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Hongsloi Red Gold Male or Female?

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
Temperature of 26°C is fine.

Other readings:

Nitrogen compounds: Ok, the hongsloi tank is cycled, going by the readings, the hospital tank is not. And if that fish has been breathing for some days in it, it's time for a waterchange due to rising amminia levels.

pH: All as expected.

Hardness: You should really consider getting a test. Although in Canada and Europe most info you get from the water suppliers is correct, often the suppliers' info brochures most often only give the year's average. Depending on the season different sources may be used for the drinking water in the system. E.g. in my tap the NO3 readings swing by more than 20mg/l over the course of the year.
In any case, only if you have solid info about your KH you can actually do something about the pH. Otherwise it keeps being guesswork and assumptions. And those two have killed more fish than any parasite or bacterium.
 

MapleNeil

Member
Messages
68
Temperature of 26°C is fine.

Other readings:

Nitrogen compounds: Ok, the hongsloi tank is cycled, going by the readings, the hospital tank is not. And if that fish has been breathing for some days in it, it's time for a waterchange due to rising amminia levels.

pH: All as expected.

Hardness: You should really consider getting a test. Although in Canada and Europe most info you get from the water suppliers is correct, often the suppliers' info brochures most often only give the year's average. Depending on the season different sources may be used for the drinking water in the system. E.g. in my tap the NO3 readings swing by more than 20mg/l over the course of the year.
In any case, only if you have solid info about your KH you can actually do something about the pH. Otherwise it keeps being guesswork and assumptions. And those two have killed more fish than any parasite or bacterium.
I've ordered a test that does kH
I guess I'm getting into more advanced fish keeping with the apistos and need to learn about more than just nitrogen ;)
 

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
I've ordered a test that does kH
I guess I'm getting into more advanced fish keeping with the apistos and need to learn about more than just nitrogen ;)

That's the normal effect any cichlids tend to have on beginners. ;) I had this with Tanganyikans and Malawis back in the day. They may need the opposite of what Apistos need, but whether it's high hardness/pH or low, you have to know how the whole stuff works in principle. But no one has to be an absolute crack in water chemistry for it. Basics are often enough.
 

MapleNeil

Member
Messages
68
That's the normal effect any cichlids tend to have on beginners. ;) I had this with Tanganyikans and Malawis back in the day. They may need the opposite of what Apistos need, but whether it's high hardness/pH or low, you have to know how the whole stuff works in principle. But no one has to be an absolute crack in water chemistry for it. Basics are often enough.
Got the tests:
KH 50 mg/L
GH 150 mg/L
Ph has dropped to 7 either due to adding lots of leaves and alder cones, or the herbal anti bacterial stuff I added from ruby reef.
I can't get katappa leaves quickly but will order some.
The male in the hospital tank has fuzzy stuff on his mouth that looks like columnaris which is why I brought out the antibacterial stuff. It sounds highly contagious and deadly.
 

MapleNeil

Member
Messages
68
Also the hospital tank has a cycled filter, the 0.1 ammonia is likely just from chloramine or from the API test being hard to read.
 

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
Got the tests:
KH 50 mg/L
GH 150 mg/L
Ph has dropped to 7 either due to adding lots of leaves and alder cones, or the herbal anti bacterial stuff I added from ruby reef.
I can't get katappa leaves quickly but will order some.
The male in the hospital tank has fuzzy stuff on his mouth that looks like columnaris which is why I brought out the antibacterial stuff. It sounds highly contagious and deadly.

OK, that's pretty soft. So it may be that your water provider is using things to keep the pH high to prevent/reduce corrosion. I would try to get Info on that. Something like an anti-corrosion plan.

pH of 7 is going the right direction.

Fuzzy is not good. Columnaris is very deadly, I couldn't see it spread often, though. And if it spread then only within one species while most other fish were fine. In any case as these are all the same species I hope the others stay ok.

I would definitely not get fish from that source anymore.
 

MapleNeil

Member
Messages
68
Here's an update:
Sleeper and the female seem to be doing well, they have better appetite and are getting along, although sleeper still doesnt' have much color. He is probably too young to be fully colored.
The male with possible columnaris recovered after using salt and some medicine, but with parts of his mouth missing he seemed to be struggling to breathe so I euthanized him.
The pH in the tank is down to 6.8 now, using oak leaves, alder cones, mopani driftwood, catappa leaves and some peat in the filter.
I found out that even though our water is soft, the city adds sodium hydroxide to raise the pH to prevent corrosion.
My other tanks have lower pH, but turns out that is because they are fully stocked, and having fish in the tank lowers ph.

I wonder how much my problems were because of thepH (around 7.4 to 7.6) when the fish arrived. Does it seem reasonable that this level of pH would cause severe immediate problems for the fish when they arrived?
 

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MapleNeil

Member
Messages
68
I forgot to add, I also treated the main tank with salt and a medication for a few days because the female had fin deterioration and the male seemed lethargic and was flashing. They are both doing much better now and have good appetites and the females fin no longer looks as ragged.
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Most apistos will adapt to changes in pH of a short period of time, like 30 minutes. Wild - and certainly domestic strains - A. hongsloi easily adapt to changes. I doubt that this is the cause of the problem.

If I may, I would like to make a suggestion. Medications and other treatments, like salt, should be used in a quarantine/hospital tank but avoided if at all possible in a community tank with other healthy fish and plants. Over-, and particularly under-medicating, lead to even more problems.
 

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