180 Litre Tank,cardinals,phantoms,what Else?

[sarah40011]

#29###, all my tetras sit near the bottom... better check my lights...

 

[nicolaisam]

#29###, all my tetras sit near the bottom... better check my lights...

How long have they been in the tank?
My tank has very bright lights and i have removed both reflectors,the cardinals are more active with the lights off.

That looks much better.. I think the fish would be happier still if half or more of the surface was covered in floaters

I have put 40 floaters in there at the moment,Might get another 40 then.

 

[moochy13]

bear in mind fish in yoru lfs, especially cichlids, look dull and washed out in a shop environment. i was put off rams for ages because they looked rubbish, even GBR's which are more colourful than bolivian rams. i got some GBR's home and they looked stunning, but i didnt have much luck with them, so replaced them with easier to keep bolivians. again, they looked pretty much pure white in the shop, now they're in my tank they look great. dont judge fish by how they look in the shop tank. although you are probably right apistos are generally better coloured than bolivians. but i like the very subtle but striking tinges of colour in the bolivians.

 

[KittyKat]

That looks much better.. I think the fish would be happier still if half or more of the surface was covered in floaters

I have put 40 floaters in there at the moment,Might get another 40 then.

They should spread in a matter of weeks, see whether they take to the tank before getting more; if they don't take, try a different species.. unless you're rolling in cash, in which case, the fish would love you for getting them more plants now

 

[nicolaisam]

That looks much better.. I think the fish would be happier still if half or more of the surface was covered in floaters

I have put 40 floaters in there at the moment,Might get another 40 then.

They should spread in a matter of weeks, see whether they take to the tank before getting more; if they don't take, try a different species.. unless you're rolling in cash, in which case, the fish would love you for getting them more plants now

They seem to be growing ok.
They are Frogbit,they are meant to be a very fast grower.
Think i will leave them for a few more weeks and see what they are looking like,the roots have doubled in length,and have hundreds of tiny hairs on them.

 

[nicolaisam]

Photo of my blue LED lights,These come on for an hour after the main lights go off,seems to startle the fish less,rather than going from bright ligh to dark very suddenly.

 

[KittyKat]

Have you considered given them a "sunrise" period as well? It might work if you have a half hour sunrise, 6-7 hours day and 1 hour sunset.. do remember that the "moonlighting" adds to your photoperiod to some extent, or to be more precise to the algae's photoperiod.

 

[nicolaisam]

Have you considered given them a "sunrise" period as well? It might work if you have a half hour sunrise, 6-7 hours day and 1 hour sunset.. do remember that the "moonlighting" adds to your photoperiod to some extent, or to be more precise to the algae's photoperiod.

Good idea,will try that,will reduce the evening,time by a little and do a sunrise aswell.

Popped into my LFS on the way home,Nice looking fish but will only sell me pairs I wanted 1 male and 2/3 females.

Will have to drive to another shop thats about 15miles from me and see what they have.

 

[KittyKat]

Popped into my LFS on the way home,Nice looking fish but will only sell me pairs I wanted 1 male and 2/3 females.

Will have to drive to another shop thats about 15miles from me and see what they have.

Have a good count of the males and females just to be sure there are the same number in the tank because often there are not and you can use that point to get some more females if there are extras.

 

[nicolaisam]

Popped into my LFS on the way home,Nice looking fish but will only sell me pairs I wanted 1 male and 2/3 females.

Will have to drive to another shop thats about 15miles from me and see what they have.

Have a good count of the males and females just to be sure there are the same number in the tank because often there are not and you can use that point to get some more females if there are extras.

Will go and have a count.

Do i need a few caves and coconut halves with holes in them?

 

[KittyKat]

Do i need a few caves and coconut halves with holes in them?

A few caves help the fish settle in and establish territories, but I have had them spawn in everything from apple snail shells to holes in the gravel to under bogwood overhangs and inside large plants as well as pots and caves. If you go for caves, it's always best to have one per fish + one spare.. so for 1m 3f, you'd have 5 caves/coconuts/whatever.

 

[nicolaisam]

Been to one of my LFS on the way home from work.looked at Apistogrammas.
Fish looked lifeless and colouless and unhappy.£15 a pair and wont sell me 1M/2F pairs only.
Wasnt really impressed,will try another tommorow.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Good move by you... never buy fish that aren't exactly what you want.

 

[nicolaisam]

Good move by you... never buy fish that aren't exactly what you want.

I am off to another LFS,bit of a drive to this one,hope there Apistosgrammas look better.

 

[nicolaisam]

I now have 1M and 2F Apistogramma cacatuoides

Will post some pictures later.
.
Nice looking fish,good colours,were swimming around look healthy.