My 15 gal sprung a leak...... So I am going to upgrade to a tank with same footprint that way I can use my glass top and light. I would like some input on tank mates for the apisto pair that I have yet to purchase. I figured I would take advantage of the added height. It will be heavily planted when the plants grow in with a couple rocks and DW. Water is pH 6.5 and a kH and gH of 4-6.
Equipment
25 Gal Tall
Eheim 2215
65w CF Lighting 10,000k
15w T8 6500k
Eheim Jager 200w Heater
Substrate
Organic Miracle Grow Potting Soil
Crushed Granite
Rusty Nails
Decorations
Granite rocks
Drift wood
Fauna
1 pair double red agassizi apistos
10 Neon Tetras
2 Marble Hatchetfish
5 Elegant Corydoras
5 BN Pleco Juvies
1 Male BN Pleco
Red Ramshorn Snails
MTS
Flora
Amazon Swords
Alternanthera reineckii
Crypts
Jungle Val
Dwarf Sag
Rotala Indica
Ludwigia Repens
Anubias Nana
Heteranthera Zosterfolia
Penny Wort
Java Fern
Java Moss
Any of the SA tetras or characins would work well. Some of my favourites are cardinals, rummynose, lemons, black phantoms and bleeding hearts. Maybe two shoals of contrasting colours like cardinals and phantoms etc.
Quote from: Lurch1 on March 26, 2012, 07:16:00 PM
My 15 gal sprung a leak...... So I am going to upgrade to a tank with same footprint that way I can use my glass top and light. I would like some input on tank mates for the apisto pair that I have yet to purchase. I figured I would take advantage of the added height. It will be heavily planted when the plants grow in with a couple rocks and DW. Water is pH 6.5 and a kH and gH of 4-6.
So far:
1 apisto pair (hopefully agassizi, but not looking so good)
BN pleco
What else (preferably from SA) would look good?
Sorry about the leak, hope you caught it in time to avoid a major mess... A blessing in disguise though, you now have a bigger/taller tank ;)
IIRC, the 25G tall is 20in high so that leaves quite a bit of room in the mid and top section of your tank considering your apistos will mostly hang out near the bottom of it.
You could look into a small schooling specie like neons, cardinals or pencilfish for a splash of color in the tank. They would typically hang out near the top of the tank, not bother your apistos and serve as dithers as well (if you end up getting a shyer type of apisto).
Personally (also have a 25G but the long version, 30x12x16) I went with Neons and Corys. The neons stay out of the apistos way but the corys do occupy some of the same space but get chased away when they get too close or annoying. They're not aggressive and really interesting fish.
But really it comes down to what you like and what your goal is with the tank (display, breeding, etc...). Just make sure to keep an eye on compatibility and bioload. Another thing to consider is you now have a taller tank with the same light, make sure your plants get enough of it. Did you up your filtration or keep the same as you had on the 15G?
Good luck with the new setup, keep us posted!
Eric
I like the idea of 2 contrasting shoals of fish. Would 5 or 6 in each shoal be over kill? I will have to look and see what BA has and see what would look nice. I was reading that corys need to me in a group of at least six, is that written in stone? I wouldn't mind 2 or 3 but 6 would be too much I think.
Corydoras are definitely happier in larger numbers.
A lot of people still keep them in smaller numbers, and they survive
just fine.
I have a group of 20 adolfois and they are the happiest bunch I've ever seen,
quite often sleeping one on top of the other. When you have a nice bunch
they make quite the show in a tank.
So I would personally get as many as your stocking levels would
support.
Quote from: Lurch1 on March 27, 2012, 08:13:35 AM
I like the idea of 2 contrasting shoals of fish. Would 5 or 6 in each shoal be over kill? I will have to look and see what BA has and see what would look nice. I was reading that corys need to me in a group of at least six, is that written in stone? I wouldn't mind 2 or 3 but 6 would be too much I think.
I went from 5 to 9 C. paleatus in my 25G and they seem a lot happier. They always hang out in group swimming together or just fooling around (bunch of goofs). I would get at least 6 in that size tank but probably more depending on which ones you get (adult size).
Another option would be to get some of the pygmy varieties and get a lot more of them, that would make for an interesting group.
