Rams in a hard water area – 1/28/08
Hi guys,
<Hello.>
First off, great site. As a relative newcomer to all this, I've learnt a lot from your site, but there are some specific questions I had regarding my slightly shaky knowledge of water chemistry!
<Please have a read of these articles on water chemistry:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsoftness.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwhardness.htm
A lot of the problems aquarists have with keeping fish alive come down to keeping the wrong sorts of fish in their local water chemistry conditions. By default, beginners should first find out their water chemistry, and then select fish that do well in such conditions. Randomly buying fish and hoping they'll adapt sometimes works, but often doesn't.>
I live in an area with quite alkaline water coming out of the taps, with a pH of about 7.5 - 8, and I know the water is also very hard, although I haven't tested it for an exact figure.
<Do test, or at least get a sample tested at the fish shop. In Southern England for example, the water often has a pH around 8 and a hardness around 20 degrees dH -- this is harder and more alkaline than the water in Lake Tanganyika! Consequently, many soft water fish DO NOT do well.>
I have recently purchased a Juwel Rio 125, which as yet is totally empty, no water, plants or substrate, although I have purchased some soil and lime-free substrate.
<Rio tanks are nicely made, so good choice.>
I hope to eventually keep a pair of rams, a few Corys and a school of Glowlight, cardinal or black phantom tetras, as yet undecided.
<Back to the drawing board, please. Do research the requirements of each of these species and you'll see there isn't much overlap. Rams need very warm water to do well, at least 28 C, which is far too warm for many Corydoras and the Black Phantoms. On the other hand, while Corydoras will tolerate hard, alkaline water well, Cardinals and Rams generally do not.>
First off, is this a good selection?
<No.>
Obviously I am aware that these fish prefer slightly acidic soft water conditions to thrive, so here is where my main question arises. I have read a little about RO water, and so I know that at some stage this is going to have to be involved in my tank setup, and is available from my LFS, but I'm unsure as to the best way to use it to get to the conditions I require for these fish, which I have researched and seem to be around a pH of 6.5 and a hardness of 6-10 dH (does this sound right to you?).
<Do read the article on soft water aquaria in particular. I keep soft water fish in a hard water area, and do so by mixing rainwater with tap water, typically at a 50:50 mix to keep things simple. I'd personally forget about Rams; the quality of commercial stock is extremely poor and riddled with disease by the time you buy them because they get weakened by being kept at standard temperatures. Bolivian Rams, Flag Acara and Keyhole Cichlids are much better community tank South American cichlids, and infinitely easier to keep. Do pay close attention to the temperature requirements of the fish too. South America is a big place, and many fish from the continent, such as Neons and Peppered Corydoras, want cooler water than those from warmer waters. Mix the two together and someone will be unhappy.>
Sorry if this question is a little broad, if you require any more information I'll do my best to supply it, and keep up the good work!
Phil
P.S. Please bear in mind I live in the UK, so if you are going to recommend any products those available here would be useful!
<Cheers, Neale.>

Apistogramma Sp. Galaxy Info 1/12/2008
Hello , I have recently come about a dwarf cichlid at one of my LFS .I was told is an Apistogramma galaxia ( aka steel blue? ), however I can not find any information on any fish with that name. I am guessing galaxia is a not so common name. They don't stay still long enough to get a good picture of them. The male is gray with a dark horizontal band running from his eye to just at the tail and a vertical band through the eye. The tail is yellow and the dorsal is a light blue tipped with a very thin edge of red. There is also pale blue and red tiny speckles on the cheeks. The females have the same horizontal band but also have vertical ones as well that aren't as visible in the male. They also have the same coloration on the dorsal and cheeks but not as strong as in the male. They are just over an inch long at this time. If you could please help or point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated. Thank You
JP
< Exporters from Peru come across many unusual Apistogramma species. Anytime there is a slight variation in the color they call the same fish a different name. This same fish has been imported under the name Apisto. sp.( parrot, algodon 1, rio algodon, papagien, galaxy, galaxia and galaxis). It is a dwarf cichlid that gets a little over 2 inches with the females staying much smaller. They tend to like soft acidic clean water. Females turn yellow when getting ready to breed. After spawning in a cave she turns a bright yellow and chase all the other fish away. At 80 F the eggs hatch in about three days. The fry become free swimming in another three days and then need to be fed baby brine shrimp, micro worms and finely crushed flake food. The males don't develop any fin ray extensions on the dorsal or caudal fin. Looks to be a very nice fish when it matures.-Chuck>

