Sorry for the repost but I first posted this in the angelfish, discus threads but I wanted to make sure that someone who is famaliar with this will see this. Anyways I apologize again
I recently received a shipment of altums and they all pretty much had short fins. I basically just wrote that off as a result of stress from their long journey but then I came across this thread.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...d.php?t=184053
I am confused by this thread because I never really saw a definitive answer if this is a bacteria infection or a fungal infection? Can anyone give me a definitive answer on this and how to treat it?
I received 20 of the little guys and have lost 3 over a period of a little over 2 weeks and dont want to lose anymore. I keep them in pure ro water with the following parameters
ph...6.7-6.8
ammonia...0
nitrites...0
temp...86F
I have been doing about 80% water changes every day. For the most part they all seem to be doing fine except for the 3 that have died and the short fins. I talked to a importer that gets them regular basis and what he told me blew my mind. He said that when he gets them he puts them in a temp around 75F and tries to get his ph down to around 5.0 He said that gradually over about a week bring the temp up to 85 or so. Also he said that I could gradually bring up my ph to my normal levels so I wouldnt have to monkey with over a period of about a few months. He also said that I should avoid feeding frozen bloodworms until I get them acclimated thru the first few months. This is all based on the idea that they are wild caught from a blackwater area where the ph is 5 and below and that there is no bacteria that the altums have to deal with. He said that even though hikari does all the sterilization of their bloodworms there is still bacteria there that can harm the altums. He said thats why I should get the ph as low as I can for the first few months and gradually bring the ph up so they can get a immune system going. The temp thing really surprised me cause who ever thought of putting altums in that low of temp. He said the reason is two fold. At lower temps the dissolved oxygen levels are higher which is huge for altums at first. The lower temps also inhibit the proliferation of bacteria. That seems like a reasonable explanation to me but still it makes me wonder. This is coming from a guy (I wont mention his name cause I dont have his permission and he doesnt know I am posting this) who is famaliar to many of us on the forums.
I am a discus guy...dont hold that against me...so if I have a problem with external parasites like ich or fungus I treat with potassium permanganate. Would that work if it is a fungal problem without messing up the altums? And if it is a bacterial problem then I would treat with the Furan-2. All I need is a definitive answer on this. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
I recently received a shipment of altums and they all pretty much had short fins. I basically just wrote that off as a result of stress from their long journey but then I came across this thread.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...d.php?t=184053
I am confused by this thread because I never really saw a definitive answer if this is a bacteria infection or a fungal infection? Can anyone give me a definitive answer on this and how to treat it?
I received 20 of the little guys and have lost 3 over a period of a little over 2 weeks and dont want to lose anymore. I keep them in pure ro water with the following parameters
ph...6.7-6.8
ammonia...0
nitrites...0
temp...86F
I have been doing about 80% water changes every day. For the most part they all seem to be doing fine except for the 3 that have died and the short fins. I talked to a importer that gets them regular basis and what he told me blew my mind. He said that when he gets them he puts them in a temp around 75F and tries to get his ph down to around 5.0 He said that gradually over about a week bring the temp up to 85 or so. Also he said that I could gradually bring up my ph to my normal levels so I wouldnt have to monkey with over a period of about a few months. He also said that I should avoid feeding frozen bloodworms until I get them acclimated thru the first few months. This is all based on the idea that they are wild caught from a blackwater area where the ph is 5 and below and that there is no bacteria that the altums have to deal with. He said that even though hikari does all the sterilization of their bloodworms there is still bacteria there that can harm the altums. He said thats why I should get the ph as low as I can for the first few months and gradually bring the ph up so they can get a immune system going. The temp thing really surprised me cause who ever thought of putting altums in that low of temp. He said the reason is two fold. At lower temps the dissolved oxygen levels are higher which is huge for altums at first. The lower temps also inhibit the proliferation of bacteria. That seems like a reasonable explanation to me but still it makes me wonder. This is coming from a guy (I wont mention his name cause I dont have his permission and he doesnt know I am posting this) who is famaliar to many of us on the forums.
I am a discus guy...dont hold that against me...so if I have a problem with external parasites like ich or fungus I treat with potassium permanganate. Would that work if it is a fungal problem without messing up the altums? And if it is a bacterial problem then I would treat with the Furan-2. All I need is a definitive answer on this. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
