Double Red Aggies???

[Microgeophagus]

I have a pair, but I know little about the species aside from the fact that they like soft acidic water, hiding places and polygamy. I have a young m and f in a 20L with most of the light strip blacked out planted w/ amazon swords, Java moss, and dwarf lillies. The temp is around 85 deg F and there are a pair of Bolivian rams in the tank with them. There is also a huge piece of driftwood and a broken flowerpot in the tank. The male is very reclusive and I haven't seen the female in 2 days. Is this normal? There seems to be no tension between the rams and the apistos.

 

[apistodave]

Dump the Rams and lower the temp about 5 degrees

 

[Mike Wise]

Your Double Red Aggies are a domestic strain of A. agassizii. Treat them just like the wild caught forms & you should be fine. I agree with David. A 20L is too small for both species to establish territories & breed in at the same time. Temperatures of 75 - 77º/24 - 25ºC are best for keeping apistos (slightly lower for Bolivian Rams). Higher temperatues cause them to age rapidly. Once your aggies have fry, raise the temperature up to 79ºF/26ºC for the next 2 months to ensure that you get a fairly even number of both sexes.

 

[Microgeophagus]

Unfortunately we had a bio-load issue with the first pair. I thought that after 2 mos of running that tank w/ a haplo cat and a fancy guppy that it would be cycled. The trites spiked and killed my aggies, but there is good news. I recieved a M and 3 F's of the same breed yesterday and they are in the 20 L. the Rams have been put into my 29. Right now I am planning on giving all my rams, except for a pair, up for adoption so i can put some young discus in that tank. I will heed your suggestion on dropping the temp to just below 80 f (on the 20L). I just had it turned up to fight any disease, unfortunately it made those trites pretty lethal instead. My long term plan is to get my 90 up and running with discus, dwarfs, and lush fauna. I know that I will have to keep my temp around 85 f for the discus. Is this going to be harmful to my Apistos? Are there any dwarf cichlids you guys would reccomend for a large discus tank; or should I say a higher temp tank? I do love my rams and I find apistos to be very interesting also, so while I am saving to get this tank operational I will have plenty of time to bounce ideas back and forth with those more experienced than myself. My 90 is going to be a heavily planted amazon aquarium. I filter over ketapeat now and I think I will continue to do that in the 90 I have an old Fluval 203 that will basically be a peat and bio vessel. My mech. filtration is going to be 2 large sponge filters w/ power heads. I will be injecting co2 and I will be running a 4x65w cf system. I will also be on a steady diet of gov't cheese and Ramen noodles and selling my firstborn child to fund all of this.

 

[Mike Wise]

I know that I will have to keep my temp around 85 f for the discus. Is this going to be harmful to my Apistos?

It will be harmful only in the respect that your apistos will age more rapidly. In the wild apistos are basically annual fish. In the aquarium they usually live 2 - 3 years, but at 85ºF/30ºC don't expect them to live as long. For a warm tank I would think that the savanna apistos like A. hoignei or A. hongsloi will handle the temperatures better. Mikrogeophagus ramirezi should do well, too.

 

[friend688]

Dear Apisto Breeder

Hi All,

I'm new to this forum. Many rules may not be clear and I wish to get to know some hobbies to aquire some good Apisto fish line.

Any availablity, Im from Singapore.

Rdgs
friend688 :biggrin:

 

[Microgeophagus]

Unfortunately I am a newb, not a breeder. From what I understand you should be able to find all sorts of fish in singapore though.

 

[Apistt_ed]

Hi All,

I'm new to this forum. Many rules may not be clear and I wish to get to know some hobbies to aquire some good Apisto fish line.

Any availablity, Im from Singapore.

Rdgs
friend688 :biggrin:

hello. One of the sites that I know of that has a lot of apisto keepers is www.petfrd.com

they can help you out. From what I hear, singapore has great selections of fish.cheers. john

 

[Microgeophagus]

Mikrogeophagus ramirezi should do well, too.

Is there a big difference between German Blue Rams and regular Blue Rams in this respect?

 

[Mike Wise]

They are the same species. Commercially produced species of both color strains can be 'delicate', so it is best to quarantine the fish for several weeks before putting them in a community tank. Of course, this is valid for any fish.

 

[Microgeophagus]

What are the ideal water parameters for this variety? Also, what should I feed them?

 

[Mike Wise]

pH 6-6.5, conductivity <10 µS/cm @ 79ºF/26ºC (for breeding), dGH<5, dKH<3. You asked for ideal. They can handle slightly harder water than listed. Feed live (baby brine shrimp, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae) and most of the availabe frozen food that fit in their mouths. White worms & chopped earthworms 1 or 2 times a week will increase the number of eggs. More often than this and the fish become too fat.

 

[Microgeophagus]

pH 6-6.5, conductivity <10 µS/cm @ 79ºF/26ºC (for breeding), dGH<5, dKH<3. You asked for ideal. They can handle slightly harder water than listed. Feed live (baby brine shrimp, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae) and most of the availabe frozen food that fit in their mouths. White worms & chopped earthworms 1 or 2 times a week will increase the number of eggs. More often than this and the fish become too fat.

How does one determine conductivity, or should I say test? I am currently medicating my tank :frown: It seems that the supplier of my apistos sent me some nasty bits, Ich to be precise. So we are running a cocktail of Aquarisol, Melafix, and Pimafix (for good measure) right now. They are looking much happier, my male isn't clamping his caudal fin anymore and my one sickly looking female is doing much better. Also, according to my hardness test my water is "soft" but it only registers in ppm. How would I go about calculating dGH and dKH?

 

[Mike Wise]

Conductivity can only be measured by a conductivity meter. If your water is naturally soft and you do frequent water changes, do not overload the tank with fish, & don't overfeed, your conductivty will be OK. As for conversion of hardness (if my old brain recalls correctly), 1º dH = ~17.8 ppm TDS. There isn't an exact conversion, but it's close enough.