Moving the pair of Sturisoma Aureum from their quarantine tank, to a seperate breeding tank, has triggered spawning.
Here are some of the first pictures, so for the quality, the new tank, is in an awkward place, not easily photographable.
Female is on the left of the picture near the bogwood, and the male is on the right guarding and fanning the eggs.
Male guarding and fanning the eggs.
Male guarding and fanning the eggs.
I moved the Twig Catfish Sturisoma Aureum and Dwarf Hoplo Catfish Hoplosternum pectorale from their quarantine tanks into seperate breeding tanks, these are the new tanks I’ve just added to the fish house. I’ve also added some bogwood to the Sturisoma Aureum tank for them to graze on. Both these tanks are filtered with internal filters, Hagen Bio-Life 55 and Dennerle C400 internal filters, the Sturisoma Aureum like most Locarids are very messy catfish, and Sponge Filters cannot cope with the large amounts of waste these catfish produce.
Eggs have been eated that the Silver Angels laid.
I’ve noticed the new pair of platinum angelfish, cleaning the breeding cone this evening. It is possible they could lay soon.
Condensation detected in the air manifold seems to have disappeared.
I’ve also moved four Endler/Guppy hybrids, into my new tanks, to speed-up cycling them.
The secret of breeding and keeping fish is all about managing water, and to successfully manage water you need to understand a little water chemistry.
pH
pH is the measure of acidity or alkalinity of water. A pH reading of 7.0 is neutral. A pH higher than 7.0 is alkaline, and a pH lower than 7.0 is acidic.
pH is defined as follows: the lower-case letter “p” in pH stands for the negative common (base ten) logarithm, while the upper-case letter “H” stands for the element hydrogen. Thus, pH is a logarithmic measurement of the number of moles of hydrogen ions (H+) per liter of solution. Incidentally, the “p” prefix is also used with other types of chemical measurements where a logarithmic scale is desired, pCO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and pO2 (Oxygen) being two such examples.
In layman’s terms this means, that a 0.2 change in pH is a big change to fish, never try to change the pH of aquarium water by more than 0.2 a day.
I use an Aquarium test kit, manufacturered by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc to test for pH. This is a wet kit, but there are many different test kits around, and some dry kits which are quicker to use, but more expensive. I also use digital pH testers for quickness, but the pH probe has a life, and must be regularly calibrated before use.
pH should be tested weekly, since natural materials in the aquarium can cause a pH change.
KH
K(c)arbonate hardness is the measure of carbonate and bicarbonate ion concentrations dissolved in water. These minerals are present in our tap, well and bottled spring water. The level of carbonate hardness in tap and bottled water depends on the source of the water and the treatment process it has undergone. Carbonate hardness helps stabilize pH in the aquarium. An aquarium with a very low KH < 50ppm will tend to be acidic. Aquariums with a very low KH level are subject to rapid pH shifts, if not monitored carefully, sometimes referred to a pH crash. Water with a high KH level > 200pm usually have a high pH. KH is usually measured in dKH.
GH
General Hardness is the measure of calcium and magnesium ion concentrations dissolved in water. These minerals are also present in in our tap, well and bottled spring water. It also depends on the source of the water and the treatment process it has undergone. Hard water > 200ppm is high in calcium and magnesium, while soft water 50 – 100ppm is low in these minerals. GH is usually measured in dGH.
To convert both GH and KH to parts per million (ppm) multiply by 17.9.
I use a test kit manufactuered by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc to test for KH & GH.
Why am I telling you all this? Over the forthcoming weeks, I’ll be installing a Dennerle CO2 system into my display tank to aid plant growth, and I’ll be using terms such as pH, KH and GH, so you’ll understand what I referring to!
