A. eunotus tank set-up questions..

[campbellosii]

Hello,

So this is actually my first post to the forum and hopefully it will be another forum community I become fairly active with! I'm a big plant freak, but like my fish too..

Anyways.. I am completely new to Apistos, but have had Kribs for a while and currently have a pair raising babies. I have all the same water parameters that my friend has, do to our locations being very close and he is breeding Apistos without issue. I am looking more into building a proper set-up for the fish and am wondering what kind of set-ups seem to be working better for everyone?


*I think my #1 thing is what substrate to go with. I don't have extra money to blow and have 2 basic substrates on hand:
1.Pea gravel - I buy this in 40 pound bags for $3 and have lots setting around. Seems to not change the ph or other parameters in my tanks.
2. Pool filter sand - The only issue I feel from this is that the small grain size allows a lot of toxic gases to form under the substrate if it is more than 3/4" deep.

*Tank size will be 10/15/20g and tanks are oriented with short ends showing in my fishroom, so focus is more on the fish requirements vs aquascaping.

*I have clay pots, med-large rocks, slate and driftwood all in good quantities that I can use.

*Lots of live plants.. Possibly 75+ different plants.

*What type(s) of leaves or the like does everyone prefer? I would like to use something that is not going to tint the water excessively if possible. I also have 4 unopened bottle of Kent Black Water.

Any and all help is appreciated, as well as tank shots for inspiration!!

Thanks,
-Cory

 

[slimbolen99]

I think the size tanks you are looking at will work well for a single pair. The females can get extremely aggressive when spawning occurs. I like to keep 6-8 small dithers (dwarf pencilfish work great) with a pair, just to give her something to chase around other than the male. Also, make sure you put at least two caves per fish; so for a pair, four. Orient them in different directions as well, so that the sight lines are broken up.

The pool filter sand seems to work best for me; the smaller size allows them to dig (very little digging, but they ARE cichlids). If you've got good root structure, you can probably get away with a 2" base just fine. If you don't feel comfortable with that; plant your plants in small terra cotta pots. Driftwood is good, but other rocks is not necessary. A good idea is to break up the sight lines in the tank; if you can see a clear path, you can bet that the female apisto can as well; which will not bode well for the male (or vise-versa, depending on the fish's attitude).

As far as leaves, the big broad leafed oak leaves work best for me. No maple, no pine needles, no cottonwood leaves. Oak if you have them, almond leaves if you can afford them.

It sounds like an exciting setup. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out for you.

Here's an example of a couple of my A. eunotus tanks, it might give you an idea on where to start...

First A. eunotus tank; a 20 high (24" x 12" footprint). Started with two males and two females. Ended up with a good solid pair.

75 gallon A. eunotus tank. A few plants, mostly micro swords are growing under the leaves. Pool filter sand. Lots of driftwood and oak leaves. About 12 terra cotta caves, cut in half, and laid on their side in the sand...which you can't see.

 

[Mike Wise]

I really can't add more to what Brian (Slimbolen99) wrote other than to say welcome to the apisto forum.

 

[campbellosii]

Hey Brian,

Thanks for the great info and I will make sure to put it to good use.
I found out I still have an unopened 20# bag of Super Naturals sand and think I will be using it vs the pool filter sand.
The guy I am getting them from says he on uses about 1/2" of sand to keep it from building gases.
Is there anything you do to keep your sand from building gases in it with the 2" depth?

Thanks again!
-Cory

 

[Mike Wise]

Other than periodic gravel cleaning in open areas, shouldn't the plant roots take care of the rest? Just don't lay rocks or roots on top of the gravel; bury them to the bottom.

 

[campbellosii]

I was refering to sand, not gravel. Gravel I never have issues with, sand I have had issues with. I have a good amount of plants rooted in 2 different tanks containing sand as the substrate and still had gases forming even when the depth in both tanks run maybe about 1 1/4".

 

[Mike Wise]

OK, I should have said sand. Just stir the sand and let the debris settle on top. Then siphon it off the surface. Same can be done around plant roots. Just stir more carefully.

 

[campbellosii]

Thanks Mike!

I am thinking I may make some disguised planters and maybe go with a lower depth of sand.
Or see who in our local club has a large amounts of MTS snails they would part ways with as they will do a lot of stirring the sand without disturbing the tank mates.

I wanted to go collect some oak leaves today, but of course it is raining again.. Swear this weather is killing me.

-Cory

 

[wethumbs]

While a natural biotope aquarium is nice. I am abit more pragmatic when it come to tank setup since I dont plan to rip the entire tank down just to catch the fry. I would recommend putting oak leaves in a nylon filter bag or filter sock. It will facilitate for an easy cleanup. Make sure you tie the opening of the bag really good. I had one bag filled with sphagnum moss opened up in the tank and the fish just use it as their 'sandbox'. Now the sphagnum moss is all over the tank...what a mess.