Re: Water Softener question

[Frauley/Elson <fraulels@minet.ca>]

Ed Pon wrote:
> 
> I am using a Culligan water softener which replaces calcium ions with sodium
> ions to soften the water.  The tap water comes into the unit at about 120 ppm
> carbonate hardness and leaves  the water softener at o ppm(using an Aquarium
> Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Water Hardness test kit).  I quit using my reverse osmosis
> unit because of the convenience factors.  I have had spawnings from A.
> Pandurini, A. Nijsenni, A. Cacatoides, A. Borelli, A. Norberti, A. MacMasteri,
> A. sp. Rotpunct, and probably a few others that I can't remember at the moment.
> My water source is not terribly hard to begin with, so I figured that I wasn't
> really putting very much sodium into the water.  Also, cichlids in general, seem
> to have a high tolerance for salt, with some species actually reproducing in
> pure salt water.  Anyway--I have been not been able to get an answer to a
> question that I have posed to various authoritative people in the cichlid hobby
> in the past.  The question is: do soft-water fish in general, and cichlids in
> particular, actually require a low carbonate hardness to reproduce successfully
> or is the requirement for low conductivity.  I know that some people measure
> carbonate hardnes, some measure total hardness, and others use a conductivity
> meter to determine the suitability of their water for breeding soft-water fish.
> Anybody out there have any opinions, facts, theories, etc?
> 
> 
Hello,
	I have something weird and interesting going on here, that relates to
this question. I have a pair of pandurini that have spawned six times
now. At first, these wild-caught fish had textbook good water
conditions, but I hit a glitch on the softwater supply and had to do a
few tapwater water changes (pH 7.4, 130 ppm). The water has gradually
gone from a low of 6.0 to a current 7.4, and from 30 ppm to 100ppm. It's
become a simple, cleanwater tank. 
	The pandurini are still spawning. I only get 10 or so viable fry, so
there is a negative effect, but they can and do spawn every three weeks
in this water. In my tapwater, I've had Apistogramma eunotus, geisleri
(wild), sp rotpunck, veijita (wild), mcmasteri, agassizi, borelli,
borelli (opal form), 3 types of cacatuoides (2 wild) plus a lot of west
africans spawn and hatch.
	I prefer to use soft water, but many apistos are more adaptable than we
might expect. True, many are from varying degrees of whitewater, as
opposed to blackwater, and we don't always have good collection
information, especially on commercial imports. 
	I guess my question is: would the species you have have spawned without
the water softener anyway? 
	Gary