Re: Apistogramma Galaxia
Dither Fish Recommendations For Apistogrammas    01/13/2008
Hi, Thanks for the reply Chuck. I'm very excited to see them mature now as they are already really pretty. They are in a 10 gallon as of now temp is 80 F and ph is 6.5 with weekly water changes of 30% .I will be moving them into a 20 long sort so they can have more space. It will have a sand substrate lots of wood and planted with java ferns and mosses. Any suggestions for a dither or top dwelling tank mate maybe even from the same area? I read keeping Corys or other bottom fishes would not be so good. Thanks again. JP
< Hatchet fish, splashing tetras or pencil fish would leave the Apistos as the dominant fish in the tank. Dwarf Corys would probably be killed by a brooding female.-Chuck>

Sick Bolivian Ram... mis-stocked, salt use, env. dis.  12/7/07
Hi -
<Hello Laura>
I have an 80 gallon FW tank that cycled for 6 weeks prior to adding fish. I added one tablespoon of aquarium salt per gallon of water when I set up the tank
<Why? That is, for what purpose?>
and continue to add salt at the same rate when I do water changes.
<Again, your rationale?>
The LFS suggested I try 3 Bolivian Rams, 2 Rubber Nose Plecos, 2 Botia Angelicus, 3 Kribensis, and 3 Neolamprologus Sexfasciatus.
<... suggested? Mmm, these fishes "like" quite different water conditions... some soft/acidic, others hard/alkaline... Mmm, maybe see all these species ranges for such posted on Fishbase.org>
They told me the fish would be OK together in an 80 gallon tank with plenty of rocks and plants so I created 3 separate groupings of rocks/caves and plants then added all the fish to the tank at the same time. They were doing great the last 3 months until now.
<Okay>
The female Ram stopped eating 2 weeks ago. She hides in the plants or hovers near the heater, she doesn't seem to be eating and is getting thinner, her feces are thin and pale, looking more like empty casings than anything else. She doesn't swim with the other Rams the way she used to. Also, today her breathing seems to be more labored and I thought I saw some swelling inside her gills.
<Mmmm, could be internal parasite issue... perhaps (a smaller likelihood) the water conditions, salt catching up with it metabolically... even psychological reaction to hassling... by the Botias or African Cichlids...>
The only other sick fish is one of the Plecos - it has a strange looking spot on it's tail that looks like a chunky ball right on the middle edge of the tail fin. Could that be a fungus? He seems healthy otherwise - swimming and feeding as usual.
<Seem WWM re funguses/infectious disease of FW fishes... and of Loricariids... True fungus is rare... very much more likely here is trouble with your water quality... Again, the salt, too hard water...>
I'm sure these problems were created by poor water conditions
<Oh, I agree>
and overfeeding which I have hopefully rectified. I fell behind on water changes and the nitrates spiked to almost 80. I've been doing small water changes every 2 days for the last 10 days.
<Mmm, this may be too much... what percentage are you changing out?>
Water quality seems to be ok now - nitrites and ammonia are zero, nitrates are down to 15, temp. is 81 degrees F. I will be maintaining the tank with a weekly schedule of small water changes from now on.
<Good>
Is there anything else I can do to make the Ram healthy again or is it too late?
<Never too late as long as the animals are alive...>
What do you suggest for the Pleco's tail?
<The same as for the Rams...>
Should I treat all the fish at the same time in the 80 gallon tank?
<Mmm, no>
If I need to move the Ram and Pleco to a hospital tank, can they be in the same tank for treatment?
Thanks, in advance, for your advice!
Laura
<Not advice per se... but systematically this is what I would consider: Moving the soft/acidic animals (the Rams and Plecos) into another system, or the hard/alkaline water (the Africans and Botias)... into another system (they're not compatible physically or psychologically)... Next, giving up on salt... See NealeM's input here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/saltusefaqs.htm
Reading before taking anyone's advice (mine, ours inclusive)... The mix you have now, salt use are untenable... won't work.
Bob Fenner>

12 G Eclipse Stock up, Dwarf Cichlid sel.  10/29/07
Hello. I bought 12 G Marineland with the heater today. I will plant it. I would like to keep a pair of dwarf cichlids in it. Possible, or not? Any suggestions? You are my favorite website. Thank you, Tanya
<Mmm, there are some of the smaller Apistogramma, Nannacaras that might fit here... However, if they or you intend to breed them... you'll need more room. I would take a look on the Net, library re these genera. Bob Fenner>

