Botanicals help

[Caden Fisher]

Hi! So, I’ve got a neon tetra that I think has eggs! I want to try getting it to spawn and I need a botanical that I can use to lower ph. If anyone knows if these leaves are good or not, please respond. If someone has a link to a website or video about these botanicals, please post it. Here are the plants,
Lodgepole pine pinecones, maple tree leaves, pine needles, and aspen leaves,
Thanks!

 

[Colin_T]

Pine needles are not suitable for aquariums.

Maple leaves should be fine as long as the leaves are brown and have been shed from the tree in autumn. You don't use green leaves, they must be brown and dry.

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If you want to breed neon tetras, you need to use rain water, distilled water, or reverse osmosis (R/O) water. Neons will only breed in very soft water with a GH below 50ppm, and eggs usually hatch only if the GH is below 20ppm. The pH can be anything below 7.0.

If you have hard water with a high GH & KH, leaves will not drop the pH.

 

[Caden Fisher]

Thank you so much! Cool tips. I’m planning on getting rain water ASAP for the breeding ?

 

[Colin_T]

Also the eggs need to be kept dark otherwise the light kills the developing embryo. Don't have a light on the breeding tank and once the fish have bred, remove the adults and put some black card around the sides of the tank. When the eggs have hatched and the babies are swimming around, you can remove the card from the front of the tank. After a few weeks you can put a light on the tank if you want to.

 

[Caden Fisher]

Also the eggs need to be kept dark otherwise the light kills the developing embryo. Don't have a light on the breeding tank and once the fish have bred, remove the adults and put some black card around the sides of the tank. When the eggs have hatched and the babies are swimming around, you can remove the card from the front of the tank. After a few weeks you can put a light on the tank if you want to.

Ok. Thanks! I won’t use a light for the first few weeks at least!