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  1. gerald

    Dicrossus maculatus's PH and hardness???

    Commercial blackworms and bloodworms are usually harvested from aquaculture and animal production waste ponds, and the bacteria in the worms are NOT killed by freezing or freeze-drying unless they are "sterilized" with radiation. Growing (or "ranching") your own worms is thus safer in terms of...
  2. gerald

    Dicrossus maculatus's PH and hardness???

    Low-ish, but not super low. GH hardness 0.5 to 3 degrees (9 to 50 mg/L) and pH 5.0 to 6.5 should be OK. They're mostly from streams near the main-stem Amazon, not the extreme blackwater habitats like Rio Negro and Orinoco (where D. filamentosus lives).
  3. gerald

    Distilled water

    Yes mixing tap 50/50 with distilled will reduce the hardness by half (assuming there's nothing in your aquarium that is adding hardness) but without knowing the GH hardness you're starting with, we have no way of knowing whether 50/50 is an appropriate dilution. pH does not follow simple...
  4. gerald

    Black head

    More info on black blotch "disease." There are many possible causes; some infectious, some not: https://vtichthyology.blogspot.com/2014/04/mystery-of-black-blotched-bass-by-don.html?fbclid=IwAR3CguuSvIlwTXCLE2gHpaxuHccn-bUwSbQMW8hPUiOWDehaKs313-loRo8 "Hole in the head" can also have multiple...
  5. gerald

    New Apistogramma-species list!

    "Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" (Dr. Michael Sandel -- soon after becoming a father)
  6. gerald

    New Apistogramma-species list!

    In other words, Apistogrammoides remains "valid" even though everybody agrees it isn't. :confused:
  7. gerald

    New Apistogramma-species list!

    Thanks Tom, Mike and Frank ! Question: Is Apistogrammoides still considered a valid genus? If it is within the A. regani phylogeny group, shouldn't it be Apistogramma pucallpaensis ? If not, then all other Apisto species outside of the regani group would need new genus names, correct ?
  8. gerald

    Swollen and Lathergic

    Body swelling often indicates kidney failure, which could be from bacterial infection or other causes.
  9. gerald

    Question about Port Acara cichlid

    I think 80 F should be okay for pretty much any of the Cichlasoma and Aequidens "Acara" species.
  10. gerald

    One gill plate not moving

    Probably just some piece of dirt or poop; it doesn't look like a gill fluke or other macro-parasite.
  11. gerald

    One gill plate not moving

    Without knowing the cause, any drug treatment would just be a guess. Keeping him warm, clean, well-fed, and away from aggressive fish is about all you can do.
  12. gerald

    Ramshorn possibly egg predator

    "no hope" = they probably WILL hatch this time.
  13. gerald

    One gill plate not moving

    Are there any apparent sores on his head or body, or pink swelling in the nostrils? Does his breathing rate (on the "good" side) look normal?
  14. gerald

    Detritus, decaying plant matter, mulm, disintegrated catappa leaves

    Lots of mulm in my tanks too. Slow-decaying old leaves should not be a problem, but leaves that have not previously been submerged might deplete O2 during the first week or two, causing eggs or fry to die if there's not enough circulation. You can pre-soak the new leaves in a jar of water to...
  15. gerald

    Ramshorn possibly egg predator

    "Ramshorn" applies to a LOT of different snails, including Marisa which is not even in the same family with the "true" ramshorns (Planorbidae). (Marisa is a ramshorn-shaped apple snail). Any generic statement that "ramshorns" or "pond snails" are safe (or not safe) is bound to be wrong for...
  16. gerald

    Laetacara species ID and range maps, Ottoni 2018

  17. gerald

    sex ratios

    Thanks for the link Mike -- glad to finally have that whole article, rather than just a summary of the findings, Wow, what a monumental research project! 37 Apisto species x 9 different treatments (3 temps, 3 pH's) plus all those fry transfers at various ages into different pH and temp...
  18. gerald

    Effects of ions like Ca and Mg etc. on skeletal developement

    Most of the scientific studies are on food-fish farming (trout, salmon, catfish, milkfish, tilapia, Lates, etc) and all of these grow faster and are more disease-resistant in moderately hard, ion-rich water. Pacu is the only fish I can think of that comes from mainly soft-water habitats and is...
  19. gerald

    Nannostomus mortenthaleri

    I found them to be hardy and easy to care for, but surprisingly aggressive toward each other, for a pencilfish.
  20. gerald

    Apisto Identification

    Ah yes ... such are the consequences of bad spelling and/or bad handwriting (and omitting the genus name) ! ... or was it you, misreading the bag label ? ;)
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