Sturisoma breeding consistently in EI dosed aquarium

[wesleydnunder]

For around 7 yrs I had my 125 set up with co2 and EI using Greg Watson's mix, the original PMDD. I kept the co2 in the 25-30 ppm range and the discus spawned regularly. Never got the chance to raise the fry as they were egg-eaters but the ferts and co2 didn't seem to inhibit their libidoes.

Mark

 

[247Plants]

But but but.....it's not a control ,rigorous peer review study! You cannot possibly learn or conclude anything without setting th bar that high for any hobbyists!

Well, some have stated that, hehe.......

I beg to differ...........I think Hobbyists can challenge and address the myths in this hobby and the ones who have mastered things are the one's to listen to, not the hacks.
I can say CO2 is the no#1 killer and stress to planted tank fish.............

Stat's do not lie.

And yet..........folks carry on about NO3 and the need to do water changes or dose tiny bits etc.......

I ask them where are the risk and at what ppm's will I see a negative response?
Have you tried it yourself?? etc........

I scraped off the remaining eggs, they all hatched and seem to be doing well, I have 2 batches in the tray and melted small holes into a new waiting tray.

60 new fry, no tetras ate them this time since I scraped them off the glass right before they would hatch anyway, to the 14 I had before.
The methods have been improved for rearing and getting more to survive.

I have nothing to lose here either. the old way lost most of them anyhow, might as well do some treatments and see if there is any merit, often is the case..........there is no effect.

But a good myth is hard to kill, very hard.

Let me also add this, none of these tanks were set up as breeders. they were just planted tanks whose inhabitants decided they like it enough in the aquarium to breed. I imagine if a little more effort was put into it on my part I would have had success breeding more of the fish I kept.

On a side note....ever notice how some of the healthiest fish come from the most algae ridden tanks? Sure I can give some credit for infusoria and other little critters that make the complete feeding cycle, but some of the best breeder tanks I have seen would get flamed here because they didnt have clean glass or were covered top to bottom in algae and muck.

 

[gmh]

Plantbrain, could you describe that fry grow out tray in more detail? It looks pretty simple. No filtration, no heater?

 

[plantbrain]

Let me also add this, none of these tanks were set up as breeders. they were just planted tanks whose inhabitants decided they like it enough in the aquarium to breed. I imagine if a little more effort was put into it on my part I would have had success breeding more of the fish I kept.

On a side note....ever notice how some of the healthiest fish come from the most algae ridden tanks? Sure I can give some credit for infusoria and other little critters that make the complete feeding cycle, but some of the best breeder tanks I have seen would get flamed here because they didnt have clean glass or were covered top to bottom in algae and muck.

Good point and I certainly agree.

I figure out what was killing them in the Q tank......fungus.

Did not catch it before, but spotted one in the tray.

 

[plantbrain]

Plantbrain, could you describe that fry grow out tray in more detail? It looks pretty simple. No filtration, no heater?

Just floats in the tank, I dip water in/out of it 2-3x a day etc.

Seems to work very well for 10-20 fish, but at 80, I've had a little fungus etc.

So I removed the 80 and placed them in a Q tank and treated for Fungus. Only 1-2 had it, 1 alive and the other was DOA.
The fungus attacked much faster in the past, but this was likely the reason I lost so many in the past.

Salt, Meth blue etc, acriflavin etc......I have a few to try, used Acriflav today.

This was the tray without the holes, I added some fry to the other tray also which is still in the tank.
This way if I lose some due to the treatment, I still have some in the tank.

Fear not, there's a lot more where these came from....so I can try a number of different treatments to improve the yield.

I am very confident about the Fry and the effects of nutrients/CO2 however.

 

[plantbrain]

For around 7 yrs I had my 125 set up with co2 and EI using Greg Watson's mix, the original PMDD. I kept the co2 in the 25-30 ppm range and the discus spawned regularly. Never got the chance to raise the fry as they were egg-eaters but the ferts and co2 didn't seem to inhibit their libidoes.

Mark

Two client's had them breed often, with Angels, but the tank is massive and the parents raised them on the slime coat, old schooling it.

 

[247Plants]

Just to add to this, and it only fits in a little here. I was watching monster fish last night on animal planet and they were doing a show on salmon. The points they were talking about for prime breeding were, cool temps, high dissolved oxygen and HIGH NITRATES. I didnt catch a reading, will try to dig it out somewhere.

 

[plantbrain]

I'm in Salmon breeding areas, we see them here every year, big stinky mess afterward..........coho, kings etc.
The scouring from high water flows on gravel banks is key, so it should be a good year for them, high flows lead to high inputs from the land, which can lead to high N.
But..as the water recedes and the fry develop and hatch, then the water quality tends to go up.

CA is extremely seasonal, like many rain forest habitats, water levels change massively, Humans love to stabilize water, which then leads to degraded habitats for aquatic critters and causes massive aquatic weed issues.
In normal natural systems, the weeds never become a problem because they get washed away and only have a little optimal time to grow and complete their life cycle, but if we stabilize things........then we get bad problems and infestations.

Dams, canals, irrigation, human use and waste, flood control, channelization of streams.................good things to allow aquatic weeds to grow well.........