Eric
Quote from: bizfromqc on March 27, 2012, 08:43:11 AM
Another option would be to get some of the pygmy varieties and get a lot more of them, that would make for an interesting group.
Eric
Thats an idea. I didn't know there were pygmy corys. I will investigate.
Both Sas & bizfromqc have offered sound advice, the Pygmy varieties would give you the ability for larger qty & keep the bio load down, same principal applies to smaller tetra & other smaller shoaling fish.
Errol
Yeah, I agree. I was just reading up on them and they look really neat. Hopefully they aren't to hard to get ahold of. Would 8 or so be a good number?
Quote from: Lurch1 on March 27, 2012, 10:15:41 AM
Yeah, I agree. I was just reading up on them and they look really neat. Hopefully they aren't to hard to get ahold of. Would 8 or so be a good number?
You mentioned in another thread that you had a AC HOB filter on the 15G, are you still using that for the 25G and if so, which one specifically?
I took the AC 50 off my rift tank and added another AC 40 as well to clear up the murky water. After all is said and done I will just have the AC 50. Here are the progress pics.
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMG_0183.jpg&hash=0ab381de1a171f3ce7d065e0d7bfce11ac8e2357)
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMG_0186.jpg&hash=ba0d52031e6a7621af0d00f9386b0bcf669cfd9e)
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMG_0188.jpg&hash=3605a006024616535061ecbbeff0c9411cd71374)
Quote from: Lurch1 on March 27, 2012, 08:13:35 AM
I like the idea of 2 contrasting shoals of fish. Would 5 or 6 in each shoal be over kill? I will have to look and see what BA has and see what would look nice. I was reading that corys need to me in a group of at least six, is that written in stone? I wouldn't mind 2 or 3 but 6 would be too much I think.
Cories prefer the companionship of a group of their own kind, but I've kept smaller groups (2-3) in smaller tanks with no issues. Plus they're great at cleaning the bottom of the tank of uneaten food - solid choice.
What about hatchet fish?
Quote from: Lurch1 on March 27, 2012, 06:18:14 PM
What about hatchet fish?
Marble hatchets are really nice, but they tend to be jumpers and you need some kind of cover on the tank, and keep a min of six.
Well, how about this for a stock list:
10 Cardinals
6 Hatchets
10 pygmy corys
2 apistos
2 BN plecos
Snails.....
Here is another pic now thats its cleared up.
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMG_0195.jpg&hash=d58405b2b5a96fe4de482502fa560243785b048d)
Quote from: Lurch1 on March 28, 2012, 10:36:02 AM
Well, how about this for a stock list:
10 Cardinals
6 Hatchets
10 pygmy corys
2 apistos
2 BN plecos
Snails.....
Here is another pic now thats its cleared up.
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMG_0195.jpg&hash=d58405b2b5a96fe4de482502fa560243785b048d)
I think it would look great. Let me know if you find pygmy cories, I've noticed they can be hard to find locally. I wouldn't mind getting some for myself.
Quote from: exv152 on March 28, 2012, 04:20:02 PM
I think it would look great. Let me know if you find pygmy cories, I've noticed they can be hard to find locally. I wouldn't mind getting some for myself.
I will be going to BA today I will keep you informed.
The agassizi's are going to be available so I guess cockatoos. How many can I put in with the above stocking list?
Quote from: Lurch1 on March 30, 2012, 10:05:44 AM
I will be going to BA today I will keep you informed.
The agassizi's are going to be available so I guess cockatoos. How many can I put in with the above stocking list?
No more than 2, a male and a female.
Great, thanks.
Quote from: Lurch1 on March 30, 2012, 10:20:45 AM
Great, thanks.
I replied to your other thread about picking males/females.
2 once a pair is established but a couple more if you are unsure about sex and pairing. You will have to remove the other ones after they paired up though.
I decided to stop with the peat water after seeing how annoyed my wife was getting with me spending so much time on it. I will try and post a new pic of my tank with reg water. It looks great (IMHO), but I am, of course, biased.
Quote from: Lurch1 on April 01, 2012, 09:07:01 PM
I decided to stop with the peat water after seeing how annoyed my wife was getting with me spending so much time on it. I will try and post a new pic of my tank with reg water. It looks great (IMHO), but I am, of course, biased.
