Dude I been following this, b/c O's are my favorite fish...and I LOVE the flagstone setup...did you glue/silicone the rock together? or did you just stack it?
My first fish rescue
- Thread starter Wulfonce
- Start date
revkkoolaid;3539094; said:I'm in no way discouraging water changes. . .as I believe in and practice them to an insane level. . .I'm just stating facts for the sake of conversation as I found this information very interesting when I discovered it.
Believe it or not most freshwater fish. . .esp. amazonian fishes are slathered in nitrates their whole lives in the wild. Many giant public aquaria exhibits, even marine, operate as high as 60-80 ppm sometimes with minimal problems. Reef organisms are stressed by them. . .as they live in a nutrient desert. But the runoff of forests is ripe with nitrates. . . .ripe I tell you!
I used to swallow the nitrate koolaid to. Then I went to school. So much is published online and even in fish mags and books that is not really based on facts. Just hearsay and things "they" read elsewhere. Talk to an ichthyologist about nitrates sometime. It will blow your mind.. . . as well as fry it.
Alot of what we all know is dreadfully wrong and it breaks my brain. Many of these conversations I've had with marine/aquatic biologists and ichthyologists consisted largely of me going "But-what-about. . ." over and over again.
Personally I think the problems caused that are blamed on nitrates are typically derived from other poor husbandry that accompanies the bad husbandry practices that have led to the high nitrates. And sometimes. . .sh*t happens.
As far as my two cents on HITH. . .if one digs truly deep on the subject. . .I mean beyond a couple hrs on the internet (not flaming anyone . . .that was me for a long time) it's "causes" are actually very poorly understood.
I think the possible causes will soon include the mob, fidel castro, and aliens. . . . along with carbon dust
I 100% agree with you on this subject, esp after finishing my 1st O-chem class I started really digging into my prof's brain it was amazing how much there actually is to Nitrates. However I think HITH comes from an overall lack of care...period, I have owned Oscars for almost 10 years, and never *knock on wood* had a HITH case...varied diet, proper husbandry and dont blast them with insano bright lights and you should have no problems.
". . . along with carbon dust"
Not a de-rail by any means but when I removed the carbon from my system w/ my O his HITH dissapeared almost overnight. (he was showing very early stages, and it was also accompanied by a 50% wc, which was more then my normal. But I am also very rigorous in my 25% 2x a week WX's on the tank) But I do agree alot of people blame nitrates for other underlying issues, Nitrates in and of themselves aren't particularly toxic ime, it's the Ammonia, and Nitrites, and other fun stuff we are just now barely understanding. Are High Nitrates over an extended time particularly good? no.. But are they usually the catalyst? I don't think so. Since high Nitrates are geenrally accompanied by large amounts of Ammonia, and Nitrites..
OP.. I run a 400emp and a magnum HoT which is a HoB canister. granted mine is a 40B and not a 90. But my bio-load includes an Oscar, 3 fire eels, a needlenose, and a royal pleco. (hence the large Wc's ect, and Yes my O is getting a 55 then is being xfered by spring into a large indoor pond that is being built over the winter for my eels him, and another O)
I run the Emp w/ the carbon cartridges and filled the 2 baskets w/ bio-media (fluval ceramic tubes tbx) and the Magnum is run with more bio-media and a pre-filter sleeve. and it works very well. I rinse the carbon cartidges well and change then monthely or more depending on the wear and tear they get.
I reccomend minimal carbon in Oscar tanks, infact all tanks, as It works well for me and my care regime.
I'de also be wary of the slate. even thoguh it is heavy.. My O currently lifts a 3' 4"diam PVC tube and plays weightlifter w/ relative ease. and throws a PVC elbow around like a toy when he's feeling particularly fiesty. He/she is about 10"+ He hasn't broken anything yet.. But I do come running everytime I hear it. I'm getting tempted to silicone them down. So do not underestimate the power of these fish. even siliconeing the tower in "peices" glueing 2-3 rocks together then stacking them woudl greatly decrease the chance your O would knock them over. And as an Adult 12"+ I have no doubt he will be able to rearrange them if not glued. To give you a heads up!
Not a de-rail by any means but when I removed the carbon from my system w/ my O his HITH dissapeared almost overnight. (he was showing very early stages, and it was also accompanied by a 50% wc, which was more then my normal. But I am also very rigorous in my 25% 2x a week WX's on the tank) But I do agree alot of people blame nitrates for other underlying issues, Nitrates in and of themselves aren't particularly toxic ime, it's the Ammonia, and Nitrites, and other fun stuff we are just now barely understanding. Are High Nitrates over an extended time particularly good? no.. But are they usually the catalyst? I don't think so. Since high Nitrates are geenrally accompanied by large amounts of Ammonia, and Nitrites..
OP.. I run a 400emp and a magnum HoT which is a HoB canister. granted mine is a 40B and not a 90. But my bio-load includes an Oscar, 3 fire eels, a needlenose, and a royal pleco. (hence the large Wc's ect, and Yes my O is getting a 55 then is being xfered by spring into a large indoor pond that is being built over the winter for my eels him, and another O)
I run the Emp w/ the carbon cartridges and filled the 2 baskets w/ bio-media (fluval ceramic tubes tbx) and the Magnum is run with more bio-media and a pre-filter sleeve. and it works very well. I rinse the carbon cartidges well and change then monthely or more depending on the wear and tear they get.
I reccomend minimal carbon in Oscar tanks, infact all tanks, as It works well for me and my care regime.
I'de also be wary of the slate. even thoguh it is heavy.. My O currently lifts a 3' 4"diam PVC tube and plays weightlifter w/ relative ease. and throws a PVC elbow around like a toy when he's feeling particularly fiesty. He/she is about 10"+ He hasn't broken anything yet.. But I do come running everytime I hear it. I'm getting tempted to silicone them down. So do not underestimate the power of these fish. even siliconeing the tower in "peices" glueing 2-3 rocks together then stacking them woudl greatly decrease the chance your O would knock them over. And as an Adult 12"+ I have no doubt he will be able to rearrange them if not glued. To give you a heads up!
Poor little feller! Good job rescuing him, the stones look nice.
okay, HOW?revkkoolaid;3541467; said:
good job! what r u feeding him? maybe that might be the reasoning for lack of color...maybe try some color enhancing foods like Cichlid Gold...GL with the little fella!
