JackGulley’s South American Tank! (Under Construction)

[JackGulley]

They did, and I removed some water. The sand all fell in in one chunk and splashed the wall.

 

[GaryE]

I've done that a couple of times when refilling after a change. It's messy. I like to give a tank at least to the base of the black trim. In a rimless tank, I give it a few cm at least, sometimes more. Air filtration moves water, and also creates mist right above the waterline. The tiny droplets can travel.

 

[JackGulley]

Still having second thoughts abt pair vs single- would it be that bad if I just had the pair but let them eat their babies?

 

[JackGulley]

Not much new. Added some oak leaves from my backyard to see if they would add tannins. I avoided bird poop and rinsed them off in hot water before adding. I don’t see any tannins or industrial yet but they did go from floating to sinking so I guess they’re doing something.


@GaryE —
ContemplaTing whether I need a heater for this tank. I have one in my community, but I’ve been hearing a few people talk about how many of the fish we keep, live in shaded streams in nature and don’t necessarily need “warm” water 24/7. Is this true for apistos? I assume the answer varies by species, but some species I checked all lived at around 68-75 f (20-24 c), which is about what my house it as year-round anyway. In winter it might go down to 65. So can I safely go without a heater?

 

[GaryE]

If you are breeding, you get the best sex ratios around 25-26c.

Friends who have collected them have said the amazon region, the basin, is warm water even in the forests. African habitats are up and down as far as elevations go, and that leads to cooler temps for many of those dwarf Cichlids. I'd use a heater, but I'd set it around 74f. There's no need to overheat. 65f seems cold to me.

There, celsius and fahrenhit in the same paragraph. I'm bilingual!

 

[JackGulley]

Been thinking about what to feed the fish when they come… I’m the community I feed bug bites bottom feeder formula (usually crushed up) and occasional repashy. Would pencils/neons/a pistols go for the same bug bites or would a different food be preferable? I have some normal floating flakes that I used for the danios when I had them, but the bug bites also floats if I crush it fine enough. I assume nothing in this tank necessarily need the repashy?

I would love to eventually culture and feed some sort of live food; baby brine shrimp or daphnia or something. I have an old, ~1 gal tank from a childhood betta that I could repurpose. But I wouldn’t mind trying frozen live food in the meantime as well.

 

[JackGulley]

A little photo update for you guys

I plan to buy a liquid test kit, but in the meantime I borrowed a handful of strip tests and the tank is cycled! And nice and soft too, which I imagine will be great for my fish.

The driftwood has almost sunk now. I don’t have a real light yet, but I’ve been using a desk lamp to light the single crypt I transferred as an experiment. I think I would like to have a lamp-style light rather than a bar for this tank; I do like the shifting shadows it creates. A few times I’ve put the bar from the other tank on it, and I can see that the water’s starting to get dyed! It doesn’t look particularly colored from the front, but if you look through the side of the tank you can see that the far side is really yellow.

Next haul will be:
A light (clip on style)
Java ferns
Tiger lotus
Water sprite (for floating)

 

[JackGulley]

Would a bristlenose pleco get along with apistogramma? I keep seeing them in stores and they’re growing on me, and I’m sure it would love this big chunk of driftwood.

 

[CassCats]

Would a bristlenose pleco get along with apistogramma? I keep seeing them in stores and they’re growing on me, and I’m sure it would love this big chunk of driftwood.

Iffy, as apistogramma are bottom dwellers and they spawn on or near substrate, easy access for BN pleco to eat the eggs, but if the tank is large enough then you may be just fine, provide extra caves though.

Be sure to have good oxygen levels, plecos need it.


Edit: read back it's a 20g long, too small for BN to start with anyways. They do best with 30g+ because their size and bioload. And definitely not enough space to have other bottom dwellers in with apistogramma.

Here's a full grown male BN for size reference.

 

[JackGulley]

Collected some oak twigs from the yard while gathering some leaves. Are these safe/wise to put in the tank if I boil them?

 

[JackGulley]

Haven’t posted here in a while, but here’s what the tank looks like rn! I get my first paycheck on Friday and will be picking up a pair of keyhole cichlids. Other future residents will be a school of 10 panda cories, and, if I can obtain them, some pencilfish. If I can’t find pencils, I might resort to neon, ember, or von rio tetras.
As you can see I still don’t have a proper light, but I kinda don’t mind the realistic, dim look. I might keep this tank with floating plants but no immersed plants. So far the floater I transferred in is doing fine with the desk lamp.

 

[JackGulley]

Checked water today and discovered it the tank was no longer cycled. I did a fishless cycle a month or two ago but forgot to continue adding ammonia to maintain it. So instead of picking up the keyholes I just grabbed a handful of glowlight tetras and some Turbostart, and also squeezed out my other tank’s sponge in the tank. Once it’s cycled again I’ll grab the keyholes. I like these glow lights, I think I’ll get more of them too.

 

[JackGulley]

After all that searching we actually had some Apisto Agassizii in store today. But they were really young, the shipment was really unhealthy (only 2 left out of like 30), and at this point I’m attached to the keyboles