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Posted: **Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:29 am**

i'm thinking about trying to induce a spawn using ro / tap water mix water changes. i'm slightly worried about doing this due to my tank water ph is around 8.2-8.4 pretty damn high. now when i use this ro water i'm guessing that its going to drop quite a bit and i'm worried about my fish.
the alpha male looks very settled and is always hanging out of a cave 95% of the time its his favourite cave but i have seen him a couple of times in a different one. also i've seen him fanning like the clappers i'm guessing trying to attract the fems and also once i have seen another fish in there with him for a day just for nothing to happen? i've just ordered a tds meter so should be here mid week. this is what i have planned from previous posts.

Get the tds to between 300-600 then drop to 100 over around a week with 20% water changes daily. drop temp to around 76/25 initially then bring up to 80/27 for the week. i think the flow is good enough with 2200 litres an hour with flow from right to left

now will the fluctuations in ph be too much for the fish for this period and the time that it takes for it to settle after returning to 100% tap water. thanks

Posted: **Sun Jul 12, 2009 6:07 pm**

Take care when altering your ph your fish are used to the water they live in you would be better just doing lots of frequent cool water changes rater than changing water type to induce spawning

Posted: **Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:17 am**

Don't use tap mix. Just use RO. If you don't get the kH below 1-2 degrees, you'll be fine, and even then if the tank isn't overstocked the pH won't crash that quickly. My pH is 7.8 out of the tap and 140 ppm now. It used to be 340 and I would do the RO rainy seasons with 30-50% water changes for a week to drastically change the TDS. That's what is actually the incentive for spawning. You won't be modifying the pH, just altering the water's ability to maintain a stable pH. A very fine line, but definitely a big difference for the fish

. IME, just cold water changes didn't work, I needed the TDS drop.

You don't need to drop the temperature in the tank down that far, IMO. I never take my zebras below 82 and condition them at 86 or above.

Barbie

Posted: **Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:48 pm**

hi barbie when you say 30-50% water changes for a week is that daily changes i'm thinking that by the end of the week the water will be nearly pure ro water less than 8% of the original tank water doing 30% changes daily? will this be fine for the zebs to then go back to normal tap water afterwards.
when i get my tds meter i'll check what my tank water is at and go from there.

Posted: **Wed Jul 15, 2009 8:37 pm**

the tds of my tank water is 350 ppm so i'm guessing it could be good for the dry season and is ready when needed to start a rainy season by dropping the tds. now going by barbie's info i should do 30% ro water changes daily for a week. i think that i may do 25% water changes as i dont have an ro water generator and am resorting to buying ro water from my lfs with 25 litre containers i can get 2 containers for £5.50 and my tank is 200 litres whether thats a good price or not.

Posted: **Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:03 am**

Hi Barbie, during the ro water change for a week, do you keep the heater plug, or should I unplug it? This is 30 to 50% ro water change for everyday right?

Posted: **Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:17 am**

I keep the heater plugged in, just turn it down a few degrees. Yes, they do end up in mostly RO water, and yes, that's the idea

. I go right back to tap water changes after a week or two with no problem. Just don't over feed during that time. If you're really worried you can put a couple shells in the filter to keep the pH from crashing. I've never personally had it even drop to 6.0 though.

Barbie

Posted: **Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:14 am**

Thanks, Barbie..

ZebraPleco.com • The complete Hypancistrus zebra resource

thinking of trying to induce a spawn.

thinking of trying to induce a spawn.