Re: Apistograma Cacatuiodes

[Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com>]

Colleen,

I think the reason for using only the top 1/3 of the water is because the
carbonate hardness is concentrated in the bottom 1/3 of the water somehow. Maybe
it is just a myth, but that is what the old timers always recommended.

I personally would not recommend putting A. cacatuoides & Pv. pulcher in the
same 10 gallon tank. This is much too small for the 2 species. You would
probably lose the Cockatoos once the Kribs started breeding. Kribs are
biparental. "2 against 1 is never fun."

Mike Wise

Colleen McGuire wrote:

> Hi Mike,
> Thank you very much for your input. I have been running the Fluval peat
> granular through my filter cartridge, but it doesn't seem to be doing the
> trick. I don't know the purity of it, perhaps a trips to the lawn and garden
> store will make a difference.
>     I just read in one of my back issues of  Freshwater and Marine Aquariums
> about the boiling of the water idea. I am in the process of trying it out. I
> am curious though, why do you indicate to siphone off the top 1/3 of the
> water?
> In the species clarification, I belive I have the cacatuoides. I am a little
> disheartened, I thought they were the same as the Inca's. Nonetheless, they
> are beautiful specimens. I hope to have some fry ready for the aca
> convention in July.
>     Would you recommend that I can put the cacatuoides in the same tank with
> pelviachromis pulchers? Right now I only have the pair in a 10 gallon tank.
> I was looking at the apistograma borelli as well. I thought the two would be
> a nice contrast to each other. tia Colleen
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike & Diane Wise" <apistowise@bewellnet.com>
> To: <apisto@v2.listbox.com>
> Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2003 4:06 PM
> Subject: Re: Apistograma Cacatuiodes
>
> > Colleen,
> >
> > A. sp. Inca looks like A. nijsseni with an expanded dorsal fin, like A.
> sp. Breitbinden/Broad-band. A 3X cacatuoides is a standard yellow A.
> cacatuoides with large amounts of red on the dorsal, caudal, & anal fins.
> Rayon Vert Aqua has good photos of both species on its site, or look through
> a search engine for the 2 names.
> >
> > As for you hard water, the KH can be reduced by boiling the water, letting
> it cool slightly, & siphoning off the top 1/3 of the water. The boiling
> drives off gasses including CO2 & causes the CO3 to precipitate out &
> concentrate in the bottom of the pan. This is an old, old, method & not very
> useful for quantities of water more than 5 gallons/20 liters at a time. You
> > can also dilute your tap water with distilled (expensive) or rainwater
> (irregular). Neither are ideal options.
> >
> > Probably the best method to slightly soften the water is to run the water
> through sphagnum peat. It will lower the KH more than the GH. Never use the
> standard aquarium water softening pillows. These just substitute chloride
> ions for the other ions. This increases your conductivity - something
> apistos don't like.
> >
> > There are several apistos that will breed in your water as it is. A.
> cacatuoides is one. Unfortunately A. sp. Inca does not. Others I'd suggest
> are A. sp. Rotpunkt, A. borellii, A. macmasteri, A. viejita forms, A.
> eunotus forms, & A caetei forms. Experienced breeders can even get others to
> breed in such water, but the number of fry are usually low.
> >
> > Mike Wise
> >
> > Colleen McGuire wrote:
> >
> > > Could someone explain to me the difference of  tripple red Cacatuiodes
> and inca's? I thought they were one in the same. Also, what are some
> suggestions as to lower the kh and gh? Right now in my cacatuiode tank I am
> running 4degrees kh and  11 degrees gh. I don't have a reverse osmosis unit,
> and I haven't had much luck with the water softener pillows. tia. Colleen
> > >
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