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Hi all,
It is haemoglobin in Blood worms (Chironomid larvae), they are detrivores, rather than algae eaters, so I assume they don't accumulate carotenoids.
cheers Darrel
Hi all,
The best Amphipod are <"Crangonyx"> spp., they are cat-nip to most fish and are used in aquaculture etc.
The advantage they have over Hyalella azteca and Gammarus spp. is that they are <"vegetarian"> and tolerate low oxygen, low alkalinity and warm water.
They are widely naturalised in...
Hi all,
One hundred percent what @MacZ says. Apistogramma females are usually good mothers.
You should find that fry survival increases if you have a tank with a <"lot of moss and structural leaf litter">. The other essential is some live food to <"stimulate the fry feeding response">.
If you...
Hi all,
You are right, it is carotenoid pigments that enhance red colouring. They are what gives salmon and flamingo their pink colours.
They are originally algal, and they commercially farm the Green Algae (Haematococcus fluviatilis) as a source of <"astaxanthin">.
Fish normally get them...
Hi all,
That would be my guess.
I see it as a bit like chicken farming, there is a world of difference between intensive farming and a "free range" chicken, and I think the same applies to blood worms (Chironomid larvae).
Cheers Darrel
Hi all,
Hi Mark, welcome. I actually belonged to this forum before I joined <"UKAPS">.
I still think they will be all right, just because of the floor area of the tank and the amount of cover.
Was that me?
I'll definitely admit to that, personally, I've always admitted to be a lazy and shoddy...
Hi all,
DI is "deionised water", it has been through an RO unit and then an ion exchange unit.
Potentially you can get a DI unit that will produce "ultra pure water", with less than 1 micro S conductivity.
An RO unit on its own will get you down below 5 microS.
Cheers Darrel
Hi all,
That should be fine.
The distillation units we used had a single mains water supply, some of which was fed around the outside jacket as a coolant. I'm not sure how the steam would condense (to distilled water) without cooling. You had to adjust the flow fairly carefully or you ended up...
Hi all,
How hard is your water? If you have hard water they constantly need descaling.
I'm pretty sure it will be less efficient, you need a constant stream of cold water tap water as a coolant. Years ago we used to use them in the lab. to make our distilled water and they were an absolute...
Hi all,
We honestly aren't unfriendly, you will get an honest opinion, and the best advice we can offer.
Personally, since 2008, I have learnt so much here.
I'm British (but definitely not a supporter of <"Brexit">), and I've travelled a bit in Europe, and without wishing to stereotype our...
Hi all,
I don't feed the fish any live food that I haven't cultured or collected myself, but they mainly get live food.
I 'culture" Blackworms, Asellus, Crangonyx, Daphnia and Micro / Banana Worms.
Because I don't have many fish at the moment I most of the cultures are just sitting in buckets...
Hi all,
It depends, not all plants can use bicarbonate (HCO3-) as their DIC source. Plants that naturally occur in acidic water may not have the enzymes required.
Cheers Darrel
Hi all,
I'll try, but the pH ~ Carbonate ~ CO2 equilibrium is an area I struggle with.
You always have the same amount of CO2 dissolved in water, but when you have carbonate buffering some of that buffering is in solution as bicarbonate (HCO3-) or carbonate (CO3--), meaning that you have more...
Hi all,
Yes, I think that is what this plot shows (from the <"UKAPS link">) original at <"https://www.aqion.de/site/159">
<"Fireplace Aquarium | Planted freshwater aquarium blog">
cheers Darrel
Hi all,
I've not kept these, but if they are like Apistogramma spp. the fry need the food to move ("wriggle response") before they will recognise it as food.
I keep <"Banana / Micro worm"> (Panagrellus reduvius / nepenthicola) cultures, they are incredibly low maintenance. If you feed the...
Hi all,
I think it is and it isn't.
I've not had a good record with the chemistry of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC), but I think that:
Only a really tiny fraction (0.15%) of the dissolved CO2 becomes <"H2CO3">, which then disassociates into a proton (H+) and bicarbonate ion (HCO3-).
Acids...
Hi all,
Don't believe AI.
That is incorrect, the amount of CO2 absorbed is dependent on the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, via Henry's Law. It is entirely independent of the carbonate buffering system.
<"Andy Pierce's"> post on UKAPS.
Cheers Darrel
Hi all,
Unfortunately what you would have to pay for a fish, and what you can sell them for, often don't correlate.
You definitely will be able to sell them, but probably not for what they're worth, if that makes sense?
It might depend a little bit on where @Pauljr412 lives in the UK, if it...