Eggs eaten- again

[Matthew Clark]

Pardon the abruptness, but I'll dispense with a prelude.

Pair of cacs in 5.5 gallon. Bare excpet sponge filter and flowerpots. Each time female has eaten eggs after 3-4 days tending. Based ontiming, I assume the eggs didn' hatch, so she ate them.

Temp 82, RO water mixed with a little tap water, pH 6.5, GH about 1. SHould I be raising hardness a bit for cacs?

Male is 1 1/4-1/2 inches, so I doubt he's too young. Right?

Opinions?

Thanks.

Matthew Clark

 

[farm41]

I can't be of much help, but, my cacs are in Gh10, Ph7, and their fry is getting along just fine. So far. They're a few weeks old.

 

[Matthew Clark]

Thanks!

Matthew Clark

 

[Eva32181]

I cannot speak from experience, but it has been my understanding that young pairs of fish need a few practice runs before they get it right. How long has this egg eating been going on? All I can say is give them time I guess.[/img]

 

[Neil]

I agree with Eva. Practice makes perfect. Some pairs get it all the way their first try and others have to go through a process of learning before they finally figure it out.
The water conditions are fine. No additional hardness is nec. The one issue that might be a problem is the size of the tank. Some apisto individuals and/or species do not feel comfortable breeding in that small of a tank. The water is good enough that they will lay, because they are driven to do that, but they may not feel comfortable enough to raise the fry in that situation.

 

[Matthew Clark]

Thanks Neil, Eva. If they continue eating, I may have to look into moving them to a bigger tank.

Matthew Clark

 

[Matthew Clark]

One more question....

Would any insecurity felt by the cacs be triggered more by tank size or bareness? For example, if I added some gravel and plants, would this help?

Matthew Clark

 

[Neil]

Could be either/or, but I have had much less problem in bare-bottom tanks than I have with very small tanks. When I don't want them to spawn i put them in a 5.5g. Sometimes they do anyway. But a 10 (if not a 15) doubles the space and is more appropriate.
That said, it would hurt to put a little more stucture in the tank with them. At the very least it will provide places to hide if one decides to get the screamin' meanies.
:twisted: Neil

 

[Z Man]

I have no gravel in any of my tanks and that was never a problem. You mention flowerpots (plural). For 1 pair I would have 4 pots. One for the male to hide in if necessary and 2 extras so the female can choose which to use when moving the wigglers. You don't state how many but she will want to move them and if the male is in the only other one, she may eat the eggs or fry. At 82F they should be wiggling in 4 days.

 

[Matthew Clark]

Thanks....I don't know what I'd do without you guys!

Tanks contains two flowerpots. I'll add a few.

Matthew Clark