CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

I was wondering what kind of experience some of you have had with water conditions, and getting your oscars to breed?
ie. PH, temp, nitrate levels, salt, any other additives?

G`day

Temp 30C (86F)
ph 7.6
Couple of small water changes using tepid water to stimulate rain.
Flat rock
Dont feed for 3 days and leave them alone. Just sneak a peak to make sure they are not killing each other and your lids are secure.

Can take some time as they dont normally spawn till 9 inches but will go through all the motions well before that size.

Is that site www.fishtropic.com yours?
Got some nice pics. How big is that oscar tank? One looks like its got HITH

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TONY
Australian and proud of it!!
Duboisi.com



My Cichlidfish.com Home page

Yeah, the site is mine. I don't have much time to develop, so it is coming along slowly. The oscar tank is 55 gallons. I don't think my O's have hith, i think it is due the them banging the top of the tank. They really like to do this. I wish the wouldn't, but they just won't listen to me.

If it is hith, they should be acting differently. However, they are still always hungry, and swim freely and normally. I haven't noticed any of their normal mating behavior lately, but I think that is due to having the PH very low. My tap water had been a usual 7.0, but I checked it two days ago and it was at 6.4. I've brought the PH up and seperated the fish.

Any one else have a PH, water condition that works for them?

Yep, nice site, looks good and organized and has some nice pictures. Almost wish you didn't have a site so you could help on this one! You can search on here for "triggering", "spawning" etc..I think I wrote some details some time ago. But as Tony said it's usually good to simulate rain water etc...if they're still small though I'd say just let them grow some more before you put too much effort into getting them to spawn.

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

Not wanting to get into an argument with you but do you use carbon in your filteration system as that may be the cause if perchance it is HITH related. HITH is a very slow proggressive diease and the fish will still act normally for a very long time as it progresses.I once thought that carbon had nothing to do with it but have since been proven wrong. But as you say it could all be from banging the tank lids.

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TONY
Australian and proud of it!!
Duboisi.com



My Cichlidfish.com Home page

I do use carbon in my filter. It is a aquaclear 500. I will take the precaution, and put a fluval on the tank tonight. I really think it is because they bang there heads. But I am not willing to chance it.

I am embarassed to admit this, but I do believe my O's have hith. Perhaps I was in denial because I am rigourous about water changes, and filter media. Thank you Adam for the great article on Hith. I will follow you intructions and treat my O's. They do have the lateral line rot, I am sad to say. Adam, let me know if you would like any pictures of this. It is very visible on my O's and I didnt see any pics of this on your article.

Yep, like Tony said you may want to get rid of that carbon for a while at least. When my oscars had HITH, they healed in no time soon as I took the carbon out.

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

Thanks for the kind words...I wrote it hoping it would help, so I'm glad you found it useful. As long as your fish are still active and eating I think there is an excelent chance for you to beat this. Most deaths occur due to starvation, or other diseases due to a weakened immune system. I recently found a product called Kent Zoe that is pretty good for stimulating appetite, and I am still testing it on one of my fish. If you can find it pick up a bottle of Kent Zoe Freshwater. Also supplement your fishes food with garlic oil, this is another alernative cure I am still playing with, but seems to be quite effective in the treatment of other diseases like ICH.

Yeah I'd love to have a few pics of the lateral line errosion... when I caught my case of it there was little evidence of it and wasnt very noticeable... it is usually the last thing to go in regards to HITH though it is species specific. I think pictures are worth 2000 words in regards to this disease as it is so misunderstood and the more the merrier. My email address is Adam@duboisi.com .

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Save the animals, eat a PETA member!

Adam