Distilled Water + Tap Water for Bolivian Rams Breeding?

[DizzCat]

Never used them. I always feed mine thr frozen blood worms. That is their favorite

[BolivianRams]

my LFS does not have live bloodworms only these worms and live brine shrimp. I think these worms are better cuz it doesn't pollute the tank as much and i don't think it's salt water either. But bbs is the best for live fry.

[BolivianRams]

Hmm seems like the female is not interested in mating and just hangs out at a corner of the tank. I noticed that her tail and a little bit of her dorsal fin is ripped probably because of the male trying to get to her. Is there any possibility that he will kill her while doing this? What happens if one of them die, will the one left over choose another mate?

Also, I want to know what leaves I can put in my tank to lower pH level. I know driftwood can do that but is it permanent? Will the pH rise again after water change etc. I know a constant stable pH is more important but I was just wondering.

[bs6749]

Let me save you some time and money by telling you that soft and acidic water is not necessary for ram breeding. pH isn't an issue either so long as it falls between 5.0 and 9.0

[BolivianRams]

what about the success/survival rate of fries and the frequency of spawning

[bs6749]

My 50% wilds (blue rams) would spawn every 5-7 days in water that had a pH of 7.8-8.0 and a GH of 300+ ppm with tons of iron. They would lay large clutches with over 400 eggs each time and I'd get over 95% fertility each time.

Survival rates of ram fry are dependent upon water changes mainly. The water should be changed out 2 times per day if possible, once at the least until they are ~3/8" or so.

[BolivianRams]

oh wow, i don't think mines are from the wild at all @.@ They're just learning to become better parents at the moment.

[bs6749]

They don't need to be wilds to produce babies, but the ones that have more wild blood in them tend to be better parents as commercial breeding of these fish involves artificial hatching of the eggs. Most domestics have lost the ability to parent raise.

Also, Asian bred rams are nearly always sterile from the hormones they are given and they can't rear fry.