macmasteri fem

[fishme.]

hello everybody.i have a pair of macmasteri they spawn at about every 20days but the female never sows her fry and because she keeps them in the coconut they dont find any food and some days after they die.

the only time that the fry made it was when i changed aquascape and she just took her fry at the other side of the aquarium under plant cover.

i had another macmasteri pair and the female did never loose any of her fry

what do you suggest?

 

[bigbird]

Yasu Fishme,

In what type of tank do you have these, on their own r community, describe your set up , water values and how you keep them., how big is the tank, This would help us to maybe find the answer.

cheers jan-kurt

 

[fishme.]

yasu bigbird .
i tested today the water

PH 7 it was over than usual wich is 6,5
KH 0
GH 0

the aquarium

 

[bigbird]

Yasu,

Thanks for the photo. The male looks very nice, good colour and nice fins.

Ok these are my first thoughts. The female in the cave only has the cave for cover. The tank is very bare. There is no hidding spots or other caves for her and the fry, so she feels insecure about leaving the cave. Your photo shows just the cocunut shell and nothing around it. It can also be that she is afraid of the male, as she feels insecure in leaving her cave. I would introduce 2 things, add more caves, plants and branches, so the female has A LOT OF Hiding spots, so it would be even hard for you to find and I mean a lot of hidding spots. Introduce dither fish to keep the male distracted. If this does not work then try removing the male. I am sure however with much more ground cover,plants , rocks and caves you should be fine.
Keep us update. Yasu Jan - PS Happy easter for next month

 

[fishme.]

thanks for the answer bigbird.
i think you are right i'll give the female more hiding places

 

[Apistomaster]

I don't see how your water could test for zero KH and GH. That is only possible in RO water that passes a final stage of mixed and new DI resins. Once it goes into a planted tank it would pick up some mineral content but unless you have something buffering this supposedly zero/zero water the pH should be crashing below 5.0. Apistogramma macmasteri need some mineral content for proper egg and larvae development. Have your water checked with an EC/TDS meter by your local fish shop. Something is wrong with this picture.

 

[fishme.]

the water comes from my R.O..

i use discus trace for the RO water but mine has not DI unit.

in greece the water is really hard, kh gh around 10 in winter and over 10 in summer when there is no rain,i think that is why the PH stands at 6,5 - checked and by other greek hobbyists, or it is not really 0 as there is no DI unit