Re: 12 G Eclipse Stock up... Dwarf Cichlids  10/29/07
Wow!!! This is exactly what I was planning to buy after the research. Cockatoo cichlid. My PH is 7 from tap, 7.4 in not densely planted 3G Eclipse w/Betta and cherry shrimp. I don't have a hardness kit as of yet, but I see some mineral deposits on the equipment. I'll buy the hardness kit in the end of this week. Any luck for me w/blue rams? Couple of them, and couple or 3 panda Cory? Overstocking or not? The tank will be densely planted This is the planning stage of the project and your opinion is very important.
Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = .5
Aquarium Pharmaceutical Tests
Thank you,
Tanya
<Tanya, your message arrived somewhat mangled. I've hopefully fixed it, but if not, please re-send. Anyway, The water should be fine for Apistogramma cacatuoides (Cockatoo cichlid). Provided the water is not very hard, these fish seem to adapt quite well to a range of conditions. The ideal is fairly soft, slightly acidic water but neutral to slightly alkaline, moderately hard water is fine. The problem when breeding them in the "wrong" water chemistry is bias in the sex ration. In this case, alkaline pH causes an excess of males, whereas strongly acidic (pH 5.5) conditions results in mostly females. The ideal is around 6.5 to 7. Temperature also seems to be a factor. The cooler the water (low 20s C) the more females, the warmer the water (high 20s) the more males. So you need to play around with temperature as well as water chemistry to get it "just right" for equal numbers of male and female fry. Aiming for slightly soft to moderately hard water at pH 7 and at 25 C should work well. Mixing Apistogramma with Mikrogeophagus isn't recommended, for several reasons. For a start, Mikrogeophagus are apt to be bullies. They are larger than the Apistogramma and will fight over the same resources (food, nesting sites). Apistogramma also don't want the same very high temperatures as Mikrogeophagus ramirezi (which is what you Blue Ram is). Apistogramma are best at 24-26 C, while Mikrogeophagus ramirezi need very warm water, around 28-30 C, to survive for any length of time. Keep Apistogramma too warm, and they will be even shorter lived than otherwise; keep Mikrogeophagus ramirezi too cold and they'll be subject to disease and exhibit poor overall condition. Both species can work well with Corydoras, though again, the high temperatures required by Mikrogeophagus ramirezi will stress many Corydoras species in the long term. Corydoras panda for example want something in the range 20-25 C; in warmer water they may survive, but you'll notice them breathing heavily and making frequent dashes to the surface to compensate for the insufficient oxygen in the water. Not ideal. Apistogramma cacatuoides on the other hand will do well at 24-25 C, and so will the Corydoras panda. However, both Apistogramma and Mikrogeophagus have been known to damage Corydoras catfish when breeding: to the point where the poor little Corydoras have their eyes bitten off! This can be avoided by not overcrowding the fish, but still, there's always a risk when mixing them. What matters rather more with either dwarf cichlid is dither fish. Tetras or Danios are ideal. You need these to make the cichlids comfortable. Also do try and keep multiple female Apistogramma per male; none of the Apistogramma are really "pair forming" fish, and the males behave themselves rather better when given a harem. This is somewhat less true for Mikrogeophagus, which tends to behave fine as a pair. One last thing: a 3 gallon tank of any sort is simply not viable for any of these fish. A trio of Apistogramma would work in a 10 gallon tank, as would a pair of Mikrogeophagus, perhaps with a few Danios for the Apistogramma and some sort of warm water tetra for the Mikrogeophagus, such as Cardinals. Overcrowding cichlids is never a good idea: they not only beat one another up if they feel boxed in, but they're also very sensitive to poor water quality. Dwarf cichlids, doubly so. Cheers, Neale.>

Apistos and Shrimp    5/21/07
Hello,  I was wondering if it would be ok to keep Apistogramma and Caridina serrata together. I have plenty of room for them and they would be going into a planted aquarium. I'm just worried that the apistos would eat the shrimp. Thank you, CJ
< Apistogramma cacatuoides have a pretty good sized mouth. If the shrimp will not fit in their mouths then they will probably leave them alone until the shrimp moult. When the shrimp moult their skin is very soft and leaves them vulnerable to be eaten by fish. If there are plenty of places for them to hide they will be fine.-Chuck>

Dwarf Cichlid Availability   5/20/07
Dear Crew, I found the wetwebmedia site and see that people are active on a chat.  I am wondering if there is a fee/joint protocol?
< No fee, just follow the leads of the others on the chat room.>
I've had tanks for years, though I still consider myself a novice.
< An expert is a person that realizes how little they know.>
Currently, I have a 75 gallon tank and am starting with new fish (my Oscar died).    I have 2 Plecos, one albino and one Bristlenose, 2 bottom feeding cats (can't remember name, not like a Cory, more like a catfish body shape, dark with spots, they are an inch long) and 10 Keyholes. I would like to keep a dwarf cichlid tank.  The pet store told me that the pH for Rams  needs to be higher than for the Keyholes, is that correct?   Also, how common are Cockatoo Dwarfs? Thank you so much, Karla McCoy
<Rams need a higher water temp than the keyholes. Rams come from open marshy areas where the water temp gets quite high. They need to be kept at a minimum of 82-84 F. They both prefer soft acidic water. Apistogramma cacatuoides are actually quite common on Aquabid.com. There are now many different color varieties that are easy to keep and spawn.-Chuck>

