Oh ok. Maybe that is a issue too then. I was told a long time ago by a LFS that I should add salt to any new water going in the tank.
Pale peacock bass and dark peacock bass.
- Thread starter Peacock_bass
- Start date
Same here. I do not add salt unless there are surface wounds or to fight disease.
IMO the fish should be kept in an environment without added salt so it can have the most natural osmotic process. While the salt used in lower concentrations may not adversely affect the fish, it does affect the osmotic regulation and kidney function to some extent.
That being said, is there a reason you are using salt? Is it the tap water properties in your area?
IMO the fish should be kept in an environment without added salt so it can have the most natural osmotic process. While the salt used in lower concentrations may not adversely affect the fish, it does affect the osmotic regulation and kidney function to some extent.
That being said, is there a reason you are using salt? Is it the tap water properties in your area?
Ok thanks. No the only reason I use it is because I was told by a local fish store I should when I do water changes.
Shouldn't be necessary. Not sure how much you are using but some water changes should gradually dilute it.
Fish stores have all kinds of disease from all the fish they get in. Maybe that's why they use.
If you ever want to add salt you can use table salt. I use non-iodized but I hear that normal iodized is ok. I just prefer not to add iodine in the water.
Also, salt can harm plants so consider that if you plan to have plants.
I use water softening salt. I buy 25kg bags of salt tabs for 10usd.
OP says scrape, looks like scrape to me, but I also see what appears to be a hole/pit/ which could mean the beginning of HITH. Good catch.
IMO you have a combination of things going on here, Dave has covered the bulk of it. Water too warm, water quality poor (40 ppm nitrate is typically far from ideal), the fish are too crowded, and their diet is poor. The more the fish grow the tighter the fit, and the poorer water quality will become. I don't care if you do 50% water change every day, this is too much fish for a 150.
Invest in a bigger tank, or thin out your fish. That may sound harsh, but even with increased water changes the stress of living nose to nose over time will wear on a fish. You have a family of 6, living in a 2 bedroom condo.
Keep water in check @ 20 ppm nitrates or lower, I shoot for 5 ppm in my tanks, not because I am concerned specifically about nitrates, but they are a good measuring stick for other things, such as the overall bacteria load in the system. Keep on top of filter media cleaning, this too can lead to increased nitrates etc, all that waste builds up over time and needs to be kept in check, as much as the water.
Lastly, improve the diet. Tilapia alone is probably the worst part of this scenario, besides amino acids (protein) and fatty acids (fat), it is seriously lacking in nutrients. Vitachem that Dave mentions is good, but for proper absorption by a fish it really needs to be used as a presoak for the food, it has very little value when added directly to the tank water, and IMO doing so is a waste of $$$$. I have used this product for decades, with species that could not be trained to eat commercial food, but have not used it for several yrs so I have no idea what the current formula covers, or if it is the same as when I used it in the past. There are other formulas on the market as well, whatever you buy choose one that covers a broad base of vitamins/minerals.Any decent commercial brand of pellet will contain the proper vitamin/mineral premix, but if you have to stuff the fish with pellets I would go with NLS, or with Northfin as a second choice. Both are premium foods, the former has the best vitamin/mineral profile on the market.
Sometimes one has no choice but to feed fresh/frozen, which is fine as well, but if that is the case you need to follow the lead of public aquariums and zoos, and supplement the diet with vitamins/minerals. As an example, teleost fish cannot synthesize vitamin C, they need to receive this nutrient via their diet on a regular basis. Failure to do so can lead to all sorts of health issues, and this is also the key nutrient that a fish requires to fight stress.
Your fish are stressed, which is why they are showing "off" coloration.
So the #1 nutrient that they require, is completely lacking in your diet.
Role of Vitamin C & Multivitamin Diets for Enhancement of Immunity, Growth & Biological Performance in Shrimps/Fish
Good nutrition in aquaculture systems is essential to economically produce a healthy and high quality product, writes Mr Prakash Chandra Behera, Technical Manager (Aqua Division), PVS Group, India.
thefishsite.com
HTH
Thank you for all the info! The diet and water conditions seem to be the worst right now and I will immediately start changing those. I do have a question on the stock of the tank. I understand that the stock of this tank will be crowded without a doubt. I knew this when getting the fish and the tank setup and already had in my head that this will be a short term tank not a lifetime tank. But these fish are not nose to nose right now. I get that the 150 is not a lifetime home for this stock. But size of the fish have to come into play on a tank being to crowded. If all these fish were 3-4'' this tank would be plenty big. So I guess my question is what size do fish need to be for a 150gal to be considered crowded. The biggest fish in the tank is probably 7-8''. Is that really already to crowded at that size?OP says scrape, looks like scrape to me, but I also see what appears to be a hole/pit/ which could mean the beginning of HITH. Good catch.
IMO you have a combination of things going on here, Dave has covered the bulk of it. Water too warm, water quality poor (40 ppm nitrate is typically far from ideal), the fish are too crowded, and their diet is poor. The more the fish grow the tighter the fit, and the poorer water quality will become. I don't care if you do 50% water change every day, this is too much fish for a 150.
Invest in a bigger tank, or thin out your fish. That may sound harsh, but even with increased water changes the stress of living nose to nose over time will wear on a fish. You have a family of 6, living in a 2 bedroom condo.
Keep water in check @ 20 ppm nitrates or lower, I shoot for 5 ppm in my tanks, not because I am concerned specifically about nitrates, but they are a good measuring stick for other things, such as the overall bacteria load in the system. Keep on top of filter media cleaning, this too can lead to increased nitrates etc, all that waste builds up over time and needs to be kept in check, as much as the water.
Lastly, improve the diet. Tilapia alone is probably the worst part of this scenario, besides amino acids (protein) and fatty acids (fat), it is seriously lacking in nutrients. Vitachem that Dave mentions is good, but for proper absorption by a fish it really needs to be used as a presoak for the food, it has very little value when added directly to the tank water, and IMO doing so is a waste of $$$$. I have used this product for decades, with species that could not be trained to eat commercial food, but have not used it for several yrs so I have no idea what the current formula covers, or if it is the same as when I used it in the past. There are other formulas on the market as well, whatever you buy choose one that covers a broad base of vitamins/minerals.Any decent commercial brand of pellet will contain the proper vitamin/mineral premix, but if you have to stuff the fish with pellets I would go with NLS, or with Northfin as a second choice. Both are premium foods, the former has the best vitamin/mineral profile on the market.
Sometimes one has no choice but to feed fresh/frozen, which is fine as well, but if that is the case you need to follow the lead of public aquariums and zoos, and supplement the diet with vitamins/minerals. As an example, teleost fish cannot synthesize vitamin C, they need to receive this nutrient via their diet on a regular basis. Failure to do so can lead to all sorts of health issues, and this is also the key nutrient that a fish requires to fight stress.
Your fish are stressed, which is why they are showing "off" coloration.
So the #1 nutrient that they require, is completely lacking in your diet.
Role of Vitamin C & Multivitamin Diets for Enhancement of Immunity, Growth & Biological Performance in Shrimps/Fish
Good nutrition in aquaculture systems is essential to economically produce a healthy and high quality product, writes Mr Prakash Chandra Behera, Technical Manager (Aqua Division), PVS Group, India.
HTH
