Stealth Aquatics Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 (edited) Hello, quick question, have any of you had any luck breeding rams in hard water. My water out of the tap is 7.4 ph with a gh of 8-10 per the api test. Edit: the Columbus 2020 water report states a ppm of 120 which lines up with the api test. Is this too hard for rams if I keep the water clean and temps high? dean talks about high temps, but doesn’t mention soft water. I know he has soft water, but I also know he lived in Ohio for a little. I wonder if dean had any luck breeding them in Ohio. I’m very interested in this fish, but idk if they will fall apart in my water. Thanks! Edited May 1, 2021 by Stealth Aquatics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 If the TDS is 300 ppm it will be difficult. You want around 80 but 120 is possible. I've bred rams in my 'tap' water the tds is around 120 gh 7 kh 3 and ph 7.1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Aquatics Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 3 minutes ago, anewbie said: If the TDS is 300 ppm it will be difficult. You want around 80 but 120 is possible. I've bred rams in my 'tap' water the tds is around 120 gh 7 kh 3 and ph 7.1. See I’m just having conflicting results. Because my tds meter says it’s over 300 from tap. Columbus water says the plant is 120. I’m so conflicted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishdude Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 18 minutes ago, Stealth Aquatics said: See I’m just having conflicting results. Because my tds meter says it’s over 300 from tap. Columbus water says the plant is 120. I’m so conflicted. Could it be picking up stuff along the way? Are you sure your water is coming from that plant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Aquatics Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 25 minutes ago, Fishdude said: Could it be picking up stuff along the way? Are you sure your water is coming from that plant? I’m sure it’s from that plant. It has a map and everything and I can see the results as well as my house within the area it serves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowells Fish Lab Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 I have rams breeding out of control in water very similar to what you're describing. I think they're more flexible than their reputation suggests- just not with temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Aquatics Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 28 minutes ago, Lowells Fish Lab said: I have rams breeding out of control in water very similar to what you're describing. I think they're more flexible than their reputation suggests- just not with temperature. That’s what I’m hoping. I hope to just keep them super hot and they will do okay. I’ll test my tap water more, but I’m just concerned with the hardness of my water. I think rams are beautiful, I just want to do them if it’s okay if that makes sense. If not I’ll go back to more live bearers 😔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Aquatics Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 The hard part that I don’t understand is that my tds meter reads greater than 300. I just need to test the water more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowells Fish Lab Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 Just my opinion but I don't think you need to worry too much. TDS doesn't measure just hardness, it measures all dissolved solids. If you really want to know what your hardness is like you might try a test designed specifically for it. API does gH and kH liquid water tests and the coop test strips will do those tests too. Most of all though, I just wouldn't worry about it much unless you really think your water is liquid rock. Most of the time fish can adapt to different but non-extreme hardness parameters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Aquatics Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 20 minutes ago, Lowells Fish Lab said: Just my opinion but I don't think you need to worry too much. TDS doesn't measure just hardness, it measures all dissolved solids. If you really want to know what your hardness is like you might try a test designed specifically for it. API does gH and kH liquid water tests and the coop test strips will do those tests too. Most of all though, I just wouldn't worry about it much unless you really think your water is liquid rock. Most of the time fish can adapt to different but non-extreme hardness parameters. Yeah that’s where I get confused. The coop test strip says 300 my api says anywhere from 7-10 for degrees hardness. Those two are very different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowells Fish Lab Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 It's about the same for me. Coop test strip reads a bit higher for hardness than my liquid tests and that's where my knowledge ends! I just say try it. Get those rams, love them, make many babies. Baby rams are funny, It's the most fun I've ever had with breeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Aquatics Posted May 1, 2021 Author Share Posted May 1, 2021 30 minutes ago, Lowells Fish Lab said: It's about the same for me. Coop test strip reads a bit higher for hardness than my liquid tests and that's where my knowledge ends! I just say try it. Get those rams, love them, make many babies. Baby rams are funny, It's the most fun I've ever had with breeding. Yeah I’ll have to try. I’m really getting into the whole breeding game and I just wanna do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 3 hours ago, Stealth Aquatics said: See I’m just having conflicting results. Because my tds meter says it’s over 300 from tap. Columbus water says the plant is 120. I’m so conflicted. You might try measuring kh in case carbonates are being added. The numbers i gave you is what a fellow who breeds rams for 10ish years told me - but you can try your tap and see what happens. Once they form a pair they are eager breeders. One thing from various forums and personal experience is rams seem to live longer in warmish (82) soft water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Aquatics Posted May 2, 2021 Author Share Posted May 2, 2021 Okay I checked my Tap water parameters: Ph 7.4 KH 4 GH 7 TDS 302 i think this could be doable with German rams. Idk y my tds is so high with a gh of 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth Aquatics Posted May 2, 2021 Author Share Posted May 2, 2021 One more question, what size tank should be dedicated for GBR grow out? I’m planning for a 20 high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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