Plans for a cockatoo apisto

[toaduck]

My plan is to get two females and 1 male. I have a 20 gallon long. Have finished cycling finally.

My ph is around 8.0. It's hard to tell on the api high range test. My gh is 3 and my kh is 5. It's weird I guess to have such a high ph with low gh and kh.

My question is am I ok with a cockatoo?
I have gotten so many different opinions. Some say no some say yes.

Any help.

 

[ADC Nederland]

I would lower your pH to about 6 or 6.5 and If you intend to breed I would suggest an even lower pH.

Make sure you keep a close eye on the females. 20 Gallons might seem like a big enough tank but Cacatuoides are very fiesty. You can go ahead and try it and seperate 1 female if you have a second tank, if you don't, then only get 1 male and 1 female.

Make sure you have plenty of hiding places and holes that they can hide in.

If you can get them, add Catappa leaves (Indian Almond Leaves) because they help lower the pH and condition the water. They need to be swapped out once every 2 weeks and I think the messure is 1 medium size leave for about 50 liters of water. I dont know the Gallons for this though.

 

[Chromedome]

There is a tendency to underestimate their adaptability. I've bred cacatuoides in pH up to 8.5 with no problems, so long as the TDS is under 200ppm. They are one of the most adaptable species in this respect, and if you get one of the aquarium developed strains, it is even easier. A long 20 is plenty big enough for a trio, I've seen them maintained this way in a 15 by a friend for years.

 

[toaduck]

There is a tendency to underestimate their adaptability. I've bred cacatuoides in pH up to 8.5 with no problems, so long as the TDS is under 200ppm. They are one of the most adaptable species in this respect, and if you get one of the aquarium developed strains, it is even easier. A long 20 is plenty big enough for a trio, I've seen them maintained this way in a 15 by a friend for years.

What's tds

 

[toaduck]

I would lower your pH to about 6 or 6.5 and If you intend to breed I would suggest an even lower pH.

Make sure you keep a close eye on the females. 20 Gallons might seem like a big enough tank but Cacatuoides are very fiesty. You can go ahead and try it and seperate 1 female if you have a second tank, if you don't, then only get 1 male and 1 female.

Make sure you have plenty of hiding places and holes that they can hide in.

If you can get them, add Catappa leaves (Indian Almond Leaves) because they help lower the pH and condition the water. They need to be swapped out once every 2 weeks and I think the messure is 1 medium size leave for about 50 liters of water. I dont know the Gallons for this though.

How would I go about lowering it. I know it seems like a dumb question and I've read 100s of articles about it and am frightened to even try. I am against doing it chemically.

 

[Fikret Celik]

Perhaps, in this valuable live. However, this value did you get the puppy? Magnificent! How?

 

[Chromedome]

TDS=Total Dissolved Solids. The total amount of stuff other than water that is in the water, expressed in parts per million (ppm). Generally, GDH is roughly 17 ppm per one degree of hardness, but it's measured a different way, so they don't always match up perfectly. Anyone with more than a handful of tanks should pop for a TDS meter, it is indispensable.

Fikret Celik: yes, when I say I bred them, that means I had young and raised them up. Cockatoos are not an extreme species; I've also bred and raised borelli, macmasteri, and Rotpunckt in the same water. IMO, Hardness is more important with these species than the pH.

 

[toaduck]

Oh ok. Thanks

 

[Fikret Celik]

Thank you. I am hopeful that with your information. Because, I have found high levels of water in the city (PH: 8). But, you say name "Cockatoos", we know "Apistogramma Cacatuoides", is it possible?

 

[ADC Nederland]

There are simple ways to lower pH. One way is adding Indian Almond Leaves (Catappa Leaves), driftwood and you can even try and use a bottled solution, which are perfectly acceptable and safe to use.

I'd dig a bit deeper, rather then search for the answer that suites you the most. If you don't take counter opinions into consideration, why ask questions in the first place.

 

[Fikret Celik]

Thank, you. Water in order to reduce the value, I am using oak leaves and tea. Unfortunately, I'm not very successful. Now, I started using peat. Anyway, I've written on this site is subject to title, I'm studying. I am constantly reading and learning...

 

[Mike Wise]

I will only add one comment. Yes, you can successfully reproduce (most populations/strains of) A. cacatuoides at pH8, but you will find it much easier and the fish more prolific at pH values closer to neutral.

 

[ADC Nederland]

Another tip, depending on where you are in the world... Some bottled waters from your simple Super market have water that have a very low pH and a low conductivity level (the scientific name slipped my mind)

You could try and tes the water from the bottles to see what the pH levels are and if you could add a couple of liters to your tank and see if that lowers the pH overall.

 

[toaduck]

I haven't replied to this in a couple of weeks but recently after starting this thread I figured out that my test strips were bad. I now know that my ph is 7.4 and holding steady as a string. I also added driftwood that probably helped. I feel much better now. I am also going to buy some catalpa leaves for cover as well as helping soften the water. 7.4 should be ok right?

 

[Fikret Celik]

I have opened my title on this subject was discussed. You can take a look there if you want. Mike can evaluate the proposal. Good luck ...

http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/threads/relates-to-the-use-of-peat.18626/