breeding without altering PH?

[MFG]

Hi,

Has anyone been successful in rising discus breeding without altering PH? using clean tapwater only.

Cheers
Scott

[Matty]

In water Ph 7.8 = Yes ( fertility very low )

[ILLUSN]

I'm with Matty when I've tried with water above 6.5 my results were poor at best, at a ph of around 5.5-5.0 my fertility rate is over 95%.

[Matt15]

Hey Scott i've got a tap downstairs which runs directly off a water tank. Being rain water the PH is extremely low and good for breeding.

[MFG]

Thanks ofr your comment,

the way i keep my discus is to pour tap water straight into the tank without aging and dechrolined.

my discus just get used to it and in fact are happy with it.

yesterday in my tank.
i have 1 pair of discus with around 20-30 wigglers nearing the free swimming stage.

another pair with only eggs, yet to wigglers.

1 pair of Kribensis guarding around 20 frys.

all happening in one 4 ft tank.

on of other 2 ft tank, my angels just lay eggs yesterday too. (this is a bare tank, the above is a community 4 ft tank)

regards
Scott

[AHC]

I beleive a higher PH is not recommended during fertilisation because the eggs can harden quicker before the male can fertilise. Low PH keeps the eggs softer which is why you get more fertilisation. However once the fry has hatched, its good to raise the PH to help the fry grow stronger. I cannot remember where i read that but i have always kept that peice of info close to mind.

You said you don't dechlorinate your water :shock: Do you know what your water supply is like in your part of Perth? Maybe you dont have much chlorine in there?

[MFG]

thanks Aaron,

it's strange then, i am able to get them fertilised and hatched. but they die off within days.

i guess the PH is not an issue here from what you have just describe. i read from somewhere that pple breed discus at PH7.0 without any problems. the only requirement is soft and clean water.

any comment on this?

regards
Scott

[AHC]

My thoughts on this are that, depending on how big the female is, she should be laying 300+ eggs. Lower PH would increase the fertility rate in this batch of eggs when the male does his thing. But these days, most Discus strain's arn't as close to Wilds as we think and they are very much acustomed to aquarium life. This makes it easier for aquarists to breed in wider water perameters. In saying that. Discus are Discus and there is a reason why Discus came from the south American Waters. The water. They evolved and conditioned them selves for god knows how long in low PH, soft acidic water. Giving all discus this environment in our tanks is what seems to be 'best' for them. But like i said, hobbists are successful in wider water perameters these days as our beautiful discus are more forgiving.

A few of our more experienced Discus friends keep Wilds so it will be interesting to hear their thoughts on breeding wilds and how forgiving they are? Anyone? i have not yet ventured into wilds so what i have said here is based on reading and talking to different people.

PS if they are dying off after hatched then it may be Protozan in the water - Or they are simply eating they fry.

HTH :)

[yakfisho]

You said you don't dechlorinate your water :shock: Do you know what your water supply is like in your part of Perth? Maybe you dont have much chlorine in there?

MFG's profile says he is in Adelaide. In my part of Adelaide the water quality is questionable at best with myself and other experienced breeders losing batches of fish randomly after water changes (this has only happened to me once). If you dont use dechlorinators here the fish will die, simple as that. On the flip side MFG reckons his fish are happy and breeding in straight tap. We must be on different supplies or something. Wierd stuff.

[AHC]

Yeah, i would be dechlorinating no matter what. In saying this. Sydney has high concentrates of chlorine in water. At St Marys i could smell it in the tap water, it was very strong. PH was around 7.7/8.0 and KH was around 3 - 4. Im now living in Newington, NSW & the first thing i did was test the water. Newington's water supply has a KH of 1 & PH of 6.3 / 6.5. i cannot smell any Chlorine in the water and to taste it, well 'feels' very soft and clean. I have not yet checked with the waterboard etc but ive read that Newington is one of the green friendly suburbs (ecologically sustainable principles) so it may even use rain water or something. If there are some suburbs in Adelaide the same then that could help?

MFG what are your tests showing? either way, my view is to add prime etc as there will always be metals etc - but if its working for you....