Setting up a new 50g bredding tank for Green Severum... hints, tips please?

[Kevin]

Well, as the subject implies, I'm getting a 50g tank set up for breeding
green severum. I've always thought they were gorgeous fish, and there
seems to be quite a bit of interest from the local fish stores for tank
raised severum.

I've done quite a bit of reading online and with various other books, but,
what are the basics?

pH I want around 6.4-6.6, right?

I've got the temp of the tank at 73.5 right now, and when I want them to
breed, I've been told to slowly lower the tank temp a few degrees, and then
raise it back up.

How about light, and any other water attributes? should I just leave them
the same as I would were I not trying to breed?

I've got some lace rock from a previous tank that I want to put in, but
I've been told by one fish store that lace rock will raise pH, but another
told me that it won't. Will it?

And, there are several different methods of getting peat in to your water.
What are the plus's and minuses of the different methods? Tablet, using an
actual peat pot, raw peat, etc...

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Kevin

[NetMax]

"Kevin" > wrote in message
. 199.17...
> Well, as the subject implies, I'm getting a 50g tank set up for
breeding
> green severum. I've always thought they were gorgeous fish, and there
> seems to be quite a bit of interest from the local fish stores for tank
> raised severum.
>
> I've done quite a bit of reading online and with various other books,
but,
> what are the basics?
>
> pH I want around 6.4-6.6, right?

5 to 7, they aren't that particular. I keep mine in 7.6pH.

> I've got the temp of the tank at 73.5 right now, and when I want them
to
> breed, I've been told to slowly lower the tank temp a few degrees, and
then
> raise it back up.
>
> How about light, and any other water attributes? should I just leave
them
> the same as I would were I not trying to breed?
>
> I've got some lace rock from a previous tank that I want to put in, but
> I've been told by one fish store that lace rock will raise pH, but
another
> told me that it won't. Will it?

A coral or tufa lace will. A lava lace will not. A drop of pH-down on
the rock will fizz if it's calcium leeching (which will raise your pH).
You can also put it in a bucket with your tank water and monitor the pH
for a few days.

> And, there are several different methods of getting peat in to your
water.
> What are the plus's and minuses of the different methods? Tablet,
using an
> actual peat pot, raw peat, etc...

Peat granules are I think, the most concentrated. Real peat can migrate
around a lot more than granules in a bag, but ymmv.

> Thanks for any help you can provide!

For breeding Severums, you might want to have a few tanks on-hand. They
can be tough on their mates and when forming pairs, so having the ability
to move them around to accomodate their natural pairing-off will be
helpful. I once described Severums as Discus with shoulder pads ;~)
These guys can be tough on everything in the tank (heaters, ornaments,
plants, rockwork), so keep everything well secured or Texas-sized. Most
of the time they are gentle, but not always, so plan for the worst and
you won't get caught. Check to see what Severums are in the highest
demand where you are. Here, gold severums are difficult to acquire on a
regular basis, so they always sell well (so you would have a ready
market).

NetMax

> Kevin

[jakejeckel]

Thanks for the reply and the info.

First off. About the lace, I'm not headed to my fish store for a couple of
days here, what are the visual differences between coral tufa and lava lace
varities, or should I just wait to get the ph-down and do a direct test?

Will peat granules discolor the tank much?

Right now, I've got 4 juveniles, and I hope to come up with one breeding
pair. I expect that that will take a few to several months until they are
old enough, and what not to get breeding. When I have a pair, I'm going to
re-sell the other two back to the fish store, they are very good about
that.

I've got one 50g, one 20g tall, and I plan on getting another 29g for a fry
tank. I think I'll keep the 50g for just the breeding pair and some
tetras, and maybe something to help with algae problems, but I need to find
a fish that's not an egg snatcher, while still being a tank cleaner. The
main store that I shop has a guy that came up with a breed for me to use,
but I can't think of it offhand.

I plan on this with the 29g: when I get a brood that is a few weeks old,
and eating and surviving on their own, to move them to the 29g to get old
enough to take to the store. I know that I'm going to have to have wayyyy
overkill filtration on a 29g with 50 or more fish in it, but so be it.

Hrm. that's about all that I can think of right now... Just fininshed a
10 hour work shift then 4 more hours at electrical school.

Thanks again for the reply!

Kevin

[NetMax]

"jakejeckel" > wrote in message
. 227.77...
> Thanks for the reply and the info.
>
> First off. About the lace, I'm not headed to my fish store for a
couple of
> days here, what are the visual differences between coral tufa and lava
lace
> varities, or should I just wait to get the ph-down and do a direct
test?

Calcium leeching minerals are usually white, or have white in them (white
being calcium). I'm not a big fan of lace rockwork with spawning
cichlids as the rough edges can damage the fish too easily. Take a few
minutes with a file before you put it in.

> Will peat granules discolor the tank much?

Some tinting is a good indicator that the humic acids are getting into
the water. How much you let it get discoloured depends on many factors,
but you can remove the peat after a while. Water changes will reduce the
tinting and and the effect. Carbon filtration will reduce the tinting,
but not the effect (acidifying the water).

> Right now, I've got 4 juveniles, and I hope to come up with one
breeding
> pair. I expect that that will take a few to several months until they
are
> old enough, and what not to get breeding. When I have a pair, I'm
going to
> re-sell the other two back to the fish store, they are very good about
> that.