An aquarist in Germany recommended that I try
Sera Catfish Chips for Ancistrus and Pleco Catfish if I’m finding it difficult in obtaining Hikari
Algae Wafers, he has had great success with this product in Germany. Many high
quality aquarium products come from Germany, Eheim,
Tetra and
Dennerle are just a few manufacturers,
so I’ll definitely experiment with this product.
Sera retailers in the UK are not common, but I know a place on my doorstep that
stocks Sera products. Petland, York is a
Sera retailer.
I purchased some Sera Catfish Chips for Ancistrus and Pleco Catfish, the
ingredients are very interesting because the usual marine algae and spirulina
are present, but willow wood and bark and alder wood are also ingredients. This
product will certainly help if you have no bogwood present in your aquariums for
the catfish to graze on. Many years ago, when I first saw a "pleco" in aquaria,
it was given willow wood and bark to graze on, this was before the days of any
"Algae Wafers", it was said, that chemicals in the willow made the catfish
sleepy, like an anaesthetic if they ate too much, so it was only fed in small
quantities. This is the first fish food product I’ve seen using "wood" as an
ingredient.
I offer my fish a varied diet to stop them getting hooked on one type of
food, I vary the food each day, here’s a list of the products I use:-
When I first started "fishkeeping", many years ago, when my Dad won a
goldfish at the Fun Fair, we came home with a glass goldfish bowl, and a
cardboard tube of ant eggs to feed the goldfish.
Tropical Fish Food Technology has greatly improved! If it had not improved, I
don’t think I would have been as successful in breeding and caring for the
tropical fish in the many years I’ve kept them. For many years I was hooked on
Aquarian Tropical Flake, not personally, but variety is the spice of life!
Go on, change your food today!
This was emailed to me by a fellow aquarist after having difficulties with the gibbiceps digging up the plants in my display tank. Reproduced here in its entirety with permission of the author – Amerce.
“Actually I managed to rig something a little bit cheaper up for myself with items I had left over or had squirreled away.
I had some peat left over from my killifish breeding pots (sterilized in the microwave), I had some aquarium sand (£2+ for a 3 kg bag), some fine gravel left over from another aquarium and some plastic containers left over from various things (Ferrero rocher container, strawberry punnet container etc. I’d punched some holes in the container bottom beforehand), the most expensive part was buying the plants and the plant rooter granules.
I lined the bottom of the containers with some peat, sprinkled some of the root granules and then tied up the plants (using the lead that java sent me), once I had decided where all the plants were going I then used the wet sand to firmly place the plants in the container (I’d washed the sand earlier and it was still a bit moist) the sand acted like putty and was easy to shape and mould around the plant roots, then I sprinkled the gravel over everything to make sure the sand and plants didn’t float up once it was placed in the tank, and because the containers had been punched before the water soaked in to the base of the container and gradually filled it and it sank nicely without loosing the plant, soil, or sand.
This way the undergravel isn’t bunged up with roots from the plants and you can take out the containers at any time to do plant maintenance and also move the container where ever you want without upsetting the plants too much.”
So this Christmas, save those Ferrero rocher containers, and recycle them, and save them from landfill!
I’ve been completing a 25% partial water change on Aquarium 8, this evening, this was Franks’ Home for the last year, and now it’s void of Angelfish, this will give me the chance to move another breeding pair into this tank. I’ve got a Silver/Platinum pair to move into this tank. This tank is approx 90l, size – 30″x15″x12″, and filtered by an Hagen Biolife 55 internal filter, and also an air operated Algarde Bio-Foam 200 sponge filter, I keep sponge filters operating in most larger tanks, as backups, they are also useful to use in new tank setup’s to speed up fish tank cycling. This tank is heated by a 500 watt heater connected to my bespoke multi-channel controller in the fish house. The heater is a little overkill, but the last heater failed, and this was the nearest heater to hand at the time.
Not done anything with all the plants, that have been up-rooted in the display tank.
