need help with colonization of my 110*45*45cm

[Csababá]

Hi,
I have a 110*45*45 cm (br 220l) tank that still needs background with filtration inside so the actual room will be poorer. It will have a 40*50*3 cm sponge filter (matten+powerhead) and a corner "cell" filled with mesh and a powerhead for mechanic filt.
I'd like to have 1-2 trios/pairs of Apisto (Cacatuiodes, Agassizi/what I can buy), 1-2 pairs (Do they choose partners or is it enogh to buy 2 fish with diff. sex?)) of Mikrogeophagus (Rami, Alti), and maybe a pair of Pelvi pulcher. The tank will be normally planted and decorated with driftwood and coconut shells. I'm thinking of Corys but breeding dwarf cichlids turned to be kind of aggressive towards bottom them. Actually this would be a display tank while I'll try to breed 1-2 species in other small tanks. What do you think about this set up? In my 80*30*40 cm tank I have a trio of Cacatuoides now but no other cichlids so I don't know how they get along with each other. I only have a few tanks so I can't keep all the species in different tanks.
Thx for any help.

 

[RAF]

You are over populating the aquarium. In that size you can may place a trio of very small apistos or a pair of larger ones and, maybe, a pair of rams. Forget about the kribs.

Why are you thinking of putting that kind of background? You can filter the tank with a outside cannister filter and you'll gain space inside. If you choose to go with more than a pair of cichlids you should "fourinsh" the aquarium with lots of plants and/or driftwood and/or stones.

It's preferable to let them choose the mate, but you can always buy a pair and hope they get a long. If they don't, on of the tricks I use is to put them side by side, so they can see eachother, but being unable to reach each other for som time... after than you can rejoin them if you see some courting through the glass ou net.

 

[bigbird]

Morning,

I agree, to many fish for such a tank. Leave out the Kribs.
You have only bottom dwelling fish, so would suggest to stick to either Apistos or Ram for such a tank. Get some top swimming fish instead.
Also agree witg RAF, get a cannister filter to get more room inside the tank.
Have fun cheers jk :biggrin:

 

[Csababá]

thx

Thank you both. Yes, a cannister filter woulg be great but te tank is right next to my head when sleeping so I'm afraid of its noise and when lack of electricity maybe water coming out.
I believe you, I just wanted to have all my favourite species in a tank because I don't have the oportunity to keep them in separate tanks (maybe later).
Is it a wrong theory that rams don't need caves while apistos do so they would get along better than only apistos in a tank?
So you recommend only 2 species of dwarves?

 

[bubbasnooki]

hello

for that large of a tank with alot of fishes you need to supply alot of filtration ..having to much nitrosomonas and nitrobacter bacteria will do more good than harm your fish... iwould think about gettin an 150 gpd portable r/o unit with an aquatec 8800 series booster pump if your faucet water pressure is less than 40psi...having the booster pump added to your r/o unit will increase the water pressure to about 80psi .....most r/o units recommend water pressure in the range of 50-85psi for optimum performace of the r/o unit ...nex thing is to add a uv sterilizer after your canister filter...some canister filters come with uv sterilizer like a pond canister filter....after the uv steriler...think about getting a product that noone really have called eco-aqualizer.....what iy does is it loosens the water molecule bond H20...the water molecules attach to each othe like a web...when you dd eco-aqualizer the water becomes ionized meanig loosening the water molecule...in this process the oxygen level can be easily used by inhabitants such as your fishes and your nitrosomonas and nitrospira or nitrobacter bacteria...increasing the filtration potential to about 300%..in this process to- xic chemicals such as ammonia and nitrites are easily broken down ..providing yyou with better water clarity and better light penetration through the water you can look it up at eco-aqualizer.com this product also aids the fish in the fight of diseases with oxygen being a necessity to fishes ..with ecoaqualizer fishes are not breathing more because te oxygen is easily provided for them...with this happening their imune system is much stronger in fighting diseases...

 

[Csababá]

thx

I think, the things you mentioned are not common in my country or not suitable for my low budget options. I've changed my mind a bit. I plan to keep a bit less fish without the sponge wall. Now I'm thinking of buying a canister but it's quite expensive and I'm afraid of water coming out of it. The corner "cell" will remain because of the decor background unless I completely change my mind and go for no backround, but that will turn up side down everything again.

