Apisto riparium

[prototop]

Hey,

Thought I'd post a couple of pics of my 85l tank. Its lighted by three LEDs, 18 watts in total.

Below the waterline...

... and above.

Decoration wise, I would like the echinodorus to grow their leaves above water, so i'm going to have to get a different species like cordifolius or one like it. Currently i have a bleheri (left) and a cordifolius ssp. fluitans, of which the later is specifically breed not to go above the waterline. The bleheri should theoretically go above, but it might not be inclined due to low humidity. Might be that way with other species, but i'm gonna give it a try.
I'll also be putting in beech leaves when autumn comes.

The apisto stock is four 7 months old juvenile cacatuoides, the spawn of my now late pair. The biggest is a little over an inch. Unfortunatly I did not make an effort to feed them while they were babies, since I thought that my glowlight tetras would eat them. So they might be a bit small for their age(?). But they lived and hopefully they'll be able to breed one day.

 

[Stefaan]

That's an amazing tank
Looks very realistic, it makes me think about all those underwater movies of the amazon river you can find on youtube.

I think the echinodorus looks really good like that,
but I am curious how it will look like with the leaves above the water.

 

[slimbolen99]

That's an awesome tank. Can you give more details about the plants growing emergent in the back? I recognize some of them, but a few are unknown to me.

 

[prototop]

Thank you both. Glad to hear you like it.

Can you give more details about the plants growing emergent in the back?​

From the left:
Dieffenbachia
Scindapsus
Spathiphyllum
Syngonium podophyllum
Pilea

All of them have their roots in free water, no substrate until they reach the bottom of the tank.
Hope that answers it. If not, don't hesitate to ask again.

 

[Gwendal]

Really nice tank, very natural!





1 saludo

 

[Senninha]

Beautiful tank, but the humidity in the room is high, mid or low ??? , I ask this because in my tank I have an E. Cordifolius but the humidity of the room is low, and when it will emerge I dont know what will occur

 

[prototop]

Thanks Gwendal and Senninha.

the humidity in the room is high, mid or low ?

Probably low, mid at best. Decided to go with grandiflorus, got them from Germany a few weeks back. Should grow to a meter+. I have no idea how well it will turn out, time will tell.

Got a male cacatuoides the other week. The four I had already are all females.

Nothing special about him, but he's in good condition. Made a waterchange, putting in rainwater, and not an hour later the first eggs were laid. Didn't last long though. The other females were keen on getting at the eggs, and sadly the male joined them in their venture. Saw another batch today inbetween the echinodorus leaves, same story. Maybe they will get the hang of it at some point.
But it's very interesting to watch the females establish territories and having small disputes at the borders. Have at least one too many females though, not enough room for them all.

 

[Rod]

Love it.....
You've inspired me!

 

[Senninha]

oh, thats great ¡¡¡ , I hope my Cordifolius will looks like your Cordi , thanks for the ifo mate ¡¡¡

un saludicoo¡¡¡

 

[DBlauj]

curious to know are those just random twigs and branches in the tank or a specific kind? BTW where did you get your riparium plants from?

 

[prototop]

Thank you Rod!

No problem Senninha, I found this article on cordifolius; http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/articles/the-mud-king-echinodorus-cordifolius.htm

DBlauj,

are those just random twigs and branches in the tank or a specific kind?

Mostly beech, but basically yes. The rule of thumb is to avoid alpine/evergreens. Other than that, with exceptions of course, they just need to be dead and dry.

where did you get your riparium plants from?

They are all common houseplants, so fairly easy to find. The only plant that wouldn't grow, was when i tried out strawberry. Would have been nice with their white flowers, and maybe the berries could have attracted some insects for the fish. But it wasn't to be. And since they don't grow in very wet conditions in the wild, it isn't that big of a surprise.

This is one of the threads that got me going; http://www.aquaticplantenthusiasts.com/tank-journals-photos-aquascapes/2408-50g-riparium.html

 

[prototop]

A few updated pictures of the tank and fish:

The first male i got was too aggressive towards the females, either eating the eggs right after they where laid, or eating the freeswimmers. Between the three females, he got 15 tries at it, before my patience ran out. Replaced him with this one:

Two females had freeswimmers right before christmas.

The females each had three days with the fry, whereafter the male dicided that broodcare was a mans job and chased them away. Have about 10 that made it through the critical fase and are now at around 1-1½ cm(~half an inch) in length.

Bought 10 black neons i addition to my 5 glowlights. Unfortunately, with them came a bad case of ick. I now have two neons left. The apistos got infected, but luckily they survived. Considering whether to get 5 more tetras or go for some pencilfish.

 

[Mike Wise]

Before buying more fish, buy a quarantine tank. If not, you might not be so lucky next time.

 

[wethumbs]

The quarantine tank can be double as a hospital tank as well. Eventually, you will also need fry tanks if your goal is to breed and raise fish.

 

[prototop]

I see what you guys are saying, sound advice, but with just a single 85l tank, I'll take my chances for now. I do intend to expand my fishkeeping in the future, and at that point, a quarantine/hospital tank will have top priority.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Lovely tank, I really like ripariums. Have a look at these threads on the UKAPS forum: <http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/208l-high-humidity-riparium.24238/#post-248568> & <http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/toms-bucket-o-mud-rare-update.14521/> You might like the Echinodorus in the second one.

Saw another batch today inbetween the echinodorus leaves, same story. Maybe they will get the hang of it at some point.

Get some caves, I like the 1/2 coconut with a notch cut out. It can be a small notch, as the male doesn't have to physically enter the cave to fertilise the eggs.

Bought 10 black neons

I agree about the quarantine, but they are a good dither/target fish for A. cactuoides, and I used them a lot.

Do you know what the fern in front of the Nephrolepis is? is it Phlebodium aureum? If it is it doesn't like being wet all the time.

cheers Darrel

 

[prototop]

Thanks Darrel,

The threads you link where among those that inspired me to try it out. They are well worth a read.

I have some pots down in the leaflitter. I think it was just a matter of the female being inexperienced. There where also four females in the tank at the time, so the bottom area may well have been occupied.

I believe the plant is indeed Phlebodium aureum. It seems to have developed some new healthy roots since I put it in a few weeks back. But your right, it's properly not well suited for the conditions.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

There where also four females in the tank at the time, so the bottom area may well have been occupied.

Quite likely, if there were caves available.

It seems to have developed some new healthy roots since I put it in a few weeks back.

Sounds good, I'd just keep an eye on it. It is a good house-plant for a cool, dry room.

cheers Darrel

 

[Sloory]

Thats a great tank! well done!

 

[prototop]

Thank you Sloory.

So my peace lilly flowered

This is the tank from a few weeks ago. This 'dark swamp' look is what i'm going for. I had to pull out the duckweed for a time though. The echinodorus, thats still under water, doesn't grow under a layer that thick.

As you can see in the first picture, the grandiflorus has put up a stem aswell. I'll upload a picture when it blooms.