wild A. heckelii feasible in MY water?

[petspoiler]

my male had grown quite Lg and I really miss his "presence". He was captive bred & did fine in my water.
Rapps has the largest heckelii, @4-5 inch sub-adults. but they are wild Santarem, Brazil. I'd prefer that bigger size, BUT not sure if my water params will doom their well-being.

Experienced advice, Please:
My ph is usually 7.8. Not lower than 7.7.

KH & GH, I'm not experienced testing them, but:
KH, 5 drops showed the very first tint of yellow (89.5). 6th drop was yellow, and 7th drop was very yellow. I don't know how to interpret that- guessing about 107.4 if between 6 & 7 drops is accurate?

GH: 4th drop showed first green tint (71.6) and 5th drop showed more (89.5).

The dynamics in my 180 have changed since my male died, fish noticeably more reactive. He had a calming influence, like they all took ques from him. Not sure if replacement will be like him, but I also miss the beauty. am thinking of getting more than one male this time. there is a remaining female.

THANKS in advance.

 

[duanes]

I keep A heckelli (though not wild) in water with 7.8 pH, and total hardness of 250m/L.
My understanding is they have the ability to tolerate varying types of water, unlike many other S American black water types. According to Weidner in the book South American Eartheaters "Cichlocki (1976) found them in neutral and even alkaline waters (pH 7.0-8.0".
One of mine below

 

[darth pike]

They are one of the few SA cichlids found in black water, clear water, and white water rivers and have the largest range of SA cichlids. Would make you think they can handle a large range of conditions.

 

[petspoiler]

forgive my ignorance, but is total hardness determined by adding KH +GH values :?

 

[duanes]

Although water hardness is a kind of generic term for the cations dissolved in water, it is usually the measure of calcium and magnesium.
A high water hardness usually coincides with a high alkalinity, which can be good in that uric acid produced by fish is neutralized by the calcium, and helps maintain pH.
If your water has a high pH, say 8.0 or higher, it might be a problem if you were trying to maintain wild caught Uaru ferdandezyepezi, or wild caught angels, but I'd not be too worried about Acarichthys.
If ordering from Rapps he will have info on what water parameters he is using, and if different than yours, a slightly longer than normal acclimatization process may be in order. Mixing your tap water with some DI or RO from the grocery store for a while could do the trick.

 

[petspoiler]

Although water hardness is a kind of generic term for the cations dissolved in water, it is usually the measure of calcium and magnesium.
A high water hardness usually coincides with a high alkalinity, which can be good in that uric acid produced by fish is neutralized by the calcium, and helps maintain pH.
If your water has a high pH, say 8.0 or higher, it might be a problem if you were trying to maintain wild caught Uaru ferdandezyepezi, or wild caught angels, but I'd not be too worried about Acarichthys.
If ordering from Rapps he will have info on what water parameters he is using, and if different than yours, a slightly longer than normal acclimatization process may be in order. Mixing your tap water with some DI or RO from the grocery store for a while could do the trick.

Thanks. it's nice to know Acarichthys are found in higher ph too.
During past dealing with Rapps, he stated keeping his water at ph neutral 7.0 .
I'll ask him if gradual acclimatization is needed. I'd have to do that with ph adjustments rather than DI water in this town. no large bargain chain stores.

 

[Mythic Figment]

My water is pretty much the same. My pH is 7.8 out of the tap, but it settles to about 7.4 after 24 hours. My dGH and dKH are 7 and 9 (I might have those values swapped). Anyways, my heckelii (F1) is 4". I have had it since it was 1.5" and I haven't vented it yet. But it has done quite well in my water so far. I would think a wild would do just as well in your water.


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