Setting Up A Tall FW Tank, Dwarf S. Am. Cichlid Sys.    2/22/07
Hi Bob/Crew, thanks so much for the advice so far.  After doing some more research I have a couple specific questions.  Again, my tank is a 20Lx18Wx30H 47G tall tank.  I've decided on a 1-2mm sand substrate (Carib-sea Torpedo Beach sand - tan in color) and I've found and ordered the rock I'm going to use to build up a roughly 20" - 25" structure or so - plenty of caves/crevices/swim-throughs (resin lace rock - but looks great, as natural as resin can get).  I plan on having a few live plants, a couple on the bottom and maybe a couple attached to various spots on the rock if I can manage it.
In researching what fish I'd like to keep, I think I'd really like to have some Blue Rams, and maybe other dwarf cichlid species.  You mentioned angelfish and gouramis as an idea in your response to my original email, and I read those will do well with peaceful rams, along with danios, loaches, rainbowfish, tetras, and Plecos/catfish.  Given the fact that this is a tall tank, which reduces the number of fish I can keep anyway (compared to an equal size long tank), and only has a 20x18 bottom, how many Rams/dwarf cichlids can I realistically expect to keep in this tank (I'm assuming the limited bottom dimensions will determine the number I can keep, based on territorial space needed)?
< Dwarf cichlids are territorial and love tank bottoms. If you get six then they will set up their own little territories.>
Ideally, for sure I think I would like to have some Blue Rams and some other dwarf cichlids of some type, along with 2 angelfish.  Then to fill out the tank, however many gouramis (or maybe rainbowfish), tetras, loaches I can add (plus maybe a small pleco/catfish.  I just don't know how many of each species I can safely add with this tall tank.  So, given the cichlids and angelfish, and then the other fish types I listed (or others if you have any better ideas), and assuming they all can co-exist realistically together, what combinations and numbers would you suggest for my tank? (i.e. 2 Blue Rams, 2 Cockatoo Cichlids, 2 angelfish, 2 gouramis, 8 tetras, ....).  Also, my goal is to get a good distribution of fish at all levels of the tank (bottom/middle/top), so if you don't think my current thinking will achieve that, please let me know.
< Six dwarf cichlids for the bottom. The loaches and Plecos will most likely take up most of the bottom too. The angelfish will be found in the midwater area. Big round bodied tetras like rosy tetras will also be found in the mid water area. Most gourami  types stay pretty close to the surface. Start out slow and add fish later depending on your water changes. Keep the nitrates under 20 ppm.>
Oh, one last question (I promise!).  With this tall tank, if I have plants on the very bottom, I'm assuming the standard cheapo fluorescent light that came with the tank won't be enough light for the plants on the bottom?  Would a Power Compact fixture work here, or would that be overkill?  Cichlids and angelfish don't like a ton of light, right?  Would this be too much for them?  What do you suggest? Thanks again guys!!! Jeff
< If you want to grow any plants at all then the will need light. Try species like Cryptocorynes, java fern and Anubias for now. Add the compact florescent later if more light is needed.-Chuck>

Rainbow Sharks, comp. with dwarf Cichlids sel.    02/17/07
Hi, I have a single rainbow shark living in a 23g, he's (definitely a male) currently living with two dwarf gouramis and a Sailfin Molly, the gouramis and the sailfin molly will be moved out within the next few days, as I finally managed to fix their tank, and set it up and plant it. Anyway I've been trying to find a new tank mate for Kelvin my shark, there are plans in place to move him into either a 4 foot or 3 foot tank when he gets bigger but so far he's all of 5cm long. So I'm after a single fish with personality and was interested in cichlids, but I can't find any conclusive info on the net about any dwarf cichlids that'll live in a 23g and live with a rainbow shark. Any help'd be appreciated.
<Mmm... should be of the more "feisty" variety... not the real small Apistogrammas, Nannacaras... Maybe something like the Bolivian Ram...>
Oh and the tanks currently got a couple of caves and some plastic plants,
I'm going to break up some pots to add more caves and add a few more decorations/caves from the pet store in there too.
<Sounds good>
Thanks
Emma
<Do take a look see on the mega-site Fishbase.org using the search term "dwarf cichlid"... and then a cursive look/see on the Net, your Stockists re what they can get from this sub-set. Bob Fenner>