Female Ram getting punished

SynoSteff

SynoSteff

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Jan 5, 2006
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Cape Town, South Africa
Hey There,

I am trying to spawn my rams again. I have them in a small tank (30cm * 30cm * 40cm) which is part of a sectioned off bigger tank.

Anyways, they managed to spawn about 3 weeks ago. I took the female out as she usually eats the eggs and I know the male is a good father (Has succesfully raised 2 clutches of eggs). Unfortunately, the eggs got taken over by fungus.
I put the female back in about 3 days ago and the male has just bullied her to bits. He usually does nip a little bit and there is usually a bite mark or 2 on the females fins but this time was rediculous. I took her out in fear of her getting killed. What's the best thing to put in the tank for her to hide in/behind from the male. Also, would it be a good idea to maybe keep the female in the breeding tank first so that she is comfortable with the surrounds before putting the male in?

Any ideas would be great

Thanks so much

SynoSteff
 
Is there anyway you could put in a tank divider so that they can see each other and not get to each other? That way you could fatten her up, she'd fill up with eggs and when she is ready - pink with a showing ovipositor - slip the divider out. He's probably chasing her because he wants to spawn and she isn't ready yet. They are not cave spawners, so I don't think she'd ever go into a overturned flower pot with a notch taken out for a door, or a coconut shell or anything.

If you can't do another divider, I'd take him out. Leave her in the breeding area, yes you are right, she would feel more comfortable and confident. I don't know what kind of divider you are using, but if they can see each other, they will have more of a chance to get their timing right and both be ready at the same time.

Is your water soft? Could those eggs have fungused because they weren't properly fertilized? I try to keep my gh below 6 when I am spawning them and once had 1/2 batch get fungusy when my gh was 7.

Cathy
 
Yeah, I seperated a pair after a spawn for some reason or other once, and had a hard time reintroducing them. It's best just to leave the two together and remove the eggs.

The idea of a seperator for a time is a good one. Something where they can see each other but can't do harm. Plastic canvas is always a good material to use for such things.
 
The tank they are in at the moment is actually a 90cm x 30 x 30 tank, which is divided into 3 sections with 2 glass dividers so I could put them next to each other and they would easily be able to see each other. Only problem is that the one next to the spawning section has my last 2 baby Synodontis nigriventris and i'm scared my female or male ram might bully them or stop them from eating. I'll figure something out though.

Thanks for the input

SynoSteff
 
Hey Cathy G,

I just used a test strip and it sayd my water is pretty hard. Roughly 150ppm. That's total hardness (GH).
Is the only way to drop this with rain or R/O water?

Also, what have you found to be the ideal pH?

Thanks

SynoSteff
 
Hi,

pH's can probably get up to 7.4... it is the softness of the water which counts here though. If the water isn't soft enought the sperm can penetrate the egg properly and many eggs won't get fertilized, hence a major fungus issue.

The easiest way is to use RO -Reverse Osmosis- water and mix it with your tap. About 50% of my rams eggs didn't hatch and fungused when my gH was at 7. When 6 or below though I didn't have nearly as many fungused eggs. I actually like the gh to be around 4. In your ppm measurement this should be under 100 ppm maximum. (Under 75 would even be better).

I can get RO on tap at my grocery store for about 35 cents per gallon. I mix it with tap and Kent's RO Right to add back necessary electrolytes to get around 4-6gh and 3-4 kh. I know people use rain water but I think given the pollution around, I probably wouldn't. But, I do live near the city of Milwaukee.

You can also add peat to your filter box, in a media bag, it will remove some softness, but not all that much. It will also leave your water a tea color if you like that effect.

I am looking to buy an RO unit soon as I am having to buy so much water now. I don't know much about them, but have found one I think will work for about $150. In the long run, I'll save money buying that unit...

Hope all this helps,
Cathy

Oh, about ideal ph, I don't want to mess with buffers etc, so my pH is around 6.8 to 7.2 depending on if there is co2 running in that tank. My rams have spawned in 7.4 and I don't remember there being any problems with that batch of eggs. I think they made it to the wriggler stage before being eaten. But, they didn't fungus!
 
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Thanks for the help Cathy,

Any idea if De-ionised water is the same as RO water? I reckon it should be. Would be great cause I'm at university and they have de-ionised water taps all over the department. Otherwise I'm going to have to search a bit harder. I must also just check my tap water.

My pH is pretty low. Around 6.4 I think. Hope it will be ok.

My poor ram that got punished by the male is getting streamer like fungus tendrils growing off of her tail :( started an acriflavin treatment. Hope it helps

SynoSteff
 
I believe that de-ionization is an extra step in the RO process, but I am not sure about this at all. If they are using that water in their experiments, I bet it is absolutely pure water and that it is ok. Be sure to add back in the electrolytes etc that I mentioned above.

If your ph is 6.4, and your water is hard - well to me that is rather strange. I have always assumed/understood that the harder the water, the more alkaline. Hmm. Are all your tests right? What is your kH?

Anyway, sorry to hear she has picked up something. Hope she will pull through.
Cath
 
Well, I'm using one of Quick Dip 5-in-1 test kits so it's probably not terribly accurate.
I just tested again now and got the same pH and GH and the KH is low (between 0 and 40ppm). I'm not terribly sure what these terms represent but the low alkalinity corresponds to my low pH I guess.

Thanks again cath ...

Oh, and my ram is already looking better. The tendril like fungus things are basically gone. Not sure if it was the medicine or she is just healing but I'll carry on the treatment anyways

SynoSteff
 
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