I collected my parcel containing my aquatic plant order from Java-Plants early this morning from the local Post Office Sorting Office. I’ve purchased 25 Amazon Swords and 25 Vallis, the Vallis was out of stock, so will ship later, the 25 Amazon Swords are in excellent condition, with healty leaves and root stock, extremely well packed in a large cardboard box with “LIVE PLANTS PLEASE RUSH!” stamped on the box; with plenty of packing material. Five ***** to Java-Plants Highly Recommended. The plant order was placed on Thursday, and delivery arrived on Tuesday, the box wouldn’t fit through the letter box so I was “carded” by the local sorting office to collect the parcel.
Excellent value for money, at just 30p per plant and that includes postage and packing. Try and get a deal like that at the local lfs. If they’ve got them in stock.
I carefully opened the box, the plants arrived heat sealed in a plastic bag, and placed them carefully into a vat of water at the correct temperature 28 degrees C as the display aquarium, if I’ve got enough time after work, remember I’m on the late shift, I’ll plant out later.
Most of these plants are to be planted in my 48″x18″x12″ aquarium in the “sun room”, it looks a little bare at present. The remainder will be planted into pots, for use in the fish house for those Angelfish, that refuse to spawn on breeding cones.
I went to the Harrogate Flower Show today to purchase some garden peat to
condition some water in hope to get some breeding pairs of Angelfish to spawn.
Unfortunately, there was no peat or even compost on sale so on returning from
Harrogate, visited Moorland Nurseries, Forest Moor Road, Knaresborough, North
Yorkshire HG5 8JY to collect some garden peat, I purchased an 80l bag, which was
very heavy a bit overkill for my needs, but I can use the rest for potting on
seeds and plants.
Whilst at the garden centre also had time to visit
Tropica, the
tropical fish shop and my local
Dennerle stockist!
This is an excellent tropical fish, with an excellent display of tropical fish,
Tropica plants, dry
goods and the full Dennerle
range. Some very interesting Botia loaches were on display from Asia, their
mail order business on the internet at
Tropica, carries some
very useful information on the
Dennerle range.
I purchased a pair of Discus Spawning Cones manufactured by JBL, I prefer these
"tough plastic" cones, to ceramic/terracotta, as they are easier to clean and
disinfect and are un-breakable, and much cheaper from this tropical fish shop,
than purchasing from eBay!
Back to what’s happening in the fish house, all fish are well, air ring main
is currently undergoing pressure testing, air pump is connected up, fixed in
place, and I’ve tested for air leaks, using a water mister and washing up
liquid, no leaks were found, touch wood! It’s currently violently
aerating an 18l container of water with an airstone. One of the display tanks,
has an algal bloom, possibly causes by too much vegetable matter from courgettes
and cucumber, partial water change required this week, I’m working the late
shift at the office, so I’ll have to re-plan my evenings.
I don’t know what’s been happening today in the fish house, maybe it’s the weather. I found a another zebra danio, on the floor after it had decided to jump out of the tank.
And one of the Purple Spotted Gudegon had decided it didn’t like it’s quarantine tank, must have jumped out and decided to jump in with a Breeding Pair of Marble Angels, which promptly attacked and killed it!
I’m confused, as to how these fish escape, when I’ve tight fitting condensation trays on all the tanks!
I spoke to Pentair Aquatics, the manufacturers of the Lifegard range today, excellent customer service, gave me the required part numbers, and arranged for the UK Distributor to call me, and suggested retailers, where I can purchase my replacement water deflector, I didn’t know that Pentair is a very large commercial company that also specializes in water treatment products for domestic consumption and have deployed massive mobile treatment plants into New Orleans to pump/treat the water, after the Katrina Hurricane Disaster.
It is alleged, that the prime reason for the Import Ban on Hikari products into the EU, is because Hikari have to prove the source of the ingredients, the EU is concerned that products do not contain contaminated blood or meat products from infected animals. Until the Japanese company can provide adequate documentation, the products will not be allowed to enter the EU.
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