Breeding Endlers & Guppies in My Soft Water

[eddie462]

Good evening, I have attached a picture of my water parameters from out of the tap. In my planted aquariums, that don't have any water chemistry altering elements, the readings by the JNW test strips are:

0 iron

0 copper

25 nitrate

0 nitrite

25 GH

0 chlorine

0 alkalinity

40 KH

6.8 ph

I would to breed guppies & endlers, but I know they like harder water. I have read that chasing water parameters is bad. Should I add crushed coral or do something else.

[Guppysnail]

Hi. Welcome guppies and endlers they are a joy. I do not chase parameter I’m lucky and have very hard water. I did try to raise them at first in my softened tap but they did very poorly. I have to get water from my outside hose. With guppies it’s more than liking hard water it is required for how much they put into birthing live young. Hopefully folks on here will be able to give you advice on altering your tank setup to achieve stable hard water. Best of luck they are fun. 

[eddie462]

On 11/4/2021 at 8:44 PM, Guppysnail said:

Hi. Welcome guppies and endlers they are a joy. I do not chase parameter I’m lucky and have very hard water. I did try to raise them at first in my softened tap but they did very poorly. I have to get water from my outside hose. With guppies it’s more than liking hard water it is required for how much they put into birthing live young. Hopefully folks on here will be able to give you advice on altering your tank setup to achieve stable hard water. Best of luck they are fun. 

Thank you for the response. If livebearers don’t work out, I can raise rainbowfish and Okefenokee Pygmy Sunfish fry because they both like softer water

[CalmedByFish]

Per API's liquid test, my GH is near 6 out of the tap - similar to yours. I raise it to 12 using Equilibrium, which is really pretty easy to do. API reads my pH at 7.8 - also not too far from yours. My endlers produce like rabbits, so I'm guessing if you raise GH, you're probably good to go. 

[zestygrappy]

Water in my area is really soft and yet my endlers and other livebearers breed like crazy. Raise GH by using either Equilibrium or by adding baking soda, Epsom salt and rock salt. You could as well add some corals or something similar. I'm pretty sure your fish will do just fine 🙂

[Dwayne Brown]

I live in an area with very soft water and my endlers breed like crazy. I think they will breed rapidly in almost any environment, You should be fine. 

[lefty o]

a couple handfuls of crushed coral in the tank will do good things, and is fairly stable. 

[Torrey]

Welcome to the forum!

 

The endlers will take a little longer to show the calcium deficiency. 

Guppies will get a deformed spine by 3rd generation with calcium deficiencies. 

Luckily, it's really easy to prevent with some Equilibrium or some crushed coral. It's like a woman who doesn't get enough calcium during pregnancy: her body will make sure the baby gets everything it needs at her body's expense.

An ounce of crushed coral (or maybe a pound depending on the size of the tank 🤪) is a pretty easy and inexpensive prevention. Chasing parameters is not ideal, but a tank with the correct substrate and a wondershell can boost plant growth, stabilize your tank (hardness acts as a buffer), and give you your livebearers.

I am thoroughly entertained by watching our endlers, and they brought my spouse over to the fishy side, so endlers will always have a special place in my heart.

[eddie462]

On 11/6/2021 at 2:21 AM, Torrey said:

Welcome to the forum!

 

The endlers will take a little longer to show the calcium deficiency. 

Guppies will get a deformed spine by 3rd generation with calcium deficiencies. 

Luckily, it's really easy to prevent with some Equilibrium or some crushed coral. It's like a woman who doesn't get enough calcium during pregnancy: her body will make sure the baby gets everything it needs at her body's expense.

An ounce of crushed coral (or maybe a pound depending on the size of the tank 🤪) is a pretty easy and inexpensive prevention. Chasing parameters is not ideal, but a tank with the correct substrate and a wondershell can boost plant growth, stabilize your tank (hardness acts as a buffer), and give you your livebearers.

I am thoroughly entertained by watching our endlers, and they brought my spouse over to the fishy side, so endlers will always have a special place in my heart.

Thank you for your reply. How much crushed coral per gallon would I use? I’d like to breed them in a 40g breeder, a 29g, a 37g, and a 30h tank. 

[lefty o]

On 11/10/2021 at 11:09 AM, eddie462 said:

Thank you for your reply. How much crushed coral per gallon would I use? I’d like to breed them in a 40g breeder, a 29g, a 37g, and a 30h tank. 

a handful or two in each tank will be fine. no real need to measure it out. the crushed coral will slowly dissolve based on your water. the closer it gets to hard water, the slower it dissolves, so you cant really over do it.