that was exactly the reason I wanted to do this. I've read far to many horror stories of SA fish getting hith because of the water they are kept in, regardless of maintenance levels on the tank.
jumping in...first piranha and a few questions
- Thread starter predatorkeeper87
- Start date
HITH related to ph and hardness is an assumption. I don't think there is anything out there to prove it. HITH is caused by certain bacteria its then a question of what weakens the fish to be susceptible to that bacteria which can be a variety of things.
Good luck with. I remember when I got into piranha 17 years ago it was my goal to do the same. When changing 70-90g of water every week it just becomes very difficult.
Good luck with. I remember when I got into piranha 17 years ago it was my goal to do the same. When changing 70-90g of water every week it just becomes very difficult.
The anti microbial properties of tannins are the real reason. The bacteria that causes hith doesn't do particularly well at higher PH afaik, and do perfectly fine at a more neutral ph.
Medium to high flow is good for piranhas.... i would suggest towards the high end for an elong. They like to dart a lot and the high flow will help with it crashing into the sides of the tank. Just keep a bare spot for him to rest.
Peat moss would be fine. Unless your water is soft the blackwater extract in bottles fades too easily
As far as plants go i would start with some java fern or anubias on driftwood. Majority of elongs will shred plants....if it goes well then i would invest in more plants
A 125 will be good for life....expect slow growth rate till 6 inches and extremely slow growth rate from 6-7 inches on. Biggest i have heard of in captivity was about 11 inches and very very old
P
predatorkeeper87
Yep...they're in a blackwater tank!
I started off with the works...peat pellets, BWE, Indian almond leaves and alder cones but have since started making my own extract. I soak the almond leaves and alder cones for a few days to get them waterlogged so they sink when I throw them in the tank. I then freeze the water for subsequent WC's...and rinse and repeat every month when the leaves start to rot.
Because of it's antimicrobial properties, the tannins really help with healing...especially in my tank. I have to say though...they've calmed down quite a bit...only Rick, Daryl and Glenn left now.
FYI...here's the thread
Aquanero
made about the peat tea...
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/peat-tea.607576/#post-7135174
I started off with the works...peat pellets, BWE, Indian almond leaves and alder cones but have since started making my own extract. I soak the almond leaves and alder cones for a few days to get them waterlogged so they sink when I throw them in the tank. I then freeze the water for subsequent WC's...and rinse and repeat every month when the leaves start to rot.
Because of it's antimicrobial properties, the tannins really help with healing...especially in my tank. I have to say though...they've calmed down quite a bit...only Rick, Daryl and Glenn left now.
FYI...here's the thread
Aquanero
made about the peat tea...http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/peat-tea.607576/#post-7135174
Any direct measurements for how much peat/almond leaves to add? Can we add it to the tank water directly or you need to essentially setup a spare container that you then use for prepping water?
I am keeping my rhom in a 180g tank and tend to do 40% weekly water changes. PH last couple years has been sitting around 8 with extremely hard water since I last moved. Around that time he developed HITH that I cannot get rid of. I am thinking I would love to try this out and see if it helps with the hith. Just curious what the steps are and how much time it adds to my weekly care.
Depends on the approach. Basically the more you are willing to pay the less work it is. You can buy tantora leaves, boil them and toss them in. That's like 15 mins of effort and it will leech the tannin over time. Collecting oak leaves and brewing them into tea so that you don't have the leaves inside would be way more work. Mostly because as you do water changes you have to directly replace the tannin you remove since there won't be any leaves to leech more. It isn't terribly expensive but these leaves did not do much for my 300g. http://www.amazon.com/Tantora-Premi...1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
I think because your tank is smaller and your wc schedule isn't heavy it could be a feasible option, I would go with a more bulk option I was going to test those out on a 40b. I boiled them all for 15 minutes I believe, and tossed them in the 300 because I like the look. I would take it slow if your not certain of your parameters (gh, kh, tds, etc) but it would be hard to have a fatal mistake if you monitor it. HITH is a rough disease and takes time to heal, even after it's cured. I'm not sure if you could attempt to use something like hex shield stuffed in fish, but this is treatment for cichlids and may not be applicable.
RD.
is the guru.