true pair

[brian uk]

is it possible for two females to act as a pair, i have what i thought were 3 pairs, but with every pair the eggs never change size, or colour, one fish lays eggs and the other follows just above the eggs, but nothing ever comes of the eggs, the colour stays red or go white, the eggs never grow, this is the same for all three so called pairs, with the amount of times this has happened im thinking of giving up

[Akili]

Many a times two females will pair up.How old are your pairs? Males mature a bit later than females anything from 3 to six months.Watch for the breeding tubes when they are spawning, the female oviposter is generally larger and more rounded at the end, it also extends further when spawning. The male reproductive organ is smaller and more pointed.

[DonMD]

Yes, two females will pair up sometimes, but with three different pairs it seems unlikely to me. Perhaps your water is not good for mating. Have you checked the total dissolved solids (TDS)? Just a thought.

[brian uk]

Yes, two females will pair up sometimes, but with three different pairs it seems unlikely to me. Perhaps your water is not good for mating. Have you checked the total dissolved solids (TDS)? Just a thought.

i use ro water along with discus trace, plus a nutral regulater, hopefully thats what your asking, if not how should i check the TDS

[brian uk]

Many a times two females will pair up.How old are your pairs? Males mature a bit later than females anything from 3 to six months.Watch for the breeding tubes when they are spawning, the female oviposter is generally larger and more rounded at the end, it also extends further when spawning. The male reproductive organ is smaller and more pointed.

we have had the fish for just under a year now, could they still be to young

[DonMD]

You can check the TDS with a TDS meter, that's the only way I know. I have luck with the TDS at about 30 ppm. I understand that you're using RO and adding trace, but I don't know what that does to the TDS. Certainly the RO should take the TDS down to zero if it's working properly, but I don't know what adding trace will do. I always use R/O Right to bring the TDS up to around 30 from zero.

And yes, your fish could definitely be immature. Just hand on for a few months and see what happens.

[brian uk]

You can check the TDS with a TDS meter, that's the only way I know. I have luck with the TDS at about 30 ppm. I understand that you're using RO and adding trace, but I don't know what that does to the TDS. Certainly the RO should take the TDS down to zero if it's working properly, but I don't know what adding trace will do. I always use R/O Right to bring the TDS up to around 30 from zero.

And yes, your fish could definitely be immature. Just hand on for a few months and see what happens.

many thanks for your kind advice, i will act on it and bide my time

[brian uk]

i have checked the TDS, and from the ro filter its 001, i havent checked it after adding the discus trace and nautral regulater, should i check that as well

[Bill63SG]

Yes,you need to know the tds of the water the fish are in.We try to shoot for under 100 here for breeding.I keep mine near 60.

[brian uk]

thanks for that, i have checked the water after adding the discus trace and nautral regulater, the reading was 165, this is a great deal higher then your ideal range, should i try to adjust it somehow, and can you reccomend anyway of adjusting it

[DonMD]

Yes, I don't think you'll get a spawn with 165 ppm TDS. Your TDS from your R/O is 001, you say. Remove half the water from your existing tank that's at 165, and fill it back up with R/O. Don't add anything else. Then check your ppm, it should be significantly lower. If it's not low enough, remove more water from the tank and add more R/O. That's how I would do it.

[brian uk]

again many thanks, i will take your advice and change half of the water in the 190 ltr tank and see what happens, i will let you know

[Bill63SG]

It says you are using ro.See what your tds is on your pure ro,and then figure out how much of your trace elements you need to add to hit your desired tds number.I use ro-rite,and I and I know I use 1 level tsp in my 44gal brute container.Youll have to experiment a little.