Getting Close!

[Tad]

;D

[ping]

Hi Tad,

Yeah, almost there :thumbsup:
Nice discus. What pair is that ?

Ronny

[Tad]

Ping,
The fish running the cone is an Alenquer X Golden...which I am trying to pair up with a Red Rose. Not sure what the offspring will look like but I like the matchup ;D. I was able to confirm that my two Alenquer X Goldens are both females as both have laid eggs in the last two days. One of my Red Rose's is now confirmed as a female and the other...wooo hooo a Male ;).....I will keep them all together for another go around and move the potential pair into a 30 next week.

Thanks,
Tad

[brewmaster15]

Good Luck Tad,
That should make for a really nice cross! :)keep us posted on how it goes. hopefully they both do what they should!

-al

[Barb Newell]

Good luck Tad!!! :thumbsup:

Barb :)

Lots of Luck to ya Tad :thumbsup:

[henryD]

Keep us posted. I love seeing outcrosses. If I ever get to breeding, I think that is what I would like to do...

[fcdiscus]

Hey- that's my twin brother posting there! Atta boy Tad! Frank ;)

[Tad]

Ping, Brew, Barb, Beth, Henry and LiL Brother Frankie ;D,
Thanks for the positive comments...hopefully I will have some new fry soon to take up all of my time LOL....Now if I could just get my Curipera to do more than shimmy I would be one happy camper ;)

Best Regards,
Tad

[Steve_Warner]

Hi all,
Tad, you little voyeur, you! J/K ;D That is a beautiful fishie! I would like to have one like her............. fine specimen! Anyway, nice photography there. I hope things work out for you with them. Now, tell that Curi to get a move on and "do that dance".

Steve

P.S-Whatcha think about the Kings moves over the off-season?

[Tad]

Steve,
Thanks for your comments. I guess I should read the directions on how to operate this new Olympus 5mg camera....they should a lot clearer :o....the Curipera will eventually get there as there is a lot of nudging, some pecking on the cone and a occasional shimmy. I hope to have them going within a few months. DennisH has given me a lot of tips and I havent had the time to put all of them into practice ;)....As for the Kings....I just dont think Miller will hold up against the likes of Duncan, and Shaq in the West...

good to hear from you and best regards,
Tad

[brewmaster15]

I really wishMy "temporary" Curiperas would spawn as well. i'd love to be able to say I bred them before I have to sadly return them To francisco.... :'( :'( :'(

-al

[henryD]

Brew,

So when does your foster parent obligations end?

I had a chance to see those curipera myself and I am drooling like crazy. Really nice fish. I want some.

[brewmaster15]

Not Sure Henry, Francisco has an open ended lease with me.. :) I'll house them until he'settled in and the tanks are Running..then ship them off. :'( Its hard to believe but I have already had them 5 months.

-al

[henryD]

Well then I have to hope you get fry on the curipera and maybe I could buy some from you......

[Tad]

Brew,
I am surprised that you havent had luck breeding the Curipera as of yet (but I suspect your very close)....from my point of view there are few with the knowledge, skills, and determination that is needed to breed this particular wild discus. I always knew that Dennis would be successful and am anticipating that JimmyL, Ramon, Francisco and YOURSELF ;) will also see success. I suspect that you will see success prior to having to return your foster Curipera ;D....In my case I hope to fall into a vat of chocolate LOL and stumble into a successful spawn...

Best of luck in your endeavor,
Tad

[brewmaster15]

Thanks for compliment Tad. :) I hope you have success as well. These fish are truely beautiful.

I am close I believe. One of the two is not quite old enough I believe. Its very tempting not to pull the ready one and cross it. :)

-al

[Tad]

Brew,
Actually if I had a suitable/desirable/proven mate for my older curiperas I would consider a cross to get them used to spawning and parenthood...from what I recall Dennis had his first pairing action between one of his domestics and his wild, so putting a proven male or female in the same tank may kick off some action :-*. I also think that Im in the same boat as some of mine are also quite young. Im going to theorize and say that the redder the curipera get the closer they are to pairing and spawning....this is something that is quite apparent in my other wild Alenquers..so I suspect coloration like a lot of wild animals has something to do with propagation ??? Any way you look at it Wild breeding is one ultimate challenge and I look forward to the next wild collection season to add to my collection.

regards,
Tad

[oodi]

I guess I should read the directions on how to operate this new Olympus 5mg camera....they should a lot clearer :o

His idea of reading directions is: "Judi, set the camera up for me!"

Judi
;D

[Tad]

;D

[CARY_GLdiscus]

Good Post Tad!
I wish You the Best! ;D


Cary Gld

T & J: Welcome. I was wondering if it's you. In fact. I had a successful trial cross with the SS.female , a small hatch to confirm that I have a fertile male. I didn't keep the fry and they're now swimming in my drain. The next question is how to get the female excited and start laying eggs. I was able to get the female making runs on a pipe but not eggs. I have the pH down to 3.8 right now and still no cigar.
Jimmy.

