Breeding Suggestions: A. panduro

[Water Changer]

Have had my pair for 7-8 months, my guess is they are a year old.

10 Gallon - 76F - Sponge Filtration - PH 7.6

New Life Specturm Thera A - Frozen Bloodworms - Baby Brine Shrimp

They have spawned numerous times, but eggs have never developed into wigglers.

I like them in the 10 and they get along well (although the female does keep the male away from the spawning site when she has eggs), but I could move some fish around and put them in a 20H.

Are dithers needed(?), I can get pencil fish locally and have never kept pencils so I'm not opposed at all.

I'm on a well and my water is very hard, short of using RO/Distilled water I don't see anyway to really move the ph down and keep it down. I've never used RO or Distilled but from what I read it sounds like some work adding back minerals to keep things straight.

Because the fish are breeding, their colors and activities are absolutely marvelous and I don't want to make keeping them a big chore and hassle (if RO water is a hassle?). I love them the way they are but would really enjoy raising their fry.

Just looking for direction/suggestions on changes to improve the opportunity for free swimming fry.

 

[merlin]

If the water is hard this may be your problem. Apistogramma like soft water.

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree with merlin (again). Your pH - and most likely your hardness - are too extreme for the eggs to hatch. Once you get the pH/hardness down to more acceptable levels you should see fry.

 

[Water Changer]

What approach would you take to lower the ph?

RO Set up?

Is it feasible I could lower the ph by including distilled water during a water change?

I'm doing a 25% water change weekly in the 10 gallon and since I'm on a well - it's straight out of the tap....

Could I add a gallon of distilled water (water purchased at a local retailer) to the water changes in addition to my tap water and see any change? If so would I need to add minerals to the gallon of distilled?

 

[Mike Wise]

It's hard to make suggestions without knowing your tap water values. Ideally, A. panduro will successfully reproduce at pH ~6.0 and moderately soft water (dGH > 5°; dKH>3°). It's possible at higher values, but success is less.

 

[aarhud]

Pick up an API KH and GH test kit, they are cheap. How your pH will respond to any changes will depend on your KH. If your KH is really high, then you will either need RO or rainwater.

 

[Water Changer]

I took my water to a local chain shop and they advised my:
KH is 100 PPM
GH is 75 PPM

Purchased an API liquid test kit and performed several tests on my tap water (which is well water):
KH (5 drops to color change) 89.5 PPM
GH (5 drops to color change) 89.5 PPM

My ph is 7.6

Suggestions and recommendations ?

 

[Mike Wise]

Drop your pH to <6 and dKH a bit, ~ 50 ppm. Filtering the water for water changes over sphagnum peat should work.

 

[Water Changer]

Filtering the water for water changes over sphagnum peat should work.

Thanks, I will research the different methods and take this approach.