Are sudden TDS swings bad for Dicus

[Dvlassis]

My breeding pair have not been laying eggs the way that they used to before I started using RO water. The water from the tap comes out at almost 500 TDS here in Daytona Beach. Through RO water changes I have brought down to about 150. The eggsnever used to hatch in the hard water, for the last two months, she has been laying fewer and fewer eggs. Yesterday, she only dropped six and the male didn't evn bother to swim over hem as usual. They have never produced wigglers but used to gaurd and fan eggs for up to tw days. Could it be the RO? Nothing else has changed. Any advice will be appreicated!

Thanks

David

[William Palumbo]

Not sure if it's the water. How old is the pair? I have seen that happen in older pairs, and when the diet has been poor...Bill

[kaceyo]

They may need some time to get used to the new water conditions. You may want to take some time to clean them up a bit since they aren't spawning well anyways. Just do an external and internal parasite treatment with F&MG or PP, then metro and or a dewormer. Make sure they're in good shape.

Kacey

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

If they have been spawning for a while with no fry produced, it sounds like she is spawned-out. I would probably put them back into normal tap water and feed them super heavy with a high fat diet....eggs are biologically very expensive for the females. Feed them heavy and do extra water changes to keep everything clean. After a month or two of conditioning she should be producing better eggs.

-Ryan

[Dvlassis]

They may need some time to get used to the new water conditions. You may want to take some time to clean them up a bit since they aren't spawning well anyways. Just do an external and internal parasite treatment with F&MG or PP, then metro and or a dewormer. Make sure they're in good shape.

Kacey

Thanks for the advice. Could you please explain what F&MG and PP are. I am a novice at medicating.

[David Rose]

F&MG = Formaldehyde and Malachite Green active ingredients in "Rid-Ich" or "Quick Cure"
PP = Potassium Permanganate, sold as Oxy Clear Tabs or at Sears in the dehumidifier section