Re: blue rams - second time lucky

[David Sanchez <barbax2@yahoo.com>]

John the overidding factor is the water quality. And
that goes in 2 parts. One is having the proprer and
correct parameters the secound in maintaining very
good water quality which translates to low DOC's as
can be measured by our counductivty ( actually in the
change of coiunductivity over time due to pollutants)
Synergy is at work here and many factors all
contribute to success or failure but in my experience
moniter counductivity and you well on your way to
success. Folks many people have asked me and by
measuring counductivity I am not meaning to measure
your hardness but rather the change in counductivity
which is the measurement of the buildup of pollutants
( DOC's dissolved organic compounds) over time in a
sample of water. 

No need to be lucky John if we know what we are up
against. We can be prepared and we can learn from our
failures and turn them into success. To this end there
are many ways to achieve this. Water changes, good
plant growth etc. Our fish come from very pure
rainforest streams rainfall is almost constant and the
water is "purified" it has very very low counductivity
and it stays very stable and constant over time. To me
our biggest problem is that our water is just far from
that if we measure counductivity we begin to see this
and we ask what is rasing our counductivity? I beleive
it to be an indication of not just DOC's accumulating
but also very high bacteria levels as well. The fish
eggs are just very sensative to this and wont hatch.
Truthfully we never get close to nature but our fish
spawn in spite of what we do not because. I hope this
helps.

Dave 




--- John McCrone <j.mccrone@btinternet.com> wrote:
> Better luck with a second spawning of my blue rams.
> As suggested, I raised
> the heat to 85 degrees. I got the water down to a
> trace hardness and pH of
> 6. I removed the killis so rams are alone. Tilted a
> flat rock to 45 degrees
> as it seemed clear from previous spawning on sloping
> bogwood that this is
> what they prefer. The female showed signs of
> listlessness and stringy white
> faeces after first spawning so I dosed with
> anti-hexamite treatment. Plenty
> of mosquito larva has seen both fish grow quite a
> bit in a few weeks. They
> are in a 20 gallon planted tank so are about as
> spoilt as it gets. As an
> extra step - though I'm not sure if it helps or
> hinders - I occasionally
> have left a mirror at one end of the tank. This gets
> the male displaying
> nicely and it is interesting that with spawning,
> they have shifted the
> wrigglers to the other end of the tank when the
> mirror-end was previously
> preferred.
> 
> It was noticeable with this spawning that the
> parents were behaving much
> more naturally. The male did not chase the female
> around and then rather
> absent-mindedly guard the eggs like last time.
> Instead, both parents took
> turns at sentry duty and fanned the eggs with arched
> body - far more
> focused. Now the pair are shuttling back and forth
> between the hatching eggs
> and a little brood of wrigglers that they have
> placed on the flank of a bit
> of bog wood (surprised that they haven't made a nest
> in the sand). When I
> say shuttle, I mean the pair are exchanging places
> about every two seconds.
> 
> I mention all this as a thanks for advice from this
> list and also because it
> reveals how dramatically cichlid parenting behaviour
> can improve when
> circumstances are to their liking. What still
> puzzles me is whether there
> are certain over-riding factors in producing such a
> change - temperature,
> practice, health, tank mates, some critical water
> parameter? And has anyone
> identified the hormone systems that control
> parenting behaviour, switching
> it on and off?
> 
> Cheers
>
------------------------------------------------------------
> from John McCrone
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
> This is the apistogramma mailing list,
> apisto@listbox.com.
> For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe
> or get help,
> email apisto-request@listbox.com.


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
NEW from Yahoo! GeoCities - quick and easy web site hosting, just $8.95/month.
http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info1


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com.
For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help,
email apisto-request@listbox.com.