Blackwater conditions and Cichla....

[jcardona1]

I read a few old threads about folks creating blackwater conditions for theyre pbass and how they saw good results. So my question is, is this good for ALL species of pbass or should you do it only for those coming from blackwater rivers?

I definitely wanna try it with my little rio negro orinos. How many leaves do you guys add? is there a certain amount you need, or do you just simply throw some in a bag in your sump?

thx!

 

[FunWow!]

Hey im not sure how the result is but isnt there a thing in a bottle out by tetra that makes your water black. I think its called Black Water but not a 100% Its suppose to be the same as with the leafs.

 

[sostoudt]

Hey im not sure how the result is but isnt there a thing in a bottle out by tetra that makes your water black. I think its called Black Water but not a 100% Its suppose to be the same as with the leafs.

yea its the same thing basically, im guessing, i actually have some. the leaves just happen to be cheaper

 

[impala65]

get some purigen by seachem . it makes cichla look great and grow healthy my buddy in Bradenton FL has it in his sump for his 540gal and his cichla are the brightest ive ever seen by far hands down and they are growing like crazy!!!

 

[Fishman0]

I just added driftwood which automatically leached tannins into the water creating a lighter blackwater tinge

 

[CichlaRyan]

heh ill show you somthing in a few months... they are still "in the making"

 

[selki]

I just added driftwood which automatically leached tannins into the water creating a lighter blackwater tinge

yes but the blackwater they are trying to use is from the ketapang leaves from Asia.

 

[High City Rida]

I will say that I use it and after use I seen breeding on a regular basis here and still have. I plain on grabbing more Kepta leaves. For me I will do what ever makes the Cichla happy. I hear a lot of the location talk and so on lately but for me since day one has been "you make the enviroment you desire for your cichla" Wc/Hybrid/tank breed or farm raised. It's all about your prefrence and I have had success. I also use little to no Chem ie. prime,stess coat I have never used and I try to use no carbon. Prime I have not used it in 6 month's in any of my tanks but this was the way my fished were raised and conditoned. Does this mean don't use it? It's your choice. But all this is trivial and personal preference. I say go for it. It can't hurt. I have tried many diffrent combinations over the past 17 yrs and Cichla for the past year or so. And I have always had extremly great success in all my endevours in heavly populated and single sp. tanks. My 2 cent's.

 

[bOOsteN aUdI]

I read a few old threads about folks creating blackwater conditions for theyre pbass and how they saw good results. So my question is, is this good for ALL species of pbass or should you do it only for those coming from blackwater rivers?

I definitely wanna try it with my little rio negro orinos. How many leaves do you guys add? is there a certain amount you need, or do you just simply throw some in a bag in your sump?

thx!

Great topic!.. I wish DM was around to back me up on my info.. If not mistaking a short time after DM started to add peat extract that he created his orinos bread for him.

Do a few searches for scats threads to see how his kelberis looked after he add oak leaves. Amazing!

I feel that fish that are actually from the black water amazonian tributaries will receive a greater affect from the extremely soft, vitamin enriched water that you will be offering them. Don't get me wrong, from my personal experience, no matter which wc cichla I have owned, (I know nothing about farmies and have little experience with them) they will benefit from the bw conditions; color, breathing, health wise (immune and digestive system).

cattappa leaves ( west indian almond leaves) add about 3 good size leaves to every 15-20 gallons or so. Make sure you don't leave the leaves (haha funny) in for to long or they will start to break down and make a mess.. a weighted stocking or cheese cloth in your sump where there is current works great. Remember that carbon will rid your tank of tannins.

I personally don't like the products that you can purchase in bottles but if you want to add a extra dose of goodness on top of the leaves so that you have a wider variety of traces like natural conditions, I recommend a product from Kordons called Vita trace. This is truely great stuff.

As for Peat, It works good from what I am told, never used the stuff with cichla so can not vouch for this info. If you do decide to get a little crazy, make sure you make your extract in a bucket first and do not add the peat directly to you filter or tank unless your buying the peat fluval product.

So overall I recommend west indian almond leaves with a kordons trace dose. you will notice a difference of behavior and coloration in your cichla. Always remember the most important rule when fish keeping, consistency is important

 

[bOOsteN aUdI]

I will say that I use it and after use I seen breeding on a regular basis here and still have. I plain on grabbing more Kepta leaves. For me I will do what ever makes the Cichla happy. I hear a lot of the location talk and so on lately but for me since day one has been "you make the enviroment you desire for your cichla" Wc/Hybrid/tank breed or farm raised. It's all about your prefrence and I have had success. I also use little to no Chem ie. prime,stess coat I have never used and I try to use no carbon. Prime I have not used it in 6 month's in any of my tanks but this was the way my fished were raised and conditoned. Does this mean don't use it? It's your choice. But all this is trivial and personal preference. I say go for it. It can't hurt. I have tried many diffrent combinations over the past 17 yrs and Cichla for the past year or so. And I have always had extremly great success in all my endevours in heavly populated and single sp. tanks. My 2 cent's.

I use zero chems also beside natural leave and kordon vita ever once in a blue... no need for chems if you are using rodi (which i recommend you use a trace if you are) or water from the tap is good.