Author Topic: Advice about water readings and GH and KH (Read 18918 times) 75 replies

Sue · « **Reply #60 on:** October 06, 2015, 09:43:53 PM »

Any container is fine, as long as you clean it thoroughly before using it for anything else!

jesnon · « **Reply #61 on:** October 07, 2015, 12:44:37 PM »

Quote from: Sue on October 06, 2015, 09:43:53 PM

Any container is fine, as long as you clean it thoroughly before using it for anything else!

Haha that's fine then!

Unfortunately my poorly fish didn't make it. I spoke to 'the guy' at the shop and he's offered to replace my fish for free and gave me some advice - he recommended waiting a little longer for my fish to settle in to properly tell their sex but he thinks the one in the shop is male too so I'll have to wait until a new order of fish arrives which could be a couple of weeks - he's taken my details to give me a call when they come in and says if I do have two males I can switch one for the new batch. Of course if I do spot any bickering in the mean time I might need to take one back before I can replace him. The remaining two fed well earlier which is good since I read they can be quotes finicky. However one of the fish is still hanging out right at the top of the tank behind the filter - not sure if I should be worried. The other looks fine though. Maybe he's just chosen that spot though!?

Sue · « **Reply #62 on:** October 07, 2015, 01:27:30 PM »

I would wait a few days before worrying too much. It can take some fish over a week to settle.

A thought has occurred to me. Do you know what the shop tank water is in respect of pH and hardness? Since you are using a tap/RO mix, the shop tank could be quite different. When you get the replacement it would be worth testing the bag water before moving the fish out. It is always said that if the water a fish is going into is quite different, you should acclimatise the fish slowly, though Richard W has said it takes them several days to acclimatise to a different hardness so doing even over a few hours isn't going to be any better than just putting the fish straight in the tank. But it is still worth knowing if there is a large difference between your tank and the shop's.

jesnon · « **Reply #63 on:** October 07, 2015, 01:45:45 PM »

I'll try to stop stressing about him and see if they settle better soon.

Hmm I don't know the exact water readings but the section they are is was specifically soft water fish so maybe my RO mix is still too hard for them? I'll make sure to test the bag water when I get new fish to see if it's radically different. I acclimatised them as I do normally with adding my tank water every 5 to 10 minutes but maybe I could have done it even more gradually. As you say they may still be adapting to the water if there is a big difference

jesnon · « **Reply #64 on:** October 08, 2015, 11:05:28 AM »

I appear to have lost a fish

I could only see one in the evening yesterday anassumed the other was hiding, but this morning I had the same thing so decided to move around the items in the tank... No sign at all. Since they are accomplished jumpers I even looked around the tank and again couldn't see anything though I thought it would be unlikely for him to have got out due to the lid. What's happened to my fish!? The remaining fish looks OK and fed well again (initially I fed them in case that would encourage the second fish to come out of hiding). He could have ended up in my filter I guess if he jumped up so I'll check there too just in case.

Just wondering but when I eventually get three fish again assuming I have more luck would there be anything I could keep with them that swim in the middle / bottom of the tank? The reason I ask is that because these fish spend all of their time at the top the tank looks a little odd and empty! I know that these fish are similar sizes to my endlers, but I guess because there were more endlers and they spread out in the tank more it looked better / less empty.

I've read that killifish can eat small shrimp whole :oo So I guess my initial thought of getting some shrimp wasn't a great idea!

Sue · « **Reply #65 on:** October 08, 2015, 01:40:45 PM »

You could try nerite snails, unless you find them too gross to even think about. They do come in bright colours and go all over the tank and you wouldn't need a shoal as you would with most fish that would fit in an Edge. It's that need for a shoal that's the problem as several fish will have quite an impact on the bioload of the tank.

Skittler · « **Reply #66 on:** October 08, 2015, 04:59:27 PM »

Would Amano (aka Yamato) shrimps be a possibility? Mine are the biggest things in my 125L community now, and are very active on the gravel and plants.

Skittler

jesnon · « **Reply #67 on:** October 08, 2015, 05:33:19 PM »

Nerite snails could work they are very pretty :-)

I think amanos might work but would my tank be big enough for them?

jesnon · « **Reply #68 on:** October 08, 2015, 06:15:42 PM »

There seems to be a lot of conflicting information about shrimps and killis - from what I can gather medium shrimps and amanos would he fine but babies will be eaten! I think I'll ask the shop when I go in, there's one nearer than the store I got my killis from and I need some more RO water and a floating plant so I'll ask when I'm there.

My remaining killi seems more settled now and swimming around a bit more around the tank but no sign of my other fish

Sue · « **Reply #69 on:** October 08, 2015, 06:37:50 PM »

Do you have any tiny hiding places that the missing fish could have squeezed into?

Amano shrimps should be OK. They are among the larger non-filter feeders (like bamboo shrimps) so the adults shouldn't be eaten if they are big enough when you buy them. They can't breed in fresh water though so there won't be any shrimplets to be eaten. Females will carry fertilised eggs if there are both sexes in the tank but the newly hatched larvae need salt water to survive. You'll find amanos in the miscellaneous section of the fish profiles on here as japonica shrimp .
Bigger shrimps like the filter feeders are hard to keep alive in the typical aquarium so avoid those. And be very careful you don't end up with one of the macrobrachia - these have long claw arms and can and will catch fish.

jesnon · « **Reply #70 on:** October 08, 2015, 06:52:37 PM »

I don't think there's anywhere he could be that I've not already checked (I have a few places but I lifted everything up when I was checking for him). Very very strange.

That's good news then maybe I'll get some amanos then

Would it be ok to get them tomorrow or should I wait a little while?

Sue · « **Reply #71 on:** October 08, 2015, 06:57:13 PM »

Wait a short while. Shrimps can be iffy in a newly cycled tank. They do better in a mature tank. That is, one that has grown biofilm all over everything.

jesnon · « **Reply #72 on:** October 08, 2015, 07:49:50 PM »

That's what I thought but wanted to check just in case

jesnon · « **Reply #73 on:** October 23, 2015, 05:24:16 PM »

Just thought I'd post an update!

Unfortunately there's no sign of the second fish - since I've checked all over the tank and nothing iffy is going on with my water I suspect he must have lept out somewhere

The remaining fish looks really healthy and settled though exploring all of the tank, but I think they are quite timid fish as whenever I approach the tank he swims and hides near the top. I'm still yet to get any more, hopefully next week they will get some more fish in!

Sue · « **Reply #74 on:** October 23, 2015, 06:33:22 PM »

What have you got in the way of decor and plants? Seriously Fish suggests lots of plants, and wood/branches. And it says that floating plants are appreciated by these fish. Something that would work from an aesthetic point is hornwort. That can be wound through wood or other decor and used as a floating plant.

jesnon · « **Reply #75 on:** October 24, 2015, 01:01:02 PM »

I was actually thinking of getting some Hornwort as I really liked that last time I had it

I've got two bits of wood, one with an anubias on but one is just plain, a moss cave and a moss ball, two rocks and two fake plants - I think you're right that I need more plants (fake or real) and floating plants. It's tricky finding small fake plants that I like the look of that also fit the tank but I'll keep looking and maybe get a Java fern to go on the wood and a Hornwort. I haven't seen any in shops so I might need to get it on eBay again. Hopefully with all the adjustments the fish will be less skittish!

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Advice About Water Readings And GH And KH

Advice About Water Readings And GH And KH

Author Topic: Advice about water readings and GH and KH (Read 18918 times) 75 replies

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