Mattlikesfish36

@tolstoy21thanks for including these photos! The fin shape continues to make me lean toward two females because they don’t extend beyond the base of the tail in either of them. I’m so disappointed because I have been quarantining them and feeding them live baby brine all summer with hopes that they will grow and show larger fins, but it seems like confirmed double females

@tolstoy21thank you so much for all of this. Here are photos from one more angle. The fish decided to turn right after I posted the previous ones. I’m guessing that it’s a female and is just much smaller than the other one based on all of your information. Looks like I got two females and the “guaranteed pair” wasn’t a guarantee after all…

@tolstoy21thank you so much for your detailed response and all of the information. All of this information makes me think that I have two females. Are you the same Tolstoy that I have seen on aquabid? If so, you may have a purchase coming your way… these were the best photos I could get of the second fish. You were correct in assuming that the fish in the center of both is the same fish

@TheSwissAquarist I was having doubts about the species as well. Here is the link from where I purchased them https://www.aquariumfishsale.com/products/apisto-cacautuoides?_pos=1&_sid=7b8a36701&_ss=r

@TheSwissAquaristthey were listed as cacatuoides when I bought them online. One of them is about that much bigger than the other, but I am not seeing the colors or the elongated dorsal fin to convince me it is a male. The larger one tends to chase the smaller one and I have seen it swimming almost vertically and wagging its tail at the other one. Thanks for your reply!

Any advice with sexing this pair of apistos? I originally thought that the one in the solo picture was a male because it is much bigger and beefier than the other, but now I am starting to question it because of the black ventral fins. I have been waiting since I received them in June to see if they will grow larger fins and color up but haven’t had much luck beyond what is in the photos. I’m starting to get very frustrated because I was told that it is a guaranteed pair but I think I may have 2 females

@tolstoy21thank you so much for all of the info! I feel much better about the plan now. I may go for some pencilfish if they have some at my LFC. Otherwise I’ll just go for it with the apistos and monitor closely

@anewbiethanks for your reply. I was basing my stocking off of the video that I saw which was also posted by @AnimalNerd98 in this thread. Hopefully things will work out but I’ll closely monitor. If Dean is comfortable with them in small 10 gallons then I feel okay about them in my 17 to start. They are doing well with each other in my 10 gallon quarantine so far and I haven’t noticed any overt aggression

I have been quarantining a pair of cockatoo apistogramma for a little over two months now and I want to transition them into my main 17 gallon aquarium soon. It currently has a starlight bristlenose pleco, 2 nerite snails, and a handful of amano shrimp. I see conflicting information about dither fish for apistos and I want to be sure I have the best possible preparation before I introduce them to the tank. I am thinking of adding a small group of pencilfish after reading that they can help the apistos feel safer, but have also seen people with experiences of aggressive and territorial males. Any recommendations on how I should proceed before introducing them to my aquarium? Thanks!

@Kurt Bruttingthanks for the reply! That’s interesting because you would think that smaller water changes would leave more nutrients in the water leading to more algae. @nabokovfan87thanks for the reply! The BBA has been an ongoing issue on my driftwood and I think I have just come to accept it because it doesn’t seem to be spreading to my plants. I have had some success with spot treating it with excel but it always resurfaces

Thanks for the suggestion, I appreciate it! I’ll try cutting the dose in half to see how it goes. @Mike

@Mikethanks for the reply. I am injecting co2 through an in-line diffusor. When I lower the light intensity or shorten the timing it seems like the plants growth gets stunted so that’s where I’m stuck on what to do

@Kurt Bruttingi have a twinstar 600e running at 50% power for 7 hours a day on a timer. Dosing EI fry ferts from Green Leaf Aquatics by their directions for dosage. Nitrates never go above 20 and I am doing weekly 50% water changes. Thanks for your reply!

I have some brown algae that has been showing up on my plants in my 17 gallon aquarium. It is brown and seems to appear quickly. It is easily rubbed off and will float into the water if I give plants a shake underwater. Any advice in getting rid of this would be much appreciated! Thanks

@Mmiller2001cool that looks like it would work for me. You think it would be better than the jet pipe?

@Mmiller2001i have a fluval 107 with 16/22 diameter

@Minanoracool thanks for the suggestion! I just need to figure out how to mount it to the tubing from the canister but this looks like a cool idea

@Minanorathanks for the reply! I am now considering a spray bar but can’t find one that won’t stick out like a sore thumb in my small rimless aquarium

@Mmiller2001thanks for the reply! I was considering a spray bar as well but wasn’t sure if it would provide enough current. Might need to look into one

I am thinking about switching from a lily pipe outlet to a jet pipe for a little extra flow to keep my stem plants moving in the current. Will a jet pipe circulate co2 just as well as the lily pipe? Any drawbacks to making this switch? I have a 17 gallon aquarium that it heavily planted. Any advice would be much appreciated!

@Coluthanks for the reply, I’ll give that a shot. It’s strange because every other fish in the aquarium seems fine but for some reason he isn’t looking back to 100%

@Colui repeated the treatment and waited a week to see if there was any change. There is still white stringy poop and he hangs out on the bottom of the tank by the heater quite a bit but seems to be eating somewhat normally. Should I give a third treatment?

@Coluthanks for the info! I didn’t realize that you can give multiple courses of the medication so I’ll give that a shot and see how it goes

My apistogramma has had long stringy white poop for a few weeks now. Initially he was lethargic and not eating so I treated with API General Cure about a week and a half ago. After treatment, he started eating and acting like himself again, but he still has the long stringy poop. Should I be concerned if he is acting normal but still has the stringy discharge? I have been doing water changes and nitrates are never above 20. All other water parameters are stable and I’m on top of tank maintenance

I used your technique today and got 45ppm as a result. I ended up doing it with a 40ml sample and counting each drop as 2.5ppm as well, and I got 42.5 as a result. I guess 42.5ppm is much better than 60ppm. Thanks for your advice on adjusting the test for a more precise result! I got the salifert test today and I followed the directions exactly, but I cannot get the solution to change from blue to pink. I used the API kit with a modified amount of solution as noted above, and got 42.5 ppm. Seems much better than the 60ppm I initially thought I had.