Hello All! newbie to this site

[Chilly Willy]

Hey everyone ...

I currently have a 150 gallon tank with no fish in it lol!
2 black fans Crush coral bottom 100 pounds of coral reef rock picked from the Bahamas,Grand Cayman , Puerto Rico & Mexico love my tank but don't know what fish to go with.
I had 20 African Cichlids but got rid of them due to their aggressive behavior
i tried putting two Bolivian rams in tank and i never seen them again ,the african cichlids chewed the two rams up
I stumbled upon this (abc Apsitogramma) fish and fell in love with its color and shape

QUESTIONS

Anyone know if the (abc Apsitogramma) fish can live in a crush coral bottom/coral reef rock water tank ??????
Anyone know a pet store in New York City Area (Manhattan) that carry these fish ????????

Hope to read back from u .......... peace love & sooooul train ........

 

[Josh]

Welcome to the forum! Thanks for joining!
Seems like you might run into some water chemistry issues. But I'm not positive. I've not done what you're trying to do personally. Our veterans should be able to chime in and give you a better idea.

 

[Chilly Willy]

Welcome to the forum! Thanks for joining!
Seems like you might run into some water chemistry issues. But I'm not positive. I've not done what you're trying to do personally. Our veterans should be able to chime in and give you a better idea.

Thanks for having me .... Great site!! I'm all for some direction .....

 

[regani]

I am not really a veteran of apisto keeping, but I'll offer an opinion

All the crushed coral and reef rock will create very hard water as traces of it slowly dissolve into the water.
Apistogramma are soft water fish and come from waters with very little dissolved minerals. This means that they will not do well in hard water, it will make them susceptible to disease and can also cause some direct health problems.
You'd be better off to stay away from apistos with a setup like that.

If you want to stick with the setup, do a little bit more research into the African lake cichlids, there are a few that are less aggressive and the right combination can make all the difference.
Some of the Central American cichlids could also be an option as they can tolerate the hard water but aggression may be a problem there as well, depending on the mix

 

[gerald]

Nannacara anomala is probably the least fussy S.Amer dwarf I can think of, and usually does OK and will breed in hard water. Or consider small Tanganyikan cichlids (shell-dwelling Neolamprologus, Julidochromis, Chalinochromis, Tanganicodus) or the Cent. Amer Thorichthys, Sajica, or others (these are mid-size fish, not dwarfs. If you want soft-water Apistos, Checkerboards, Rams, or West Africans you really need to set up a different tank with non-carbonate substrate.