breeding and keeping macamasteri

[andros]

hi how is everyone
i was curious ive got 3 female macmasteri's and one male keeping them in PH of 6.5-7 they seem to be goin well.
i was curious how to breed this fish i am living in australia at the moment and i was curious about leaf litter are any leaves good or do you have to use particular ones?do you boil them first?
i am keeping them in a 80L, 2 foot tank with bout 7 java ferns, lots of spawning moss, 3 large pieces of driftwood and half the tank with sand substrate and the other half with light coloured gravel.

Would you reccommend using peat to the water with these fish.

I have 2 other tanks 1 with agassizi and the other with cacatuoides i use gravel substrate and caves for their tanks are they all simular fish to breed?if anyone can help that would be great

thanks
andrew [/url][/b]

 

[Neil]

andros,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

Macmasteri is not a particularly difficult fish to breed. However, it does benefit from pretty soft, acidic water for this to happen easily. The can and will breed in the water you have mentioned, but they are more likely to and may be more productive if you lower your values a bit. But the softness (low hardness) is probably a more important value than the acidity.

One way to accomplish this is using peat and or leaf litter from certain types of leaves. I am not familiar with what is available in Australia, nor do I know all the types of leaves that are safe for the aquarium. But some leaves will provide a better effect for pH reduction and some will basically just be nice looking and give your fish places to hide and breed. Others would not be suitable for use in aquaria. Different people boil, scald or simple rinse their dead leaves before using. I would recommend scalding them to be on the safe side. There have been many discussions here about this subject and can be viewed via a search.

Macmasteri, as far as I remember do not come from blackwater biotopes and therefore don't really need peat in the water. But they are pretty hearty apistos. You certainly can use peat to lower your values a touch, but again, the use of RO would be most beneficial to gain softer water.

Good luck,

Neil