 

[dw1305]

Filter

Hi Csababa,
I agree with lighter stocking, I'd go with 1m/2f or 1m/3f (or if you can get enough structure and planting, and the filter is fully established 2m/ 5 - 7f) of whichever Apistogramma species you could obtain (as a group of unsexed juveniles?), a shoal of "dithers" (small tetras, hatchets or pencil fish (most people prefer pencils, but I keep Black Neons with Apistogramma cacatuoides, and they successfully rear plenty of young in the tank with the Tetras). Have a look at the threads about tank decor
and all the pages here: <http://dwarfcichlid.com/Good_habitat.php>

I keep Malaysian Trumpet Snails and Otocinclus in all my tanks, if I started again I'd probably try MTS and Cherry shrimps. (I like my Otocinclus, and they have bred, but I think they are fish that really require careful looking after, as a colony, in a spacious heavily planted dedicated Otto tank, or possibly with a small Panaque species, L002 etc or Corydoras habrosus etc.)

I'd definitely keep the Hamburg matten filter
<http://www.janrigter.nl/mattenfilter/>, I think that it would give you at least as much filtration as an external, in fact be much better, cheaper and easier to run all round. You can always plant the top of it as well. <http://kuehnast.com/s9y/uploads/mattenfilter-nachher_klein.jpg>
If I could get suitable stiff, coarse pored (10 ppi) filter sponge sheets easily, I'd use them rather than the Koi filter sponge / powerhead and (on bigger tanks) trickle filter arrangement that I use now.

With apologies, because this is a cross post (from a plecofanatics.com), but you can get a lot of filtration (and added O2) relatively cheaply.

"...My mark 2 planted trickle filters are lengths of guttering, with the water picked up from the tank via a powerhead (Maxijet) with a 15cm x 10cm x 10cm (6" x 4" x 4") "koi" filter sponge attached to the intake (I just fix it on the strainer with a plastic tie, it is like an extremely DIY "Huey Hung" Discus filter). The original version was level and had holes in the bottom of the guttering to drip the water back into the tank, these used to clog (mainly with plant roots) so the mark 2 version is on a slope and has internal baffles (to act as small weirs and stop all the "hydroleca" calcined clay granules ending up in the tank) and the water return to the tank by flowing out of the end and into the tank (bit like the sump/weir arrangement on a marine tank).

The trickle filter is just a 2' length of guttering down pipe, with a plastic pot as "spray plate" at the top, 3/4 filled with clay granules and a plastic mesh at the bottom, into a bottom chamber 1/2 filled with plastic scouring pads. I have it mounted above the tank, the water is pumped into the top (again via a powerhead, because I need a greater head of water in this case I put the koi sponge in the pot, rather than on the powerhead) trickles down through the sponge, "spray plate", clay granules and pot scourers and back into the tank. It isn't pretty, but it seems to work fairly well......"

cheers Darrel (in Bath)

 

[Csababá]

Thank you dw1305,
the "problem" is that it should be a display tank in the living or bedroom so I wanted to make it nice for "civil" peolpe as well if you know what I mean (e.g. my "wife"). That's why I wanted nice background (artificial) and no visible technique.
Now I'm completely unsure about everything.
Unfortunately I don't understand the quoted post but I'll try to catch it again later.

 

[dw1305]

Hungarian

Hi Csababa,
I should be apologising for the post, it is not very well written in English, and you're English is good, particularly against my Hungarian, which is non-existent. I can sympathise, because my wife is not keen on our fish/fish tanks (or all the houseplants), possibly because of the guttering, drain pipes, water on the floor, home made hoods/light fittings etc.

My recommendation for any Apistogramma tank are the ones here:
<http://dwarfcichlid.com/Good_habitat.php>.

Personally I don't use anything hi-tech, no liquid feed, no CO2, no canister filters, I use rainwater, not R.O., and I use dead wood I collect for free. I feed ordinary aquarium flake, but I use all the free live food I can get, Mosquito larvae, Daphnia, Earthworms, and I keep a Grindal worm culture for when other live food is scarce. I do like the T5 fluorescent tubes (or CFl lamps), but I use ordinary tubes and fittings, not "aquarium" ones.

I think the "Mattenfilter, powerhead" combination, quartz sand substrate (mixed with a small amount of leaf mould), frequent small water changes, tolerance of some mulm build up and lots of "structure" -(relatively slow growing "low light" plants, wood and coconut shells) will give you a beautiful, stable, balanced tank, which will sustain happy, healthy, breeding fish.

cheers Darrel (in Bath)

 

[Csababá]

Thank you that was much clearer. I think I'll listen to my more experienced (than I am) friend who promised me to help and maybe later I'll be able to recognise what we did good or bad.