Does this sound right for inducing spawning?

INXS · Post by **INXS** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 4:55 am

30 gal tank which housed 5 mature zebras (at least 2 females) all well fed.
I just added the zebras from another tank that I am moving so there are now 13.
Temp was 86 and gets lowered with waterchanges.

After I added the additional zebras I also added one more powerhead (4 total) and a bunch more caves and driftwood. There are now more then one hidingspot per fish probably 1.5-2 per fish.

TDS has been lowered with daily waterchanges with cooler water (drops temp about 7 degrees) and has been taken from 345 to 100 over 8 days with one change a day. Regular feedings.

I am at day 10 now and waterchanges have stopped.

What else can I do?
Is there something I should look for to indicate spawning?
Should I start changing the water back to normal?
How about temp and food?
Thanks

Post by **Barbie** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 6:14 am

I'd just leave the temp alone. In 5-7 days, start doing 20% water changes every few days with water the same temp as their tank to pull the TDS back up. I always feed the same foods, not just during rainy seasons.

I don't know that that won't be too many zebras at once in that tank. I had 6 in a 20 gallon and they did nothing until I moved them to a 40 long and added 2 more. It will be interesting to see what everyone else thinks!

Barbie

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 2:51 pm

I know it is too many for the long haul but there are a couple of thoughts behind this.

#1 you ended up throwing most of yours together in frustration and that ended up with a spawn.
THere was a guy on PC who mentioned throwing all of his together in a 20g and getting ready to bag them and sell them because he was too frustrated and then they spawned.
So apperently it has worked before and more then once.

#2 I read one account of rainy season simulation where a girl who used to work for Berlin Zoo mentioned that at spawning time ,( in addition to cooler , lower TDS water , higher current and more caves) many species are observed schooling together and this is when spawning takes place.

Any thought?

INXS · Post by **INXS** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 2:52 pm

Aaargh - forgot to log in again!

Post by **Barbie** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 4:57 pm

Yeah, I know, and that could be a trigger. I just also know that the big male beat the living bejesus out of the subdominant male after I swiped that first batch of fry. Did you ever get in and take a bunch of pics of them from above?

Barbie

INXS · Post by **INXS** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 4:27 am

No I haven't taken any more pix from above since the first time.

Granted there are 13 and I am almost sure there are several females but if they are all the same sex....

... there may be zebras , tanks and all kinds of other stuff for sale soon

fishboy20 · Post by **fishboy20** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 6:20 am

Stay with it, they are worth the extra effort in the long run. I am sure you will be rewarded in time. I had a spawn 3 years ago and then nothing for two years, all of sudden they started spawning again out of the blue. I ended up with three spawns in a row from them. If you do decide to get rid of your stuff though, please let us know ;~)

DANthirty · Post by **DANthirty** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 7:57 pm

when you guys try and simulate a rainfall to induce spawning how much lower do you make the water that you are adding? my tank is normaly around the 30c mark what sort off temp should i be aiming for with the water changing water.

Des · Post by **Des** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 10:34 pm

hi Danthirty,
I personally have been using RO water which has been stored outdoors so is almost Freezing. This reduces the temp of the tank water by about 7 to 10degrees F. However this water is added slowly using a watering can.
Regards,
Des.

Post by **Barbie** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 5:29 am

I too shoot for dropping the tank temp 8-10 degrees F. I had always been so careful to match incoming temperatures when I was doing water changes. Seeing how it makes the plecos act, but never causing a problem for them was a real eye opener!

Barbie

Adam · Post by **Adam** » Fri Dec 17, 2004 1:21 pm

I've only simulated one rainy season to date that lasted for 7 days. I used RO water that had been stored in the garage. The first water change freaked me out as the zebras became really active, a few came completely out of hiding for a short while.

For the first 3 days of the simulation water changes were done twice a day, for the remaining 4 days only one water change was done per day.
During this time I observed that the zebras became more active and that there were a lot more territorial disputes.

jerms55555 · Post by **jerms55555** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 7:14 pm

Whats the best way to lower your TDS??? I currently use RO water....should add tap water?? I think my tap water its around a ph8.2 and the RO water is around 6.7-7...