I skipped water changes for 20 days (ouch!) on this tank, and then after finishing a water change on Sunday, I noticed what I thought was a piece of uneaten food I had missed. Nope, it was a baby . There appear to be about ten in the tank, but it is hard to tell for sure. Tank is an old 15 gallon steel frame slate bottom. Lighting is a single 20 watt bulb, which is on 4-6 hours a day (no timer on it).
There are five P. maccus in the tank. I believe two females and three males. Diet is the wood in the tank (driftwood collected in the Rio Magdalena, Colombia and some oak branches from my backyard in Virginia. They also get one algae wafer every 2-3 days, vegetables (mainly boiled broccoli stems or green beans) once or twice weekly and frozen bloodworms about once a week.
I do not have good water parameters at the time of spawning as I did not discover the spawn until after I finished my water change. Temp has been steady at 80.1F (27.2C). My tap water is pH 7.6 GH 9 KH 5. Water changes were:
6/18 25%
6/30 30%
7/8 30% Rain water (Pure rain water from rain barrel)
7/15 30% Rain water
7/22 25%
7/25 25% Rain water
7/29 25%
8/19 30% Rain water (noticed fry after the water change)
Filtration is a single Marineland 660 powerhead (170 gph) attached to a sponge filter.
http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-PH0660 ... nge+Filter
I added some green beans to the tank and wished the fry luck as I have a flight to catch this afternoon and will be gone all week.
-Shane
