What is wrong with my set up. I know there is something..

[radiodug]

I have a 29g with 2 pairs of bitaeniata curutu, 1 pair 2 inch discus, endler livebearers and a pair of dwarf Syno petricola. No fish seem to bother any others, in fact I have about 12 endler fry born in the last 2 days. Other perimeters

substrate - none
filteration - sponge filter
HOB filter with peat
temp 82 degrees
tds - HIGH
ph 6.5

several plants are in the tank including valisneria, amazon sword and cabomba. I change water every day at 25% and keep ph down. but hardness is kicking my butt and getting a jug of ro and changing that everyday could get more than I can handle. So any other suggestions? Would like the Bits to spawn. I also have some Sweet Almond leaves floating around, hoping to get them to settle in at the bottom of the tank.

Doug

Doug

 

[Discus Man]

step one, get rid of the catfish.
These are not Soft water fish, are fry eaters and in a 29g there is no where for the bits to saty clear of these fish or the other way round.

Step two, Canadian Peat Moss , add to filter.

Step three Seachem acid buffer just in case the Peat doesn't get things low enough but I think it will.

Other than that, wait...

Good luck! Am jealous, those are nice fish.

 

[radiodug]

Thanks, will get the canadian Peat, however I disagree about the petricolas, they are soft water catfish, can be kept in 6.5 ph and as there are fry in the tank already, they do not eat them, however I will consider a relocation.

Thanks for your response.

and compliments.

Doug

 

[Discus Man]

Soft water? You may be right , as far as I knew they were a true Tanganyika catfish.

http://www.scotcat.com/articles/article30.htm

I know they stay small, but I have heard it reported that they are egg eaters and such, either way, I would never try any catfish other than ottos in with breeding apistos.

Even the presence of bottom dwellers can prevent a spawning.

Then again, my iniridae have yet to hatch any eggs so I am no expert!
Only one spawning and she ate those!

 

[radiodug]

Thanks, they have only been in for 4 days, so really have not expected anything yet. However if it goes for too long I will of course change it up a bit. Your jealous?? those iniridae have incredible dorsals and don't come up very often for availablity. Good luck on them.

Doug

 

[2la]

Umm, no, petricolas are definitely not softwater fish. They come from Lake Tanganyika where the water is hard and alkaline (pH 8-9+, dGH above 10). And size is relative, but a 5 inch synodontis will find a 29G quite cramped. More importantly for your purposes, though, is that the bits likely won't ever spawn with the catfish in the tank, as Discus Man said. If you're looking to optimize the environment for breeding the bits, that's the first place I'd start. I don't know what the pH or hardness is where these fish are collected from, but my bet's on your hardness as being the more important parameter to fidget with. Good luck!

 

[radiodug]

I should restate this, while WILD petricolas are a hardwater fish, as with any fish that has been raised domestically, the ph is not as much of a factor as it would otherwise be, and the Petricola are conditioned for softer water than you would normally think.

despite that, they will be moving once the bits have had some food conditioning. (within a day or so)

"Umm, no," What a way to start a helpful post. lol.

Thanks for your input.

Doug

 

[2la]

Umm, your welcome. :wink: But I think when a questionable statement such as "they are soft water catfish" is made (implying that they have specifically evolved to deal with soft waters), it's understandable that some skepticism be raised.

 

[radiodug]

Yup your right.

The other thing that I found wrong with this set up is a 29g is too small for 2 pair of these A Bits. I didn't think so but one of the Males did, and kept picking on the other, who has since moved on to a very busy community tank where he seems to be doing great (as is his paired female)

Doug

 

[kenchou]

:? do not change water every day, normally I am change my Apistos water every week for about 1/3.

 

[radiodug]

That is going to make it a bit hard on the discus I think, but I will cut back to 20% every other day and see if it helps. I did finally get an RO unit, used but the price was right I hope. Just have to get an installation kit for it. Anyone know a good source?

Doug

 

[Zapisto]

i dont if someone tell you that, you have to be very patient with Bita.
they need to have a nice size to spawn.

so be patient

 

[radiodug]

Thank you I didn't know that. THe males are about 8 cm, the females 4-5cm
These seem a little larger than juveniles, but I have all the time in the world. I will let the tank settle better.

Doug

 

[aspen]

doug i see a problem with the discus. i would think you will likely end up with only 1 fish. they like larger groups than that till they are adults. i prefer 6 or more. is there much agression between them, ie, one beating the other one up all the time? the smaller one will likely end up dying.

i have changed up to 2 x 90% daily with pea sized discus fry with no problems and fast growing fish. if you age your water, the more changes the better, say 25- 50% per day. not for the plants though, ime. balance more in favour of the fish would be my choice. a good thought would be to run a micron filter in there. this will likely lessen the need for the water changes. i use the marineland HOT (hang on tank) magnum with the micron cartridge for my grow-out discus tanks. it works really nice.

rick

 

[radiodug]

The discus seem to get along great with each other and are not timid about running around the tank either. I supposed I got lucky there. I did add another filter, it's a micron attachment for my Power head, which runs the water through an Aqua Equalizer (debatable if this is doing anything but all fish seem healthy, eat well and are active) I should have mentioned, the Discus are a very young pair.
Doug

 

[aspen]

sorry doug, i saw you said they were a pair of 2" discus, i guess i thought you meant 2 fish. my mistake.

>>'I supposed I got lucky there.'

yes you did, but if you haven't seen viable eggs yet your 'pair' may yet be 2 females or males. i have had 2 females protecting their eggs laid by each of them, and getting along like a pair. (keep your fingers crossed.)

i got rid of a small pair, but i wish now i'd have kept them. nothing wrong with them for small planted tanks esp if the shape is there but the size is not.

i used to keep a single adult female in a 20 gal with a pair of rams, and some rummy nose tetras. it was a very nice display and ran for 8 months or so very well.

rick