Just remember that what you are doing is recreational, so have fun.
Generally, the best you can achieve (monetarily) with breeding fish is to
cover your costs, unless you are ready to scale up your operation and
move into niche high-demand fish. Eight is the magic number which is
99.something % sure to get you a pair (and with cichlids, just having a
pair is no guarantee of anything). I've always bought six (or seven) of
a type, and usually I manage to get 2 pairs, a runt and a spare (and
sometimes 1 loss). Check to see what the LFS will pay you, at what
age/size they will accept them, and what amount of culling they expect
(price changes if they have to do the cull). Severums are not so inbred
that culling is so critical though. Angelfish are the worst (of the
cichlids).

> I've got one 50g, one 20g tall, and I plan on getting another 29g for a
fry
> tank. I think I'll keep the 50g for just the breeding pair and some
> tetras, and maybe something to help with algae problems, but I need to
find
> a fish that's not an egg snatcher, while still being a tank cleaner.
The
> main store that I shop has a guy that came up with a breed for me to
use,
> but I can't think of it offhand.

I'm sure you will find a combination which works for you :o) 'Algae'
generally describes many things, but it's almost always a plant, which
will be removing NH3/4, NO2 and NO3 from your water (which is good), it
provides a measure of shelter and privacy to spawning fish, and it
harbors a variety of infusorians which free-swimming fry eat, helping
tremendously in the first week of growth, and reducing infant mortality.

Consider not adding anything else to the tank. There isn't a fish which
will for certain leave the eggs and fry alone. In the middle of the
night when it's pitch black, eggs are food, even to a Pleco. The same
occurs to fry with tetras in the tank. There are probabilities, so
something like an Oto would be the least likely to disturb them, but if
you are going to have other fish in the tank, then consider adding a
small night-light (so the parents can keep watch). jmo

> I plan on this with the 29g: when I get a brood that is a few weeks
old,
> and eating and surviving on their own, to move them to the 29g to get
old
> enough to take to the store. I know that I'm going to have to have
wayyyy
> overkill filtration on a 29g with 50 or more fish in it, but so be it.

Something like an AquaClear 300 (with 2 sponges installed), or an Emperor
400 will provide all the filtration and surface turbulence you need.
Feed high-protein diet in small portions several times a day, and be
religious about your water changes. Temperature and light duration also
affect growth rates, but don't go overboard. Use a pre-filter or connect
the powerfilter to a UGF plate.

When I can manage it, I prefer to move the parents in & out of tanks,
leaving the fry to grow up where they were born. The big water change
(when the parents are introduced into a new tank) is also a good spawning
trigger (assuming the parents are paired and conditioned). If using UGF
plates to pre-filter your powerfilter (to not absorb the fry), then throw
a plastic screen over the plates (ie: Home Depot SKU# A110-881), and then
cover with some fine gravel. Don't use UGF plates across the entire
bottom (1/3 to 1/2 is fine, it's just a pre-filter, and cichlids needs
places to dig anyways).

A possible idea is to let them pair and spawn once in a community
environment, and then go into dedicated tanks. The first spawn is not
the best anyways (practice run ;~).

> Hrm. that's about all that I can think of right now... Just fininshed
a
> 10 hour work shift then 4 more hours at electrical school.

So you'll remember to use GFI outlets for your aquarium set-up, eh? ;~)

NetMax

> Thanks again for the reply!
>
> Kevin

[Mephistopheles]

jakejeckel > wrote in
. 227.77:

> Thanks for the reply and the info.
>
> First off. About the lace, I'm not headed to my fish store for
> a couple of days here, what are the visual differences between
> coral tufa and lava lace varities, or should I just wait to get
> the ph-down and do a direct test?

By the way, you can also just use ordinary vinegar to perform this
test.

>
> Will peat granules discolor the tank much?
>
> Right now, I've got 4 juveniles, and I hope to come up with one
> breeding pair. I expect that that will take a few to several
> months until they are old enough, and what not to get breeding.
> When I have a pair, I'm going to re-sell the other two back to
> the fish store, they are very good about that.
>
> I've got one 50g, one 20g tall, and I plan on getting another
> 29g for a fry tank. I think I'll keep the 50g for just the
> breeding pair and some tetras, and maybe something to help with
> algae problems, but I need to find a fish that's not an egg
> snatcher, while still being a tank cleaner. The main store that
> I shop has a guy that came up with a breed for me to use, but I
> can't think of it offhand.
>
> I plan on this with the 29g: when I get a brood that is a few
> weeks old, and eating and surviving on their own, to move them
> to the 29g to get old enough to take to the store. I know that
> I'm going to have to have wayyyy overkill filtration on a 29g
> with 50 or more fish in it, but so be it.
>
> Hrm. that's about all that I can think of right now... Just
> fininshed a 10 hour work shift then 4 more hours at electrical
> school.
>
> Thanks again for the reply!
>
> Kevin

[NetMax]

"Mephistopheles" > wrote in
message hlink.net...
> jakejeckel > wrote in
> . 227.77:
>
> > Thanks for the reply and the info.
> >
> > First off. About the lace, I'm not headed to my fish store for
> > a couple of days here, what are the visual differences between
> > coral tufa and lava lace varities, or should I just wait to get
> > the ph-down and do a direct test?
>
> By the way, you can also just use ordinary vinegar to perform this
> test.

<snip>

I don't find vinegar to be as effective. The reaction is far more
subdued, so minerals with a lower 'leeching' potential might not react.
On the topic, Utah Ice will not fizz when you drip acid on it, but it
will most certainly melt in your tank. I believe it only raises the gH
and not the kH, so I think that the reaction we see with acid drops is
with the carbonates in the mineral, and not the calcium.

NetMax