In my humble opinion, keeping the wife happy is the key to enjoy this hobby LOL Cant wait to see the pics.
I like the style of your set-up and look forward to seeing it progress.
I need to find a way to get my husband hooked up with some of you guys. He's ambivalent for the most part but when I talked about a Fluval Ebi to house yellow shrimp he said he is going to do an intervention before I turn into the crazy fish lady. Hahaha.
Quote from: Janny on April 02, 2012, 09:51:11 AM
I like the style of your set-up and look forward to seeing it progress.
I need to find a way to get my husband hooked up with some of you guys. He's ambivalent for the most part but when I talked about a Fluval Ebi to house yellow shrimp he said he is going to do an intervention before I turn into the crazy fish lady. Hahaha.
Thanks! It has been most relaxing working with it. I am a paramedic so when I can take my brain out and play in some water I find it super relaxing. I find it is so easy though to come down with MTS.
Quote from: bizfromqc on April 02, 2012, 08:27:26 AM
In my humble opinion, keeping the wife happy is the key to enjoy this hobby LOL Cant wait to see the pics.
She was already uber PO when I got a fry tank for the basement so I had to do something to appease her.
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMG-20120401-00001.jpg&hash=5072a341298d653fae35fa7c27dee98a5c55488c)
Any comments or criticisms more then welcomed!
I was able to snag some alternanthera reineckii from petsmart and was wondering where the best place to put it in the tank. Also so some elegant corys for cheap at BA so I decided to grab them too.
Nice looking tank!
Nice :D I like how you piled the drift wood like that. Sometimes simple is more.
I have a 20gal. And I love Apistogrammas. They have such a funny personality although I know its mostly aggression, its still fun to watch them puff their gills and slap their tails at each other.
Thing is I have a hard time keeping them from killing each other. I used to have some in the 75gal when my other south americans had smaller mouths. lol It was more successful then but it won't be now with the large Red Hump male and Threadin Acara. The Jurupari is getting big too.
Any tips on housing Apistos in a planted 20gal? I am probably best off with 1 of them aren't I? lol Well I won't be getting any more fish for that tank yet as it has been a little cloudy. I want to get a new hang on back filter with better stuff to put in it to help. Plus I am working on finding a pressurized c02 system to pump into both tanks. Fuller plants the better!
Quote from: Chubs on April 02, 2012, 05:54:16 PM
Nice looking tank!
Mercy Buckets!
Quote from: ottawa_fry22 on April 02, 2012, 07:56:43 PM
Nice :D I like how you piled the drift wood like that. Sometimes simple is more.
I have a 20gal. And I love Apistogrammas. They have such a funny personality although I know its mostly aggression, its still fun to watch them puff their gills and slap their tails at each other.
Thing is I have a hard time keeping them from killing each other. I used to have some in the 75gal when my other south americans had smaller mouths. lol It was more successful then but it won't be now with the large Red Hump male and Threadin Acara. The Jurupari is getting big too.
Any tips on housing Apistos in a planted 20gal? I am probably best off with 1 of them aren't I? lol Well I won't be getting any more fish for that tank yet as it has been a little cloudy. I want to get a new hang on back filter with better stuff to put in it to help. Plus I am working on finding a pressurized c02 system to pump into both tanks. Fuller plants the better!
I haven't had much experience with planted tanks and "aquascaping" so I thought I would give it a try. I enjoy it. As for the apistos I was told a pair would be max and have it well planted/obstacled to break up the line of sight from the male.
Quote from: ottawa_fry22 on April 02, 2012, 07:56:43 PM
...
Any tips on housing Apistos in a planted 20gal? I am probably best off with 1 of them aren't I? lol
...
You should have no problem at all keeping a pair/trio in a planted 20G. The long version is better than the tall version because it provides more real estate (surface area) at the bottom of the tank for established territories. Depending on the specie you go with, you may be able to get a pair or trio setup in there. Make sure there is plenty of hiding spots, caves and clearly defined seperate areas (out of sight out of mind) for them to not see each other all the time.
Eric
My only suggestion is add a background to that and it'll pull everything together as I love the aquascape.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I painted my cichlid tank background black. Would this look ok here or another colour better? I'm not really a fan of the "picture" backgrounds, too fake looking for me.
