Your filter media should carry all of the BB you need. A lot of people have bare bottom tanks with no problems. I wouldn't worry about your other substrate, but get the plant substrate all out...What is the other substrate BTW? Just gravel?xander13;1564319; said:
pics
- Thread starter xander
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that's not what i've read. i read from some thread over at AP that suddenly removing substrate can be devastating to the tanks balance.
since he found this to be a problem i doubt i should be removing all the substrate.E_americanus;1562328; said:
Don't worry about removing all of the substrate you added earlier.
A general water conditioner... the stuff that removes chlorine, binds heavy metals etc. it is always advised to use this.
This is again not a chemical treatment to alter specific chemistry this is just to neutralize harmful materials when doing a water change.
A general water conditioner... the stuff that removes chlorine, binds heavy metals etc. it is always advised to use this.
This is again not a chemical treatment to alter specific chemistry this is just to neutralize harmful materials when doing a water change.
ok just a few things before turning in (it's 3:45am and this thread is borderline ridiculous at this point) -xander13;1564319; said:
- xander - you MUST use water conditioner...if you don't use it, then what the heck do you use to get rid of the ammonia and chlorine??? are you getting your water straight from a well (if so, that is the only reason that you could possibly get away with not using a dechlorinator of some sort). using a water conditioner is BASIC BASIC BASIC aquarium husbandry. most water systems (at least those in the US and a lot of other countries) not only use chlorine, but also use ammonia to treat their water, both are toxic to fish. as stated earlier, these chemicals (water conditioners) are considered entirely separate from the pH modifiers you were suggesting using.
- secondly, getting MOST of the other substrate out will be just fine...85% isn't really good enough, as you are still looking at some of it only being NEUTRALIZED by the aragonite when you get it...if the new substrate is used up neutralizing the old stuff, then it is not doing what you wanted it to do. so shoot for getting at least 90% out, if not 95%. that should be fine.
- SimonL - Cuban gars are in fact very different than the other gars...they are much more susceptible to water quality issues than the other species. i've found this over several years of dealing with this species and lately in dealing with the YOY brought in, richard and i have found that is the case with smaller individuals as well. that species, much like the shortnose or gator gar, are not good species for gar beginners or amateur hobbyists in general. species like the Florida/spotted and tropical are much hardier and appropriate for all levels of predatory fish keepers. i've learned a lot about Cuban gar sensitivity to water parameters the hard way, and the whole reason we have been helping out here is to help keep this fish in good shape...in reality it was a premature pick-up, but there's not much we can do about that now.
keep us posted on how the fish are doing--
--solomon
ps-- if there are any other BASIC things you aren't doing for the aquarium (i.e. heating it, feeding the fish, providing them with water) please let us know. sorry for the sarcasm, but if you aren't even knowing to use water conditioner then there are possibly a whole other host of problems that could be contributing to the state of malaise of the fish(es).
Thanks for the info Sol! I have generally good water parameters I suppose..I was also adding a fair bit of salt to the water as well.
As someone who keeps SW reef and fish as well, I guess I have a different opinion of what makes a "sensitive" fish
Just aquarium salt, not marine salt , as I had an FRT in the tank...which caused the untimely demise of my cuban...FRT lives by himself after that.
