
ill be putting them in 2ft species only tanks will they be alright?
anyways anyone know what requirments ill need to keep and breed them?
also anyone know some good shops in brisbane to buy them?

cheers gurds

[Th0mas]

Hi gurds,

A 2ft tank can host more than a pair. But if you intend to setup a tank for individual pair for breeding purpose, I suggest a 18-20 inch tank is adequate (in face 1ft cube is quite good if you can find them).

Typical requirement, soft acidic water, sponge filter, pots and caves. Substrate or not, it's your choice. Feeding variety of live, frozen and pellet (need to be careful with live food). In regard to how low/soft your water need to be - that depends on the species you keep.

Shop wise, Steve (gingerbeer) should be able to guide you in Brisbane.

[gurds]

ill wait for his reply and thx for that th0mas

[zar]

try wetpetz, pet city or annerley aquarium.
wetpetz have cacatuoides, i got my pair from them
pet city and annerley aquarium have some more fancy ones every now and then, often $30 each...wetpetz sell a pair of apisto cacatoides for 20.

[Th0mas]

One additional thing you need to pay extra attention to - quality.

The cost of apistogramma varies depending on species and place of origin (where it's bred from). I won't go into the detail here as it's potential to start an argument.

You need to pay extra attention especially with the more common species (eg. cacatoides, "non Tefe" agassizi, nijsseni) where there has been numerous reports of genetic deformities in the fish due to excessive in-breeding by breeders (commercial as well as hobbyist) who don't care on the quality and just dump the fish in the market.

So before you dive into it, look around and spend extra time looking at the fish until you're satisfied. Sometime this can be missed even to the experienced hobbyist where they concentrate in colour and may neglect to watch out for deformation.

[gurds]

kk thx ill have a look sometime

[gingerbeer01]

Zar got the locals dead right.

Annerly have them opposite there counter. Pet city have the cool stuff on there counter. Wet petz have it all over the place.

This weekend I go to scope out my tanks that I am setting up in the garage. Will be 12 2 footers 3 rows of four - divide the top row into 1 foot tanks for breeding - 8 tanks for growout.

This is my first "fish room" and chance to try everything I have learned.

I currently have a small rack in my office of two small breeders and 2/2 foot grow outs. And 2 tanks outside to encourage the mozzies - got a thing for mozzie larvae at the moment

I have access to twice that many tanks - just how many I can get in the garage before Mym notices.

Also will have 2 four footers that I was thinking geos but am now thinking something american as a garbage bin. (I miss my fenestatum and could also go some chocolates)

Assuming all goes to plan the big buy will be mid December.

Steve

[gurds]

wat species u getting cause i may be interested in getting some nice varieties?

[gurds]

wat sorta foods do you guys feed your apistogrammas? also how well do apistogrammas ship say from sydney to brisbane or melborune to brisbane? srry for all the questions but wats the best substraight?

[Bubbles]

Hey gurds,

My advice to you - "take it or leave it" is buy just a couple of pairs to start with & see how you go cause they are not cheep & some not easy to keep, you have to get your water properties right with apisto's & water properties depend on where they originate from. As for substrate, tend to stay away from white or black gravel (Advice from LFS) & it depends on type - will you be running an under gravel filter?

We feed our adult apiso's live BS, frozen blood worm & Brine & the fry we give BBS.

As ThOmas said be careful where you get them from, if you can get them from members within the discus forums you at least know you will be getting quality, healthy fish & they do ok in transport from sydney to melbourne so I don't see any probs from sydney to Brisbane.

Good luck on your quest & keep us all posted on progress & what you end up getting.
ThOmas is the wize one with apisto's & his advice is alway's good advice.

Cheers,
Bubbles aka Karen :D

[gingerbeer01]

Gurds,

Wetpetz this weekend - nice pair of borelie and heard veijetja for under $15 eacha nd good quality. Last ones I saw up here had mouth and body deformations so quite optimistic.

[gingerbeer01]

Gurds,

Wetpetz this weekend - nice pair of borelie and heard veijetja for under $15 eacha nd good quality. Last ones I saw up here had mouth and body deformations so quite optimistic.

[gurds]

hhhmmm might setup a spare 2 footer and use some previouse existing water from another tank thats got around ph of 7 etc, and adding in some rain water and make a trip down there this arvo or tomorow. also it be ok if i divided the tank so they would have half each?

[Robdog]

That would probably be ok gurds. What might be even better is a 3 footer divided in 2 but once you get started with apisto's, your days of having 1 or 2 tanks are gone for good. You'll soon end up with multiple tank syndrome. :wink:
As for substrates, I personally think the darker the better with apisto's. Mine have always seemed more at ease with a dark substrate and the less stress the better for these guys. It also helps their colours stand out too.
Stuff like the ADA Amazonia soil is perfect (and very widely used by apistophiles O/S) as it not only looks the goods but naturally buffers your water and is great for plants too. Eco complete is good too as it is really dark but I'm not sure if it has the same buffering abilities as ADA soil.

I've used UGF's with apisto's with some success. The only problem is that when you get a spawning, some of the fry seem to like burrowing down into the substrate and can't get back out again. Very frustrating.
Sponge filters are the way to go for small bare bottom tanks though.

As far as food go, anything goes really. I've used a lot of differnet stuff over the years including frozen bloodworms, BBS, live and frozen BS with and without spirulina, Breeders Blend flake, colour bits, frozen beef heart, frozen marine dinner, frozen marine green dinner and live black worms.
They all work and they are all good except for the black worms I reckon. The fish might love them(and they really do) but I've had a lot more problems feeding with them than without.
Xtreme was giving out samples of some Cichlid Crumble granules ages ago and they went down really well too. Really good for fry too when I ground them up.

Hope this gives you a bit of help. With these guys it's always wise to do your homework first as they can tend to get expensive if you use the trial and error method. As far as prices go I would be wary of the "specials" and avoid the impulse purchase. Generally the really cheap apisto's are the really crap apisto's and only experience will train your eyes to find the good ones. Good luck. :P
Steve knows what he's doing and he's a local for you too. He'll put you on the right track :thumb

[gurds]

thx rob. ill see if i can go tomorow and ill set up a tank tonight if i can go :D

[Bubbles]

Great advice Robdog :thumb - will you ever go back to apisto's or are you over them for good Robdog, just thinking such a shame cause it takes so long to master the apisto, you used to keep them - What happened?

I have come so far with the apisto's, just learning water properties to recreate the Amazon took me a long time - there's no turning back for me, besides we love the challenge & our apisto's. :D some people play golf or go clubbing - we keep apisto's - all hobbies cost money.

[Robdog]

...will you ever go back to apisto's or are you over them for good...

I don't think I'm even close to being over them. :lol: :lol: I'll keep them again for sure. I'm in a bit of a crook housing situation at the moment but as soon as I'm out and into my own place, I'll be sneaking tanks full of apisto's into every spare space before my fiance finds them.
When I moved up here from Sydney a few months ago I sold off all my stuff and haven't been able to get started again up here.....yet.
:idea: Maybe I'll rent some acreage and start digging out some ponds :idea: :wink:

[Bubbles]

If you need help with setting-up mybe we all should come together & start an apisto fund for you Robdog :idea: :wink:

[Robdog]

Bring it on!

[Bubbles]

Bring it on!Bring it on you say............give me a list of your favourite apisto's & leave it with me.........I'm serious - I love a challenge :thumb