I've done both the painting and applying a background with oil (messy) and the results are 100X better with the paint BUT also more work (both to put on and if you want to remove after a while).
Next tank is going to get the sticky vinyl treatment, I already bought some and can't wait to try it out :)
Was your background 1 color or a picture?
Quote from: Lurch1 on April 04, 2012, 01:58:57 PM
Was your background 1 color or a picture?
Just a color, black.
I'd give the sticky vinyl a go though. Having seen the demo at our last planted meeting, it looks great, it's easy to put up and it's cheap.
I spray painted a piece of cardboard dark blue and it turned out really well
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nice tank, do you any pictures of those elegant cories?
Here is a link. http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=elegantcory
If they cooperate with my I will try and get a pic. Where does one get sticky vinyl?
Quote from: bettabreeder on April 04, 2012, 02:44:47 PM
I spray painted a piece of cardboard dark blue and it turned out really well
How did you attach it to the tank?
Interestingly enough, a pygmy cory gets to 1.4" in length and these elegant corys range from 1.5 to 1.9 inches. I guess I could attempt 8 or 9 in my tank eh?
Quote from: Lurch1 on April 05, 2012, 08:12:35 AM
Here is a link. http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=elegantcory
If they cooperate with my I will try and get a pic. Where does one get sticky vinyl?
How did you attach it to the tank?
You can get the sticky vinyl from Omer De Serres (http://bit.ly/HUU6Fi).
I bought two yards (24" high) with a plastic-thingie-spreader and taxes for about 12$.
Check out the post here for pictures of our last plant meet (http://bit.ly/HUUCDs) and you can see how the vinyl is applied.
Basically, as Winnie and Robert explained, you clean the surface, you soak it with water and then you stick the vinyl on it (from center on smaller tanks, from top of bigger one) and then use a CC or straight edge to squeeze the water out from under the sticky vinyl. The result is a bubble-less stick-on that looks awesome.
I haven't done it yet but will do soon.
Eric
Here are some pics I took.
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMAG0017.jpg&hash=517ffa2cd31b5deea8284eff3d47244c72f49a23)
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMAG0012.jpg&hash=f8011c17d3913db1d3aac5dac0dfb2f3c678471e)
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMAG0011.jpg&hash=3c612f0c794c4c7f33e2e5f62368429058a18900)
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMAG0007.jpg&hash=cb01ea46c4756d95a06f46e08aab1db9db8db3e7)
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMAG0006.jpg&hash=e3e8abd7ef471e516dbd1b672c3bc4c9410e7630)
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMAG0022.jpg&hash=489229b295704d365f033ed610a92f16d4d3875d)
Quote from: Lurch1 on April 05, 2012, 08:12:35 AM
How did you attach it to the tank?
I have a hob filter and snuck it under there but clear hockey tape works as well
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I finally did the sticky vinyl and it was a breeze. I will never apply a background with tape or spray paint a tank anymore.
(don't know if you guys noticed but it was the background of my fry tank)
I should have looked when I was there! I'm a dummy.
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMAG0056.jpg&hash=2e73abdf0cb2f644bd1787e4671c38aa9236d83c)
(https://www.ovas.ca/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi798.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy269%2Fmwhite23%2FIMAG0046.jpg&hash=47485b19162970fd9a674fcd54ba139778733129)
It's all coming together nicely, job well done!
Is this where you're going to house the A. cacatuoides juvies?
Ah, I see you went with the marbled hatchets, nice touch. How many of those did you get?
The juvies are in my fry tank. I forgot that I had one when I was talking to you. It was a long day. I really like the marble hatches. I decided to go with neon as the cardinals were still under quarantine and I am inpatient.
Some new pics
I saw those guys at BA wanted some so badly but no tank space. A new tank in the future perhaps
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Yeah I thought they looked pretty sweet. I guess I will have to set up another apistos tank for my cockatoos. What a shame!
I like the first picture, the colours are beginning to get intenser.
Nice looking fish, great colors.
How are they acting up together? Did you think about maybe getting a trio to increase your pairing chances and disperse some of the aggression (if and when it comes)?
Never kept agassizi so I don't know if that's even an option for that size tank...
Keep us updated!
Eric