Piraiba catfish

[horopgedrik]

Sadly, I haven't even had any kind of shot at it, ever.

And only three months ago I procured my first capapretum... I am lagging behind many great catfish keepers... but still limping along nonetheless

No Viktor, you definitely stand at the front of us with your totality, dedication, knowledge, and experience

 

[Jonathan_G]

No Viktor, you definitely stand at the front of us with your totality, dedication, knowledge, and experience

Agreed.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Ya'll can be very convincing when you want to / have to Thanks for all the props and pats on the back but this thread is not about me. It's about Jonathan's catfish.

I've poked Wes but he appears to have not come back from SA yet. We'll lie patiently in ambush.

 

[horopgedrik]

Jonathan, I think you need to lower your tank pH, a lot!
Please share your water chemistry by the way.
You can still maximize beauty of your B. filamentosum juvenile, mine, going copper-green-metallic shiny at pH level 5.5-6

 

[Jonathan_G]

Jonathan, I think you need to lower your tank pH, a lot!
Please share your water chemistry by the way.
You can still maximize beauty of your B. filamentosum juvenile, mine, going copper-green-metallic shiny at pH level 5.5-6

pH at 8
Ammonia 0

Ill try to get a pH lower kit...

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Maintaining an artificial pH carries with it significant risks and constant testing. Unstable pH can stress, shock, sicken, and even kill fish. I personally stay away from it but many do it. Just a disclaimer.

 

[Chicxulub]

Maintaining an artificial pH carries with it significant risks and constant testing. Unstable pH can stress, shock, sicken, and even kill fish. I personally stay away from it but many do it. Just a disclaimer.

This.

I once ran an experiment that involved keeping a 150 gallon tank as a soft, acidic heavily tannin soaked blackwater environment. I did this in the "liquid rock" hard water of the Missouri Ozarks. I experienced several ph crashes and all sorts of weird chemistry trying to maintain quality and balance. I eventually ended up giving up on the pH and softness, and kept the tannins (which are what I was primarily testing anyway). I buffered the tank with 100 pounds of aragonite to keep it stable.

 

[horopgedrik]

pH at 8
Ammonia 0

Ill try to get a pH lower kit...

Don't get it instantly, just add much more biological media in your filtration system, then pH gradually down by itself.

Maintaining an artificial pH carries with it significant risks and constant testing. Unstable pH can stress, shock, sicken, and even kill fish. I personally stay away from it but many do it. Just a disclaimer.

Agreed, I never put my fish on that risk. But I see jonathan's tank seems lack of biological filtration, that's why I told him.
And why his piraiba got different looking, I bet it's because higher pH for his amazonian catfish.
My main tank, got 5.5-6 pH in it, my tap water around 7.5-8 pH.
So I try to manipulate it as natural as possible, that's why I put 60 kg ceramic sponge ring media in my 220 gallon tank filtration system (my sump is around 80 gallon), IME they did great to maintain pH, keep it at 5.5 to 6.
So I decided to apply the same biological media composition in my 5 other tanks.
And the result was same, so I keep it like that.
If you know the scientific reason on this, correlation between biological filtration and pH maintain, I want to know, and I am very grateful for the information, for me, it just result of many2 tempts, trials and errors.
Again, I won't do such as instant pH manipulating to all my tank.
At worst I manipulate my water chemistry, is using aquascience ultimate water conditioner, just to detoxify chlorine and boost alkalinity of my water, also to reduce fish stress each time I change the water. I found it effectively work, so I keep using it.
I have very bad tap water here by the way.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

HD: But I see jonathan's tank seems lack of biological filtration, that's why I told him.
TBTB: He does not have a bio filter, is that what you are saying?

HD: My main tank, got 5.5-6 pH in it, my tap water around 7.5-8 pH.
So I try to manipulate it as natural as possible, that's why I put 60 kg ceramic sponge ring media in my 220 gallon tank filtration system (my sump is around 80 gallon), IME they did great to maintain pH, keep it at 5.5 to 6.
TBTB: IME and AFAIK, ceramic media increases pH slightly. But I too am looking to learn

HD: So I decided to apply the same biological media composition in my 5 other tanks.
And the result was same, so I keep it like that.
TBTB: How long has it taken for the pH to go to 5.5-6 from 7.5-8? Does the pH jump up after you clean the filters?

HD: If you know the scientific reason on this, correlation between biological filtration and pH maintain, I want to know, and I am very grateful for the information, for me, it just result of many2 tempts, trials and errors.
TBTB: My understanding is that all by itself, bio media would not change your pH or buffer it. The accumulation of detritus acidifies water. Certain balance of aerobic and anaerobic bacterial activity can shift the pH too but the effect may be convoluted, hard to predict. When one sees CO2 (carbon dioxide) bubbles produced in their filter, that should be accompanied by an acidic shift in pH because CO2 is acidic CO2 + H2O = H2C03 - carbonic acid. Many say this is an indication that filter is overdue for cleaning.

 

[Jonathan_G]

HD: But I see jonathan's tank seems lack of biological filtration, that's why I told him.
TBTB: He does not have a bio filter, is that what you are saying?

HD: My main tank, got 5.5-6 pH in it, my tap water around 7.5-8 pH.
So I try to manipulate it as natural as possible, that's why I put 60 kg ceramic sponge ring media in my 220 gallon tank filtration system (my sump is around 80 gallon), IME they did great to maintain pH, keep it at 5.5 to 6.
TBTB: IME and AFAIK, ceramic media increases pH slightly. But I too am looking to learn

HD: So I decided to apply the same biological media composition in my 5 other tanks.
And the result was same, so I keep it like that.
TBTB: How long has it taken for the pH to go to 5.5-6 from 7.5-8? Does the pH jump up after you clean the filters?

HD: If you know the scientific reason on this, correlation between biological filtration and pH maintain, I want to know, and I am very grateful for the information, for me, it just result of many2 tempts, trials and errors.
TBTB: My understanding is that all by itself, bio media would not change your pH or buffer it. The accumulation of detritus acidifies water. Certain balance of aerobic and anaerobic bacterial activity can shift the pH too but the effect may be convoluted, hard to predict. When one sees CO2 (carbon dioxide) bubbles produced in their filter, that should be accompanied by an acidic shift in pH because CO2 is acidic CO2 + H2O = H2C03 - carbonic acid. Many say this is an indication that filter is overdue for cleaning.

I only use activated carbon and the normal filter foam