75 gallon, a single and a pair?

[Dwl0222]

You have the right attitude for sure! Glad you are willing to do what's best for the cichlids. Though, in my experience, I have had better luck breeding cichlids with others of the grow-out group still in the tank. In the example I spoke about in that post, I eventually moved just the pair of panamensis to a 90 gallon where they were the only cichlids with some dithers. That is when the male turned on the female and killed her. I think that defending the fry from the other cichlids, and even just the presence of other cichlids in the tank, strengthens the pair's bond and keeps the male from seeing the female as an enemy. If I were you, I would get a group of 5 sajica, preferably from diff sources. Get them small and grow them out, let a pair form, and then keep all 5 in the 75. The pair will probably breed, and the other 3 will probably hide in the corners (put a lot of caves etc), but hopefully the male won't kill female. I have also bred cryptoheros/amatitlania species in smaller tanks alone (for example, pink convict pair in 30 gallon) and have pretty much always had the male eventually turn on the female, sometimes killing her if I did not notice fast enough to pull her.
That's just my .02, and somebody else might disagree. But this is what has worked best for me.

Hmm that’s interesting. You never had a 2nd paid form? I’d be worried that I’d get 2 pairs out of it, then have 1 left over to get bullied then have the two pairs battling for space. Guess I could always just see how it works out.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Hmm that’s interesting. You never had a 2nd paid form? I’d be worried that I’d get 2 pairs out of it, then have 1 left over to get bullied then have the two pairs battling for space. Guess I could always just see how it works out.

Have to adjust things as they go. I have only had one pair form at a time using this methodology, but if you had two you could always remove a fish. I did have one pair, and then a larger solo female who would lay eggs and defend them, however; this actually worked out OK in a 90 gallon. The two egg locations were far enough away that the parents stayed out of each others' way.

 

[Dwl0222]

Sounds good. I guess I’ll play it by ear, see how things go. If they’re going well I’ll leave them in, if there’s too much aggression I’ll just keep the pair stocked. Can I ask you your interpretation of my ph reading? It seems to match up pretty well with 7.6 on the regular ph test, but I know 7.6 is as high as that test will go. On the high PH test it’s not quite a match with anything, seems a bit more reddish than the brown or purple options on the card. Thanks, I want to make sure my water will be ok for Sajica...

 

[Dwl0222]

Have to adjust things as they go. I have only had one pair form at a time using this methodology, but if you had two you could always remove a fish. I did have one pair, and then a larger solo female who would lay eggs and defend them, however; this actually worked out OK in a 90 gallon. The two egg locations were far enough away that the parents stayed out of each others' way.

Sounds good. I guess I’ll play it by ear, see how things go. If they’re going well I’ll leave them in, if there’s too much aggression I’ll just keep the pair stocked. Can I ask you your interpretation of my ph reading? It seems to match up pretty well with 7.6 on the regular ph test, but I know 7.6 is as high as that test will go. On the high PH test it’s not quite a match with anything, seems a bit more reddish than the brown or purple options on the card. Thanks, I want to make sure my water will be ok for Sajica...

 

[Gourami Swami]

Looks to me like between 8.2 and 8.4

Would definitely go for central (not south) American species with higher pH water. Hardness should be considered too, I would assume yours is fairly hard since high pH.

 

[Dwl0222]

Looks to me like between 8.2 and 8.4

Would definitely go for central (not south) American species with higher pH water. Hardness should be considered too, I would assume yours is fairly hard since high pH.

Darn, I was hoping for a more middle of the road PH. Well, should I be ok with Sajica then? I have kept Red devil, convicts, firemouth and JDs at times in the fairly recent past, never had issues with them besides aggression. My GH took 8 drops to change color which according to the API chart is 143.2 ppm, the KH took 9 drops which equals 161.1 ppm. Btw sorry for the double post earlier, I originally meant to quote you but later realized I didn’t. I appreciate your help.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Darn, I was hoping for a more middle of the road PH. Well, should I be ok with Sajica then? I have kept Red devil, convicts, firemouth and JDs at times in the fairly recent past, never had issues with them besides aggression. My GH took 8 drops to change color which according to the API chart is 143.2 ppm, the KH took 9 drops which equals 161.1 ppm. Btw sorry for the double post earlier, I originally meant to quote you but later realized I didn’t. I appreciate your help.

no problem; that pH should be fine for a sajica IMO, they are from central America where they live over limestone and other rocks which raise the hardness and pH of the water. Interestingly your water is not all that hard, but I would not worry too much unless you don't have success with the sajica. Sajica have been in the trade for decades and the aquarium strains are adaptable to many conditions.

 

[Dwl0222]

no problem; that pH should be fine for a sajica IMO, they are from central America where they live over limestone and other rocks which raise the hardness and pH of the water. Interestingly your water is not all that hard, but I would not worry too much unless you don't have success with the sajica. Sajica have been in the trade for decades and the aquarium strains are adaptable to many conditions.

Great thanks! I should have mentioned, I do have a home water softener system. So that would explain the softer than expected water....

 

[Gourami Swami]

Great thanks! I should have mentioned, I do have a home water softener system. So that would explain the softer than expected water....

Should be okay, I would just watch out for pH swings with the lower kH. Maybe check pH right after water change and compare to pH right before the next one- make sure fish pee isn't lowering your pH much over the course of the week. Stable pH is usually better than "correct" pH.

 

[Dwl0222]

Should be okay, I would just watch out for pH swings with the lower kH. Maybe check pH right after water change and compare to pH right before the next one- make sure fish pee isn't lowering your pH much over the course of the week. Stable pH is usually better than "correct" pH.

Should be okay, I would just watch out for pH swings with the lower kH. Maybe check pH right after water change and compare to pH right before the next one- make sure fish pee isn't lowering your pH much over the course of the week. Stable pH is usually better than "correct" pH.

Thanks. So I was curious as to whether or not the water softener was causing the soft water (with relatively high ph), so I tested the water right from the tap in my basement which bypasses the softener, then the faucet that I get the water from for water changes, then again from the aquarium. Results are-

BASEMENT faucet
PH-7.2-7.4
High-PH-7.4
GH-16 drops-approx 300 ppm
KH-12 drops-approx 200 ppm

Water change faucet
PH-7.6
High PH-7.4-7.8
GH-16 drops-approx 300 ppm
KH-12 drops-approx 200 ppm

Aquarium
PH-7.6
High PH-8.2
GH-9 drops-approx 150-160 ppm
KH-8 drops-approx 140 ppm

Why would the PH seem to be higher in the tank? Also why would the hardness be so much less in the tank? I have Caribsea sand, a handful of rocks, fake plants and two pretty large pieces of driftwood. I know driftwood can make water softer so I assume that’s the cause there, but why the seemingly higher PH?