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New to Apisto - gotten a baenschi

bruiselee

New Member
Messages
4
Hi guys.

New to the hobby and gotten myself a pair of Baenischi ( Inka? )

currently having a 90cm x 50cm x 50cm planted tank.

I will think the tank is quite densely planted with many crevices.


Some of the tank mates are

16 Tucano Tetras
10 Weitzmani Tetra ( bought 10, no idea how many remains as they dont come out for me to count)
10 amano shrimps
2 Otocinclus
1 Assassin snail for the pesty snail hitch hikers.
20 red cherry shrimps


Most recent additions are the red cherry shrimps, my idea was for them to breed and create a self sustaining livefood supply for my apisto pair.

I wonder if it works and Is it recommended?


Secondly, I'm also looking forward to my apistos mating and breeding,
what are the foreseeable issues that i will be facing with such a community tank mates?
What can i do to increase the rate of my first breeding success - if they do happen to mate?

Will also appreciate any random tips/help thrown my way for making a smooth sailing apisto journey.

Thanks guys
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
.......and gotten myself a pair of Baenischi ( Inka? )

currently having a 90cm x 50cm x 50cm planted tank. I will think the tank is quite densely planted with many crevices.


Some of the tank mates are

16 Tucano Tetras
10 Weitzmani Tetra ( bought 10, no idea how many remains as they dont come out for me to count)
10 amano shrimps
........
1 Assassin snail for the pesty snail hitch hikers.
20 red cherry shrimps


Most recent additions are the red cherry shrimps, my idea was for them to breed and create a self sustaining livefood supply for my apisto pair.
Welcome.

Good choice, A. baenschi are a really nice fish. Do you have a picture of the tank, it will give us a bit more idea of the planting, substrate etc.

I'm not sure your stocking list will work, the Tucano & <"Weitzmani tetras"> are really unusual fish, but they need water that is too soft for Assassin snails, Amano shrimps or Cherry Shrimps. I haven't kept either of them (I've only ever seen them as singletons as "bycatch"), but my understanding is that they are also both quite sensitive and delicate fish.

Apistogramma baenschii will definitely <"eat the Cherry shrimps as well">. I'm not sure how they will get on with the Poecilocharaxl, I can see a situation where there is competition for bottom space and/or spawning sites.

Rather than Cherry Shrimps I use <"two other crustaceans as "tank janitors">, they are a lot better at hiding, and don't mind softer water.

cheers Darrel
 

Nelsonfeelscool

New Member
Messages
7
Location
Tokyo
cherry shrimps will just be snacks for the apisto...many apisto keepers in China do that, because they believe Shrimp's astaxanthin is good for Apisto to color up.
 

bruiselee

New Member
Messages
4
This is my tank,
yes it is my intention to let the apistos snack on the cherry shrimps and hopefully they breed fast enough from my 20 of them.
 

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dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
This is my tank,
yes it is my intention to let the apistos snack on the cherry shrimps and hopefully they breed fast enough from my 20 of them.
Nice tank.

I think you'll need to keep the Cherry shrimps in another tank (with harder water) for this to work.

cheers Darrel
 

bruiselee

New Member
Messages
4
I went to get some test kits..

GH 8
Kh 4/5
Ph 6.2 - 7

Change in pH is due to co2
Which will be on for 10 days a day.

Will it be OK for their breeding of my apisto?
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
I went to get some test kits..

GH 8
Kh 4/5
Ph 6.2 - 7

Change in pH is due to co2
Which will be on for 10 days a day.

Will it be OK for their breeding of my apisto?
I think the water might be too hard, but you would need some-one who has bred A. baenschi to give you a definitive answer.

I'm not a CO2 user, but the changes in pH are a bit strange when you add CO2, they are to do with the change in the CO2 ~ HCO3 ~ pH equilibrium point, they don't effect water chemistry.

Do you have a conductivity meter (TDS meter)?

cheers Darrel
 

bruiselee

New Member
Messages
4
Nope, I do not have a TDS meter... Is there particular reason for checking the TDS?

Hi, yes it's wild.
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
Nope, I do not have a TDS meter... Is there particular reason for checking the TDS?
Yes, the reason is that as your water gets softer, and lower in nutrients, testing for pH (and nutrient levels) becomes more problematic. To get around this you can use ppm TDS as an indicator of water suitability.

TDS meters all really measure electrical conductivity, which is linearly related to the amount of ions in solution.

Conductivity measurement doesn't tell you what those ions are, just how many there are. If you have a low electrical conductivity you don't have much dGH or dKH, because you don't have much of anything.

The water these fish come from in S. America have really low conductivity levels, often less than 50 microS and sometimes in single figures.

Have a look at <"Test kits for GH and KH">.

cheers Darrel
 

ButtNekkid

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
315
Location
Finland
Hi,

I ´ve bred wild Baenschi several times in water under 100 µS.
Darrel´s way for testing water has worked for me fantastically because I´m a lazy aquarist. ;)

Also, may I suggest a nice layer of leaf litter on the bottom of the tank.
My Baenschi fry really like to dig deep in to the mulm.
 
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