Is it possible to breed cacatuoides with hard water?

[fl4ian]

I have recently moved and the water from the well is 8.0 pH and about 15 degrees KH (268 ppm). Hardness scales that I have looked at, rate that as moderately hard.

I would like to breed some Cacautoides and am wondering if anyone has had success in breeding them in these conditions?

Also, I can pull water from the softener if needed, but I think the fish/plants would like the Calcium and Magnesium better than the Sodium ions anyway.

So, is it possible to breed cacs with hard water? and am I correct in using water straight from the well (as opposed to water from the softener)?

 

[tjudy]

Most tank-strain A. cactuoides will not have a problem with hard water. I think a pH of 8.0 might be pushing the envelope a bit, but if you use a lot of driftwood the pH should come down a bit.

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree with Ted. Dropping the pH a bit will help. Believe it or not, Dr. Staeck collected wild A. cacatuoides in water values only slightly lower and softer than your well water.

 

[fl4ian]

This is great news, gentlemen. Thank you for the information!

---todd

 

[viejo]

I used to raise buckets of discus, rams & other fish by the buckets in water with a pH over 8 & 300 ppm of hardness. Of course, now I was having trouble getting fertile eggs (mostly rams) to hatch in relatively soft H20.

 

[fl4ian]

@viejo - did you do anything to condition the water? lots of wood, peat, etc.? and were you raising any apistos also?

 

[jmtrops]

Our water here in florida is pH 8 and 500us and we have no problems spawning and raising rams and many apistos as long as they are not FO, F1 and even then some of them do fine in are water.

Jim

 

[viejo]

Yes, I also raised all of the above in Florida deep well water that matches Jim's description. Very rarely a problem even with WC. In some my tanks here in Utah, I used juniper driftwood which stained the water rapidly but didn't seem to have a major effect on success either way. Hmmm, I think that I may run some tests comparing juniper to Indian almond leaves.

 

[Apistomaster]

A reading of only 268 ppm is reasonably soft to me and absolutely acceptable for breeding A. cacatuoides. Not only are they very domesticated, they originally came from an area with a pH of about 7.2 and moderately hard water,
You 15*KH doesn't really square well with 268 ppm TDS. I would trust my meter if you have some distilled or RO water which tests at >10 ppm TDS for a ball park figure. Like the other Larry, I have bred wild and domestic Discus in water with up to 500 ppm TDS and a pH of 7.6. Symphysodon haraldi and it's domestic descendants have are much more adaptable to moderately hard water tha Green and Heckel Discus. If Discus can handle these harder water so can A. cacatuoides. The last time I raised some in my tap water i grew out over 260 to adult salable size. They were a cross between a Triple Red and a surviving white Gold female left over from a pair I bought from apistodave. Here is an example of how they turned out. Even many of the females had colorful fins.