Re: cacatoides

[Frauley/Elson <fraulels@minet.ca>]

Hi,
There are a couple of points I'd like to make about your cacatuoides:
first, Bob said you would need at least a 10 gallon. I'd say a 15,
minimum. The charm of these fish isn't just their looks, it's their
behavior. With no room to move, they just aren't going to be worth
watching.
Second, that's a bad environment for the fish. Never resort to chemicals
unless you know exactly why, or unless you are set up to gradually and
methodically learn how they work. You have to at least use a test kit,
see your starting point and adjust your water accordingly. Your fish are
lucky to be alive in a chemical soup.
Third, the smaller the body of water, the more unstable it is. In the
short term, while you either hunt for a bigger tank or a new home for
your apistos, I would lay off the pH chemicals and do water changes at
least twice a week (in a 3 gallon). In a 15, you'd be fine with every 2
weeks.
I keep killifish, famous for their small tank needs. I have some 2.5
gallon tanks in which I will keep juvenile pairs. Their waste output is
maybe 10 percent of what one cacatuoides will produce. They may spend a
few weeks in a 2.5 until I can get them to a bigger tank, but even for
them, tanks that small can be a problem.
I'm not trying to be a pain here - there are some older books that say
we can keep apistos in smaller tanks, but they aren't works that
emphasize behavior, and they don't make it clear how much work keeping
apistos in a small tank is. We live and learn, but while we're learning,
we should offer the same option to our fish.
Gary


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