[brewmaster15]

Hi Jimmy,
Do you know from Oliver what the pH is of the water the curipera comes from?

-al

[oodi]

Thanks, Jimmy...

It sounds like you are getting close... best of luck!

Judi
:)

[Tad]

Brew,
From my recollection from Oliver, he told me he keeps his wilds in a PH of around 7....but for spawning I would suspect a PH of 5 or lower is one of the keys!

Jimmy,
Thanks for the welcome....how are you maintaining such a low PH?

Regards,
Tad

[Tad]

;D

The German wild expert who successfully bred them a few years ago got the female to spawn with Ph very close to 4.2 if I recall correctly, conductivity at 40ms. I'm keeping them in Ph3.8 with conductivity at 50 right now. Keeping them at that level is very technical. I hook up 6-20 gal tanks in series with one tank with an overflow filled with sponges filters, Bio balls and crushed Lava rocks for maintanence purposes to keep the Ph stable. Automatic W/C twice a day with a power head controlled by a cheap $5.00 timer for 15 minutes each. The sperms from the Curipera male was viable at Ph 5.5 when I cross with the SS. I don't know if it's necessary to keep it that low. But getting the female to spawn is an entirely different question.
Tad: That's a real red fish. Did you use Naurose like I do. They really pick up color with that stuff.
Jimmy

[Tad]

Jimmy,
I like your parameters and the fact that water changes and over kill on biofiltration are keys to the lower PH's and stability!

Thanks for sharing,
Tad

I didn't mention the whole system is for only one pair of Curipera. The other 5 tanks has no fish in there Just a hydrosponge in each tanks. the water in the wild is not extremely acid and I think Dennis had his on a higher Ph. Somehow I just can't get eggs from the female. They will dance and shakes, making runs but no eggs. That's the reason why I keep lowering the Ph everyweek. Still no eggs.
Jimmy.

[brewmaster15]

Heres the ones I am taking care of for Francisco...


its a 30 gal long, tank... pothos roots in it. pH is currently 6.0 , I had it at 4.2 for over a month. The red in these guys is from tetra bits, beefheart laced with paprika.

Now if they would just spawn, and prove they are male and female ...I would be happy


-al

[limige]

brew, you sure he's coming back for them? you've had them an awefull long time now, how long does it take that guy to move?! lol

[Jeffery_Doty]

Tad,

Beautiful pair! I think you will have some really nice looking fry. Your Curipera are beautiful also, as are Jimmy's and Brews (Franciscos). I am sure you all will have some spawns soon (as long as you have male and female! ;D )

On a side note, the Kaijuarha I got from Dennis spawned as the ph fell below 5, at about 4.5. It got down to 3.4, and they seemed happy as could be.

Jeff
Oregon

[Tad]

Jeffery,
Thanks for the positive feedback ;)....couple of questions if you can share...first of all...how did you lower your PH to the 3.4 was it with peat?, RO mix, or minimal wc and a natural drop? or????.....secondly show pics of your Kaijuarha when they get fry attached "Please"!!!...

With Highest Regards,
Tad

[korbi_doc]

:bounce2: :bounce2: WOW guys!! Those fish are just gorgeous! I'm still drooling, please hurry & get this job done, maybe I can get some babies that look like that!!

Tad, c'mon it's your turn to spend your days with w/cs!!

Jimmy, hope your curipera produces eggs soon, she must be just tempermental; & when will you have those gorgeous f2s ready to go. This is getting so exciting!!

Al, I'd love to see some action before Francisco gets'm back!

Jeff, those Kaijuarha are stunning too, hope you have babies soon!! Can't wait for pics everyone!! lol, Dottie 8) 8) 8)

[Steve_Warner]

Hi all,
Very interesting discussion! I would just like to add that you should NOT aim for getting your pH down to the low areas BEFORE adding it to the tank, IMO. It should naturally fall into the REALLY low ranges to avoid problems. My tank maintains at about 4.5 and I make ABSOLUTELY NO attempt to alter incoming straight R/O in respect to pH. My R/O water has a higher pH than the tank, but with the small amounts(5-10 gals) I add at W/C's, it does not affect them in the slightest. You must keep your Alkalinity levels up so as to allow the buffering process the ability to counteract the acid production. My pH has fallen as low as 3.7 one time when I got lazy due to sickness and didn't do my W/C, but all the fish were fine and just began to get slightly skittish. I did a W/C with some Carbonate-rich water on a 1/4" drip into the tank to slowly buffer the water. By the way, pH's in the low ranges such as the 4's can melt a penny, so be careful! HTH

Steve

[Tad]

Steve,
Very helpful information. May I inquire about your replacement/water change makeup...is it a high percentage of RO to tap and what is its stored/aged PH and conductivity? I myself prefer the natural drop when adjusting to the lower extremes of PH but I'm also personally skittish about PH crash!... :-\

