HARD WATER AND BREEDING PAIR

[geral]

hi there
i'm a newbie from puerto rico. well, i have a full flower pb pair cleaning everything they can in a 20 gal tank, most the work is doing by the male, female is a little shy. is this normal? are they trying to breed? i suppose yes. so, i don't have an RO system, and my water is hard. there is something could i do until get the RO? what about peat moss? how i used it? a water softener pillow could work? my pH is on 6.4, but the hardness is a problem, now i'm using discus buffer but don't know if i'm doing well.
please help me, jeje
regards
gerald

[DR.V]

you can soften the water using peat moss. To use it simply just put them into your filter.

[geral]

how many for a 20 gals tank?

[DR.V]

theres no measurement for this. I used a old pair of stocking and put a handful of peat moss into it. Then i put this into my filter. Easy as that. But peat moss will turn you water to brownish a bit. What is your hardness level by the way ??

[geral]

very hard, is near 300. i made changes with distilled water and it lows to moderate, 120-150.

[geral]

about the pH, if is at 6.4. i think peat will lower them. so i not consider it a good idea

[Merrilyn]

Hi Gerald, welcome to the forum. Hard water is a problem for many people. The only safe way to soften the water is to use an RO filter.

I would be waiting to get your unit, before you decide to start breeding, because you are going to need a lot of water for water changes, and it just won't be practical to purchase RO water all the time.

Your hard water will be fine to raise the babies in, once they start growing. But that hard water will prevent the eggs from becoming fertilised. Best to wait till you have everything ready.

We would love to see a picture of your fish, if you can manage to post it.

[DR.V]

ladyred, if you aged the water in a water barrel , will that bring down the hardness as well ??

[Merrilyn]

No it won't affect the hardness. Hardness is caused by minerals and salts dissolved in the water. You can only remove them by filtering through a RO unit.

[geral]

this is one of my 2 pairs of full flower PB.
it would be nice to post the pic of the mated pair (the are bigger and have no pepper with intense red and some blue) but sorry, no camera at this moment. soon!!!!!!
hey, by the way, what about the water softener pillow of aquarium pharms?

[geral]

at the time i was attaching the pic, i looked to my planted tank and saw a cobalt blue and a red turk cleaning an old amazonian leave. so, I have another pair!!!!!!!!! congratulations to me!!!!!!!!!! jejeje. what i'm supposed to do????? leave them where they are? or put them in another aquarium?
things are getting nasty here. jejejeje no tetras neither any other discus in the area. kool this hobby
regards

[Merrilyn]

Well done Gerald. Nice looking fish you have there.

You may find some of the answers to your questions in the Beginners Guide at the top of this thread.

[nicholas76]

Hi Geral,


As you are from puerto rico , is it fair to say that your fish are localy supplied and not imported or from the amazon region itself?

The reason why i ask is becuase your fish are probably born in bred in harder waters.

if thats the case then i wouldnt honestly be changing the ph that much. I'd look into that further if i was you.

regards

Nick

[nicholas76]

ps AWSUM PIGOENS

[DR.V]

nice pair geral

[Mattzilla]

stunning pb's mate....love their pattern

[geral]

well, there is some pics of my other full flower pair, the mated one. finally they lay eggs but, as you say, hardness made its work. just a few eggs were fertilized. but i'm happy!!! jejeje kool this thing. how long will take to them for lay eggs again?

[nicholas76]

well, there is some pics of my other full flower pair, the mated one. finally they lay eggs but, as you say, hardness made its work. just a few eggs were fertilized. but i'm happy!!! jejeje kool this thing. how long will take to them for lay eggs again?


ensure that you keep the same regime, water changes etc, and you will more than likely find that like clock work the same time next week they will lay again.

[Merrilyn]

Lovely fish you have there Gerald. It's certainly worth trying to breed from that pair.

Try your tank with half RO water and half tap water, and see if that brings the hardness down far enough to allow the eggs to fertilize. You can certainly add peat to the tank. Your pH won't be affected much because of the buffering effect of the hard water, but it may help to soften it.

I don't like those water softening pillows, and prefer to use peat. You should see eggs again in about a week. Good Luck :P