Hi everyone!
Has anyone out there had successful spawning (and surviving fry) who has *NOT* used RO water?
Just wondering if RO water is totally necessary or if they will spawn without it.
Thanks for any comments!
Kim
water and spawning
Kim,
In my view, if you live in an area where soft water is available from the tap etc, RO is not necessary. However if you live in a hard water area , like me, where the Gh(General Hardness) is 15-16 , then RO is necessary for successful breeding.
I have heard of reports of breeding in hard water but cannot verify them.
Regards,
Des.
In my view, if you live in an area where soft water is available from the tap etc, RO is not necessary. However if you live in a hard water area , like me, where the Gh(General Hardness) is 15-16 , then RO is necessary for successful breeding.
I have heard of reports of breeding in hard water but cannot verify them.
Regards,
Des.
Hi All
Some interesting comments by this guy http://www.thecocohut.com/ He keeps frogs and zebra's.
Look at the 'critters for sale' where he says
"Young tank-raised Zebra plecos, L-046. These are F1 from wild caught. They stay small for plecos, don't damage your plants and don't turn wood into sawdust like many species. Awesome size, behavior, and appearance, the ultimate pleco!! Unfortunately, at the end of 2004 Brazil removed this species from their "positive list" of what is allowed to be exported. You'd think this would be good news for the species, but then they announced a new dam on their river. Obviously, everybody that keeps these needs to try to breed them. They're very hardy, if kept warm, and breeding is simple. Keep them at 86°F and don't forget they're meat eaters, not algae eaters, so give them some frozen brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp (I like Hikari brand), or sinking pellets. They don't particularly care about pH or hardness, in fact they might prefer something a little more neutral and hard than your typical blackwater setup. I'm keeping them in a 20 gallon long with "play sand" substrate (white playground sand) with a sponge filter. Clean water is a must, so frequent partial water changes are essential (as with any fish). Provide caves that are the same size as the fish, closed off at one end. Then wait, the male will take care of the babies and the babies can stay with their parents all the way to adulthood. A cave can be seen in the picture of the aquarium where I keep my breeding pair. $100 each (SOLD OUT, but I'm pairing off 20 more adults, so hopefully I'll have more soon). "
Maybe he would like to comment directly so will forward this link to him
Cheers
Andreas
Some interesting comments by this guy http://www.thecocohut.com/ He keeps frogs and zebra's.
Look at the 'critters for sale' where he says
"Young tank-raised Zebra plecos, L-046. These are F1 from wild caught. They stay small for plecos, don't damage your plants and don't turn wood into sawdust like many species. Awesome size, behavior, and appearance, the ultimate pleco!! Unfortunately, at the end of 2004 Brazil removed this species from their "positive list" of what is allowed to be exported. You'd think this would be good news for the species, but then they announced a new dam on their river. Obviously, everybody that keeps these needs to try to breed them. They're very hardy, if kept warm, and breeding is simple. Keep them at 86°F and don't forget they're meat eaters, not algae eaters, so give them some frozen brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp (I like Hikari brand), or sinking pellets. They don't particularly care about pH or hardness, in fact they might prefer something a little more neutral and hard than your typical blackwater setup. I'm keeping them in a 20 gallon long with "play sand" substrate (white playground sand) with a sponge filter. Clean water is a must, so frequent partial water changes are essential (as with any fish). Provide caves that are the same size as the fish, closed off at one end. Then wait, the male will take care of the babies and the babies can stay with their parents all the way to adulthood. A cave can be seen in the picture of the aquarium where I keep my breeding pair. $100 each (SOLD OUT, but I'm pairing off 20 more adults, so hopefully I'll have more soon). "
Maybe he would like to comment directly so will forward this link to him
Cheers
Andreas
Hi
Hi, that's my website. I've been raising zebras without RO. I just use tap water but my tap water is fairly soft. It's 190 ppm. Not sure about pH, the meter is broke, but it's probably near neutral (at least it was at my old house 10 miles away). I filter the tap water before it gets to the fish room using string filters to trap sediment (down to a few microns, so removes protozoans, very important around here) and then has a 1 micron carbon filter. I'm certain I get bad bacteria and protozoans in my tap water so the filter removes many headaches.
brian@thecocohut.com
http://www.thecocohut.com
http://www.thecocohut.com
oh, one more thing
I forgot to mention that a couple years ago I experimented with RO versus tap water. I was using RO reconstituted to 25 ppm with Kent "R/O Right". My zebras didn't seem happy at all and didn't breed (I kept it up for months). I eventually doubled it and then tripled it and they started acting better and even breeding. I finally abandoned it and used tap water. I find they do best in my tap water.
brian@thecocohut.com
http://www.thecocohut.com
http://www.thecocohut.com
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jerms55555
- Obsessed!!
- Posts: 360
- Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:50 pm
- Location: Los Angeles
But maybe next time..I'm starting to wonder myself about just how critical PH is. I have talked with 3 successful breeders. One breeds with straight tap, pretty high at that, 8.5. Another at 7.5. And the fish store guy who used to breed Zebbys swears that he couldn't get them to breed unless the water was 6.5 or under.
I still need to do my homeword on GH. I'm not sure how it factors in to everything.
I still need to do my homeword on GH. I'm not sure how it factors in to everything.
>^..^<
Cory
Cory
