The team (my polys)
- Thread starter clm08k
- Start date
they don't seem to bother the giant danios or the congo tetras. Both are bigger bodied than some of the other dithers I've had. Green tiger barbs and glo-light danios were a different story however
. Green tiger barbs legit lasted less than a week.Thanks, Sam! Great point.Update specie refresher for those who do not know.
Macaroni = ?
Soba = ?
was tempted to write " Macaroni= ....a noodle."
Macaroni: Polli (formerly known as Palmas Polli, but are no longer in the palmas complex)
Soba: Mokelembembe
Piggie Smalls/Pinky: albino Senegal
The del(yet to be named): Delhezi
With a 75% WC 2x/wk nitrates are still getting to 40? Hmmmm... Is everything you're feeding being eaten pretty quickly?
It certainly wouldn't hurt to add more plants.
If they're eating some I wouldn't worry. They're still settling in. Soba was always a shier eater to begin with.
Interesting to me to see how yellow (vs. green) Soba Moke is compared to my tank. Wonder if it's the substrate or the light..?
It certainly wouldn't hurt to add more plants.
If they're eating some I wouldn't worry. They're still settling in. Soba was always a shier eater to begin with.
Interesting to me to see how yellow (vs. green) Soba Moke is compared to my tank. Wonder if it's the substrate or the light..?
If plants are dying or in the process then it will increase the nitrite level and then convert over to nitrate and a possible cause to high levels.
everything is being eaten within 5 mins or so. However, I know there have been very tiny pieces of whatever they chew that are sometimes on the bottom.
Yep. they are both eating still which is good. Soba Moke is definitely refined and shy when he eats. He loves the curvy piece of manzita driftwood in the tank, although he does leave it to swim around at night. Driftwood is now Soba HQ.
substrate/colors:
I think it is because I have the 50lb PFS(pool filter sand) mixed with 20lb black gravel. Since my substrate is primarily white, I think it potentially cause them to turn lighter, but not wash them out completely due to the black. If I had access to garnet, I would change it out in a heartbeat. Might also go for the ecco complete....might help with the plants. I read that PFS has a high number of silicates that makes algae much more likely to propagate in the tank.
The sunblaster light is more of a yellow white light than a cool white light, so that could also be a factor.
How do I know if the plants are dying? Still struggling with the algae a little bit. Does that cause an increase in nitrate? I decreased the light period which seems to have helped. I do have new leaves and runners forming consistently, but the root systems are kind of all over the place. All the dead leaves and plants I remove. How would I know if they are dying? Could it be because of my primarily PFS substrate? I am dosing with plant supplements now every water change.
for the nitrates: I don't think I am overfeeding or my polys would be fat....or I mean phat. lol. Plus I try to remove any large pieces that go uneaten after the first 5-10mins. I can always post a pic of how much I feed too.
any help on how to decrease the nitrates would be appreciated.
Cause 75% WC x2 seems like an awful lot for my tank.If the plants are browning and losing leaves and stems in the water then it'll raise it.
Algae reduction growth might be worsening it as well. Will consume nitrate when actively growing.
Doubt it's the lfs substrate unless it's deep and lots of detritus and stuff is in there and got loose.
Atleast in the short run try a little purigen in a high flow area. I know jaws7777 did this in his tank and it really helped. This will need to be cleaned but will help along with water changes.
Algae reduction growth might be worsening it as well. Will consume nitrate when actively growing.
Doubt it's the lfs substrate unless it's deep and lots of detritus and stuff is in there and got loose.
Atleast in the short run try a little purigen in a high flow area. I know jaws7777 did this in his tank and it really helped. This will need to be cleaned but will help along with water changes.
substrate is about 1.5-2 inch thick. Sometimes more in places. The del consistently digs and moves things around. Not sure if this is enough to prevent a nitrite-> nitrate spike
I'm also seeing more of the strands blackbeard algae or the feathered algae) which of course is freaking me out.
Short term fix: for the purigen, can I just stick it in my filter? It's the AC110. Ironically I was looking at Frank's purigen/nitrate filter build a few days ago, but then got discouraged because I don't have a sump and that's the only time I've seen purigen used. Still learning about the concepts of cycling and beneficial bacteria.
As far as filter cleaning: this might be the culprit? how often should I change it?
- I have the traditional set up for the AC110. The cermaic media was new in April 2017(so it is 7 months old). I did replace the carbon two weeks ago. Remember reading that carbon isn't necessary though unless if I'm taking out medication. I clean out the sponge media every 1-2 weeks. Though the sponge gets filthy. Haven't changed the sponge since April. I also have polyfil if that would be helpful. Maybe I'm not taking proper care of the filter or am changing the media enough? I don't have any experience with cermic media.
For the plants: would it be beneficial to add more plants or would this make the problem worse?
Fish appearance: would high nitrate cause white patches to form on one of the poly's faces? it kinda looks like ich, but it is flat and seems almost like white scales. The spot is on on parts of the face by the eyes and then a few spots on the "meaty" part of the pec fin. Not sure if it is the sensory pores or if this is related? Can get a pic.
sorry for the long post. Thank you everyone for your help and patience.
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thank you! That means a lot coming from you
I'm still trying to figure everything out, but the crew is still going strong. Everytime a little problem comes up I lose my stuff, but I'm learning a ton about fish keeping from everyone helping me. I want my del to be able to reach the 15 year+ mark like yours. Still waiting for you to write a book on poly keeping.
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