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Derek,
I don't think you'll have much of a problem with the A. cacatuoides or hatchets. Hatchets, especially the silver ones, prefer a brightly lit open water surface. Their silver color blends in with the surface interface, making them hard to see from above and below. Your cockatoos will find plenty of hiding places to keep them out of the light. With enough hiding places they'll probably come out into the open, too. Breeding/brooding females may be harder to find because they will want to keep their fry hidden in the shadows. Mike Wise Derek Wingert wrote: Hello again, everyone. Recently I ordered lots of supplies to set up a well-planted 30gal tank for Apistogrammacacatuoides.Well, luckily a friend I know owns a pet shop and sold me a complete used 36" Perfecto SHOlight hood with reflector and two 5400K bulbs for $90. Great for the plants... this will be awhopping 110 Watts over a 30 gallon tank... nearly four watts per gallon. I was readingthat Apistogramma are quite shy in these bright conditions. I plan on having a fewoverhanging / floating (you know what I mean!) Italian Vals, but not too many floating plants,but luckily I will have lots of hiding places among plants, driftwood, slate caves, and coconutcaves. I am wondering if I just ruined my chances of keeping Apistogramma -- and in a spendyfashion. I would also like to keep hatchets as sort of dithers and also for the contrast... butthey are top-dwellers. Will they be blinded by this kind of light? I know I am. Have there beenany studies with light levels and apisto behavior? Thanks again. -- Derek Wingert |