Regards,
Tad

[Steve_Warner]

Hi all,
Tad, this is what works for me. I add straight R/O to my tank EVERY W/C, but when I see the conductance going below about 130, I pump it up to between 150-200 with some mineral-enriched (R/O recon'd) water (C.C, Mag. and a pinch of sea salt for other traces) slowly dripped in from a 5 gal sparklettes bottle. My tap here sucks (well actually hurts it's so hard!........850-900uS) and is loaded with Phos., so I get beautiful green ALGAE EXPLOSIONS when using the SLIGHTEST bit in the tank=I never use it. The R/O water I have is stored in a Wally World-bought 50 gal rectangular tote w/ cover, stored in one of my spare bathroom's tubs(in case of leaks), which has circulation via a P.H with aeration via an airpump into the venturi and a heater(old Ebo still chuggin' away after 15 years!) <------was that a run-on sentence ;D It conducts at <runnin' to check>..............11uS :o and is about 6.9 pH(have to use a drop test, as I don't trust my elec meter at that low cond., but it gives the same reading) It is 2 stage R/O filtered, WARM, Sodium-softened via Ion-exchange water. I only fill it about once a week/week and a half, since I do small W/C's on my only tank(125 gal). I never let it go dry, as I would probably forget about the heater and burn it up ::) The one time I got lazy due to illness(flu) and it dropped that far(3.7), it had been TWO WEEKS :o with NO MAINT, just feedings, on the tank. The cond. was about 220 at that time. My discus are always very vibrant and hungry at the low pH in there. I change the water/scrub the tank now about every 2 or 3 days(used to be every day) and they seem to like this regimen better. My pH rises slightly after a W/C, but falls naturally over the subsequent few days. I have NEVER <Knocking on wood> had a pH crash! I would like to add as a disclaimer........DO NOT attempt to keep your tanks at LOW pH's and LOW CONDUCTANCE unless you know what the heck you are doing! It WILL end in disaster!

Steve

P.S I am thinking about setting up a 20 gal and using it as a test for tap filtered through peat. It's just such a PITA to use peat, though.

[crimson cross]

Hi T,J,
Getting close, and anytime now...just remember to save some of those alenquer x curipera frys for me...when it happens..take care,
Phil.

[Tad]

Steve,
Thanks for the great information...it will take me a few days to decipher it all for its content.....trying to get by that run on sentence first ;D......I didn't realise that LV had such hard water ??? (Like rolling a hard 7 :-\ LOL!!) Actually I do appreciate the great information as always. Interesting point you made about not using your meter on RO vs a test Kit..Some have told me that the meters do not read true on RO or RO mixed and that the best way to test PH is by test kit. Would like more information on metering devices and their value in measuring RO parameters.
Hopefully someday We can sit down in person and talk about water issues....Just got to plan a trip to sin city sometime in my future ;D...

many thanks,
Tad

[Tad]

Phil,
How you doing?....Your one of the first on my list for any Curipera offspring that should happen.......Your Alenquer offspring are in full swing...in fact both females laid eggs last night....hopefully this cross between the alenquer and the rose red works out as I am moving them tomorrow to their own breeding tank...I suspect they will throw some nice offspring (and if that happens get tanks space ready ;D)...I have not forgotten your offer of a Male Alenquer as I may incooperate him into some of my plans in the near future.....

good to hear from you and hope to see you soon,
Tad

[crimson cross]

Tad,
Try using the alenquer female to induce your cups....you'll bring out the males into spawning activities...and the rest will be child's play..lol..hth.
Yep, the alencer/golden male is yours for the asking..anytime.
Phil.

btw: my quad-rayed king crown pairs(black and yellow) have both been spawned successfully. Got a couple hundred frys from the yellow pair, but only a few from the black pair.

[Tad]

Phil,
I will try the Alenquer with Curipera....congratulations on the quad-rays...dont forget to keep me a pair of blacks..

thanks,
Tad ;)

[brewmaster15]

Hello Phil. :)

[crimson cross]

Tad,
There will be a pair of black quads with your name on it...hopefully...(keeping my fingers crossed ..) I checked the batch today and they do not look as strong as the yellows, but time will tell.

Hi Al,
How are you doing? I like your take on the "Filter thoughts here" thread, regarding different types of nitrifying bacteria...you have a point there and right on the money too..take care and hope to talk more with you.

Phil.

[Tad]

Well it took 2 months to the day....but this new pair of a Rose Red and an Alencer X Golden finally made it after 5 trys....the male finally made runs on the eggs after 3 attempts and apparently got it right this time ;D....They are both taking turns guarding the eggs...So time will tell if they are viable....Approximately 100 eggs...a small spawn but a new pair...

Sorry about the clarity of the pic as I did not really want to disturb them...

Regards,
Tad

[henryD]

Well Idon't want to jinx you so I will leave the celebrating and hoopa for later..... :-X :-X :-X :-X