Natural Leaves

[Nauplii]

Hi,
I have just been reading a topic on the PFK magazine website on Red oak trees' leaves causing water to turn slightly acidic which in turn helps apistogramma species to spawn. It states that these leaves are much bigger than the english oak leaves and they turn the water acidic.

What i woudl like to know, is two things.
1. Does anyone on here know where these 'red oak trees' can be found in the UK ?
and
2. What other types of leaves are there that cause this same affect which are also quite big?

I have heard of using almond leaves for this reason, being scattered at the bottom of the tank, but i just need some reassurance and info.

Thanks guys

Any information is greatfully received.

Vixen

 

[dwarfgourami]

I have heard you can use beech.

 

[voo]

There's loads of indian almond leaves on ebay.

 

[Griz]

Indian almond leaves have the greatest effect on pH but are pricey. Red Oak and beech does work and I have used them in my tank but the effect is slight. Unless your water is soft, don't expect much of a change. My apistos did seem to enjoy them however and I like the look myself; very natural. Keep an eye on the leaves though. If left too long in the tank they will disintegrate when you try to remove them. They will last for several weeks, just chuck them out and replace when you notice that they are beginning to fall apart.

I have lots that will soon be ready - Free to TFF members - Pick your own - Minimum order 10 bushels - Pickup only

 

[Nauplii]

Lol, the offer sounds great Griz, but er canada is a tad far for me to pick up from , me being here in London, UK an all.
Thanks for the advise though, my PH of my water is around 7.5, so i guess ill go for the almond leaves instead.

Im not entirely sure on what i'd like to breed yet, im thinking of maybe pencilfish, or getting a pair of dwarf sichlids, im not too sure as of yet; Maybe small tanganikans.

Any advise on what could be bred in a ph of 7.5 but is still relatively small?

 

[jayjay]

dwarf sichlids

Which are they?

Depends by what you mean by small, 5g, 10g, 15g?

Pencil fish would be quite difficult.

 

[Nauplii]

Hmm well i currently have a 7gal tank, but i may soon be upgrading to a long 10gallon; thats if i get money; and ill have a sand substrate with bogwood and plants

dwarf sichlids such as rams, or apistogramma species. Ive always wanted to keep chocolate dwarf gouramis, i know they are hard to keep and need a species tank, soft water etc tho

 

[ImperfectFaerie]

You mean Cichlids ;-}

And if you are really thinking about breeding, then you are going to want to think about a few more tanks. Bigger too, but that kind of goes without saying. You'll have to think about keeping the fry safe and also having room for 'grow-out' so they can grow without getting eaten.

 

[Griz]

If you can manage purchasing a 15 gal you can breed most apistos and could use the 7.5 gal to grow them out to a sexable size. With a pH of 7.5 you would be best to stick with cacatuoides or borelli. These are good species to start out with and are also two of the easiest to find. A planted tank, sand substrate, and some bogwood as you suggested would be the right setup for them and may help to reduce the pH a bit. Most breeders opt for a rather bare tank as it's easier to keep clean but you could certainly compromise and go for a more natural setup.

I can't help with breeding pencilfish (I belive they are quite difficult) but they are a good dither fish for apistos. You could keep a few with the apistos for now to get familiar with the species and perhaps try breeding them in the future. Pencilfish are a good choice for a tankmate with apistos (even if you are breeding them) as they are not particularly good are predating on the fry.

Neolamprologus multifasciatus (Multis) are another good choice for breeding in a 15 gal (maybe even a 10). They breed readily and are a very interesting fish. 7.5 pH is not bad for them but it should be fairly easy to raise that a bit with natural methods (coral, limestone etc) and not resort to chemicals. A substrate of shells, lots of shells!, is all you need for them. Plants will be fine, they won't bother them, but I would avoid bogwood since you want to raise the pH if anything and bogwood will tend to lower it.