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Pablos

New Member
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5
Hello. Im setting up a new tank (120l) with my 10 years old son and he wants to add Apistogramma Agassizii fire gold as the centerpiece of this tank.
Tank would have some rocks and plants (work in progress) as well as small school of neon tetra plus some shrimp.

I don’t have an experience with Apistogramma, so want to check with experts what would be the preferable number of them ? Pair, 3 (harem) or maybe 4? Thanks in advance for all advices
 

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
You can scratch the shrimp. They are only expensive live food. ;)

Otherwise a pair would be best for the start. A group of 3 (1m/2f) could work, provided the structures of driftwood and rocks are done right. (Of both gather rather too much than to little <<before>> starting the hardscape. When you have the feeling it won't all fit you have the right amount to build the necessary structures. Surplus often looks good mounted on the wall next to the tank.) Mike Wise advises 30cm diameter per fish for territory, so try to basically cut your tank visually in half. Make sure you break the lines of sight on ground level (lower third), that's most important.

The water sounds good, the pH will drop a bit anyway in the tank as plants and beneficial bacteria establish. No need to do anything about these parameters. Just stick to a weekly 50% waterchange schedule.

Additionally leaf litter will be a good idea. What substrate do you have in mind? Apistogramma do best on a sand substrate.
 

Pablos

New Member
Messages
5
I have quite a few RCS and they breeding like crazy. Occasionally I dump some to the discus tank, pick out from sump .. they might be food :) I don't care.

Regarding design. My son collected quite a few black stones and put all together. There are two mirrored pieces of rocks one the left side and other on right side of tank, while center stays empty. So basically it's as you said: cut in half, rocks on both sides.

Regarding substrate. I put some clay (JBL Aquabasis Plus) to support some background plants grow and put a white sand on top of it.

I might add some Indian almond leaves, as I have quite a few trees around my location. I also saw "Sappanwood" Pods - dried fruits of the Biancaea sappan tree looks nice. Just around a corner I have also yellow mangrove, so there is something to choose between. Is it to release tannins or to allow Apsito to hide?
 

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MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
I have quite a few RCS and they breeding like crazy. Occasionally I dump some to the discus tank, pick out from sump .. they might be food :) I don't care.
If you already have them that's different. Just don't buy any to add. That money will be wasted. I also sometimes get young shrimp from a neighbour and feed them to my APistos.

Regarding design. My son collected quite a few black stones and put all together. There are two mirrored pieces of rocks one the left side and other on right side of tank, while center stays empty. So basically it's as you said: cut in half, rocks on both sides.
It's the opposite of what I said. Reverse the layout. Rocks and Wood in the middle so the animals can avoid each other on opposite sides of the tank without seeing each other.

Regarding substrate. I put some clay (JBL Aquabasis Plus) to support some background plants grow and put a white sand on top of it.
Try a more natural sand colour. Lighter colours are okay, pure white is rather disorientating to some fish.

I might add some Indian almond leaves, as I have quite a few trees around my location. I also saw "Sappanwood" Pods - dried fruits of the Biancaea sappan tree looks nice. Just around a corner I have also yellow mangrove, so there is something to choose between. Is it to release tannins or to allow Apsito to hide?
Yes, you can add all of them them when they are thoroughly dried.
Tannins, Tannic/Fulvic/Humic acids, decoration and hiding places, also infusoria and microorganisms grow on the botanicals. They have a whole lot of benefits. Just take a look at Apisto biotopes. There is sand and some rocks on the ground, lot of leaf litter on top of that, driftwood and seedpods are scattered all about.
 

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