HITH in Geo altifrons,how/why and what can be done??

[David R]

Ha I wish they were wild caught! Most likely come out of a fish farm in asia somewhere having captive bred for years, thats why I won't call them Rio anything of any specific regional variety.

Yes the background is made from mortar, the pH sits around 7.4 if I don't use rain water, but the KH and GH are very low still. I would add a "vitamin block" to the tank if we could get them here, or if I knew what they were!

 

[Piscine]

I have both captive bred, and wild caught geos. My Ph can fluctuate between 7.5-8 with no issues. Some of my guys are approaching 2-3 yrs old. I am going to speculate that your issues lie within the rainwater setup as well....I'd switch back to the tap, live with the high ph and see how that works out for you.

 

[Aquanero]

So nobody else sees the concrete as the major differance between the old and new set-up? TDS^ and lime leachate as a possible cause?

 

[David R]

Thanks. I'm doing a water change today and only have about 40L of rain water (10% of the amount I change) and I'm on holiday for the next four weeks, so they'll be getting another 400L change with tap water after two weeks, and I'll use tap water again when I get home.

 

[David R]

So nobody else sees the concrete as the major differance between the old and new set-up? TDS^ and lime leachate as a possible cause?

Its possible, but I have a friend with an almost identical set up (background made of the same stuff + altifrons) and AFAIk he hasn't had any problems and his has been running for >6 months longer than mine. In fact his are breeding regularly and he has several generations of fry in there. I really should get a TDS meter and make sure though.

 

[Aquanero]

Here's one way to be sure put UV in the tank. Then if it goes away I'd suspect rain water contamination, otherwise the concrete is affecting them.

 

[David R]

I have a UV for a 300L tank (or 3000L pond), doubt it would make a difference on the 1400L!! Sounds like an expensive experiment...

 

[Piscine]

I also only feed these fish 3-5 times per week.

 

[Piscine]

Here's one way to be sure put UV in the tank. Then if it goes away I'd suspect rain water contamination, otherwise the concrete is affecting them.

What good will a UV light do against contaminates from rainwater? UV lights destroy living microorganisms...

 

[Aquanero]

What good will a UV light do against contaminates from rainwater? UV lights destroy living microorganisms...

Yeah that's what I was talking about living organisms, as the reason. Otherwise it's the leachate. If a UV is available use it if not forget about it. I tried to help not argue about it. If my idea sucks ok sorry for wasting your time.