Does this sound right for inducing spawning?
Does this sound right for inducing spawning?
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
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
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
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
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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?
#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?
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
Barbie
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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 ;~)
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
Barbie
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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.
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.
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