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  1. gerald

    What pH does TO filtration give?

    Also, the low pH of the spring water might be due to elevated CO2 from the groundwater, if the analysis on the bottle was done without aerating the sample. If so, then the pH of spring water left in an open container will rise as it equilibrates with the lower CO2 concentration in the air.
  2. gerald

    Rare Apisto(rositae) observation..!!

    ""Fish aren't meant to be in a box, kid. It does things to you." -- Gill, from Finding Nemo.
  3. gerald

    Ick problem!!! Help please!!!

    Yes salt, heat and formalin will usually get rid of it. Fortunately it's an easy disease to recognize and treat. The fry may or may not survive, but if this batch fails they'll spawn again.
  4. gerald

    Help with manzanita driftwood!!!

    Could be weeks, months, or a year. It varies with each piece of wood. Tannins and related organic compunds from wood and leaves are beneficial, especially in soft water. When it stops releasing visible amounts of tannins, you should probably add more if you're keeping soft-water species. If...
  5. gerald

    laetacara araguaiae parameters???

    Care is similar to L. curviceps and L. dorsigera. There's lots of info on those two. Laetacara species don't usually have problems with badly skewed sex ratios like Apistos and some other dwarf cichlids often do. Make sure they get some vegetable foods too.
  6. gerald

    Apistogramma nijsseni jumping?

    Corners are exactly where fish are MOST likely to jump. I use corrugated plastic signs (FREE if you salvage them after election day) cut to fit in the places that the glass top doesn't cover. If you cut it the right way, the channel along the edge of the plastic will fit over the edge of the...
  7. gerald

    Feeding free swimming fry.

    Bugra -- If Dean is in USA, then "20L" usually means "20 gallons "Long" (30 x 12 x 12 inches) as opposed to "20H" which is 20 gallons High (24 x 12 x 16 inches). But you're right, the fry will need more space than the breeding pair.
  8. gerald

    Feeding free swimming fry.

    Yes, but I would leave a few fry in with the parents. Otherwise the parents may fight if all the fry suddenly disappear. Or, you can move the parents and leave the fry in the tank where they hatched.
  9. gerald

    Heavy breathing, half clamped tail fin, rubbing on wood/plants

    Sounds like parasites are a good possibility in this case; maybe flukes or protozoans. Can you add some floating plants like Limnobium, Salvinia, or Duckweed, at least as a temporary measure to keep NH3/NH4 as low as possible?
  10. gerald

    Is this a Macmasteri?

    Looks to me like something in the "Regani Group". Second photo in post #11 shows abdominal stripes, similar to A. cruzi (using Mike's "Description of Apistogramma Species Groups")
  11. gerald

    Heavy breathing, half clamped tail fin, rubbing on wood/plants

    If the tank has enough plants to cause a noticeable effect on pH, then it also has enough plants to effectively absorb nearly all of the ammonium / ammonia output from your fish. And If a filter or airstone keeps the water surface moving, you probably wont get any plant-induced pH change...
  12. gerald

    Apistogramma rositae

    We have similar places in the southeastern USA, where blackwater tributary streams flow into clear or turbid streams with higher conductivity and near-neutral pH. Broad-scale generalizations about water chemistry in a wide region may not be correct.
  13. gerald

    D. foirni on aquabid

    Maybe Shane can tell you who bought the others? (and maybe you have something else THEY want)!
  14. gerald

    Sick Borelli

    I doubt the neon tetras or the water from their bag has anything to do with the ammonia spike or the sick Apisto. Not enough info to determine if his illness is from an infectious disease, water quality issues, or something else. No sign of sores or swellings around the head or mouth...
  15. gerald

    Dicrossus sexual developement

    Did you mean milliSiemens (mS) or microSiemens (uS)? (sorry i cant find the Greek "mu"). 1 ppm TDS is roughly 1.5 to 2 uS (depending on which ions). 5 mS is a LOT of dissolved ions -- equivalent to about 3 grams of salt per liter at 25 C. I don't know whether all of the biologically...
  16. gerald

    Dicrossus sexual developement

    Here's another article (no book to buy): http://www.lsu.edu/faculty/galvezf/Publications/galvezetal2008b.pdf Humic/fulvic/tannic compounds (DOC's) are essential for fish to survive in ultra-soft water. Soft/acidic water without DOC's is lethal. EDIT: Regarding TCM's question, there's no...
  17. gerald

    Dicrossus sexual developement

    15-20 ppm TDS is VERY low conductivity and hardness. It's hard to imagine that would be high enough to interfere with egg fertilization. I'd guess something else is causing infertile eggs, or killing the eggs soon after they are laid. Finzz - thanks for the temperature correction.
  18. gerald

    Dicrossus sexual developement

    Finzz sent me this in a message tonight: "I've heard from some others that once they spawn, you can unplug the heater and they will hatch more female-heavy as a brood. I don't know if that's true, but it may work. I've never had any luck getting them to spawn unless the temps were in the high...
  19. gerald

    Dicrossus sexual developement

    I know Finzz has had male-heavy batches of D. maculatus. Maybe he'll chime in and say something about temp and water chemistry. The other issue is that females may grow slower and be less aggressive feeders, so they can get out-competed by their brothers unless there's abundant food.
  20. gerald

    A. panduro heavy breathing + wound.

    I've gradually come to the realization that Mycobacterium is probably present in nearly every aquarium, breeding facility, natural water body, and in many frozen foods and maybe even dry foods that are not cooked at high temperature. Myco are present in wet soil and many public water supply...
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