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O, that’s a pity Merck doesn’t sell that germ-test any more. But there was another, similar test by another company; I’ll try to get the details.
The Hanna-instrument is high quality; I have it myself. But in order to measure the right pH-value it’s up to you to calibrate it from time to time (and you need the calibration-fluid that is sold by Hanna for that purpose). The you will receive very exact data. You must also take care for the sensitive electrode which does not like to be stored dry; they sell a storage fluid for that purpose. But any water is better than air.
Then your setting is quite good. I don’t think you really need the UV-equipment; I should omit that. You must always realize that there are “bad” and “good” bacteria. With that UV-filterung you cannot distinguish between the two groups; you kill them all. And that’s in most cases of no use, but the contrary. UV-filtering is the last escape only from very dangerous infections, nothing for permanent use in an aquarium. Even not a blackwater aquarium.
But since we are here a site especially for Parosphromenus and chocolate gouramis mostly co-exist in the same habitats as they do, we do not speak here of special measures for chocolate tanks, but for well-planned, well-cared tanks for small blackwater-fish. Therefore this issue was and is quite adequate in this frame-setting, for it is on good living conditions for Parosphromenus, too. The only major difference I see is that chocolates do not as well in very small tanks that suffice for the licorice.I just bought a uv filter, thinking it was a solution. Oh well.
For the r/o water that I am going to peat filter, I assume this needs to be heated as well, and also wonder about leaving it around for a few weeks, if it gets dirty and if putting in almond leaves is a way to keep the water more sterile. And if almond leaves are what people say they are, something that puts some kind of plant toxin or active substance that is antibacterial.
The tank is heavily planted and sponge filtered, and I have been adding cubes of bloodworms for the last three days, one a day, and noticed the plants growing more and also intending to test the biological filter and plants capacity to filter waste. I bought liquid Sera testiing for ammonia and nitrite and nitrate, haven’t yet used it. Will have to sell the Uv filter and buy the Hanna tester. A germ test, is this more needed for chocolates than licorice gouramis, I thought chocolates were different in that they are more sensitive to disease and need hotter temperatures, maybe the tanks are basically identical so it is irellevant.Might want an r/o filter eventually, seems like it is the most convenient way to get r/o water, and I will go through a decent amount of it compared to a licorice gourami tnak.
I plan on changing 5-10 gallons twice a week, will have to test the water and see how it is and how much I really should change it.
I had an idea, to create a sump, use a stack of trays so that there is a large surface area, and increase the water volume so that there is no detectable pollution at the point I change the water, but change the water anyway so that it is never too “old.” Seems like an idea that would work, haven’t done it because it seems the tank will be fine without it as long as the water is changed.
The supplier of the fish keeps them in water buffered down but not totally soft because of not wanting to crash the water. I assume they will acclimate fine to really soft, warm water if it is done slowly. See tanks on youtube that have almond leaves and chocolate gouramis breeding, wonder if almond leaves are a really important component or if it is just that the tanks are sufficiently clean and soft.I’ve been told a wet dry filter is a better version of my sump idea.
Since it is not a 5 gallon blackwater tank, maybe it is good to have a bigger biological filter, some more capacity. In addition to the heavy planting, sponge filter and water changes.Something obvious, just use the uv filter for the new water. I assume there is no problem peat filtering and uv filtering, it doesn’t matter that there’s uv filtration in addition to the peat (for creating proper conditions.)
A wet dry filter seems like a good idea, assuming it really will increase the bioload and make the water more stable. It’s less than 25 gallons and I want about 7 fish, so I need to be careful with the water quaity.
Also maybe the reputation for needing heat comes from the delicateness of the fish and has been accepted as a requirement because other conditions were lacking and needed to be compensated for.
Or the fact that they come from extremely hot stagnant water explains it, I don’t know.Jacob, it certainly is a good thing to reflect as you do on establishing a blackwater aquarium, since that’s a pretentious type of tank. But I think there are limits to the planning of a system on the theoretical level; only in practice you will finally see if it works. I think it could, with one exception: your idea of “heavy planting”. You can manage an aquarium with less special water conditions very well by using the hygienic powers of many thriving plants, but in a blackwater system you will not be successful. There are two reasons for it: first, most plants do not stand very low pH-values and very low conductivity values. Second, they need nutrients. But their constant input and the biological activity of the plants will force those values up and down and everything becomes instable. More important than the absolute value is stability of the milieu. Well growing plants constantly influence the water conditons and it is very difficult to master that. If not impossible. In a “normal aquarium” you can manage that because the fish are not as delicate and the water values allow more swing. But in a blackwater system it becomes very difficult to integrate the interests of fish and plants. One has to accept that there are structural limits of aquaria in comparison to the natural biotopes of licorice or chocolate gouramis.
Instead of thinking of ever more complicated technical solutions you should try things out practically. It is easier than you think now to organize a rather stable blackwater aquarium. I have many small tanks (12 liter, 25 liter) with mostly only Vesicularia and Ceratopteris, an almond leaf at the back, old wood from peat bogs and some oak- or beech leaves at the bottom, and with water with pH between 3.5 and 6.5. and 20 to 80 Mikrosiemens/cm, and there are licorice gouramis thriving and propagating. There is no filter at all, but I change some water every two weeks. This is rather simple a system, and conditions are stable. For chocolates you need the tanks a little bigger, OK, and that will work. A little water flow is very good, but that’s all.Good point Peter I’am a great believer in keeping things simple. To me fish keeping should not be a difficult thing. Ok sometimes it can be a labour of love and a little daunting paticularly if you get the odd set back..but thats the way we learn. While there are plenty of tools ( Filters, R/O units, U/V lights, chemical compounds) out there we can use I some times think that these can get in the way of our objective. Good fish keeping should not be a slave to technology. Therefore my advice to any one keeping any kind of fish would be keep it simple and if works for you don’t go trying to fix it.
I suggest, that herewith we bring the discussion in this thread to an end. Not to stop it, o no, but to stop it here. Why?
Because it is (1) too general and fundamental, and (2) there is a misleding and a regional component in it. I explain that:
Jacob’s questions and his ideas are (1) definitely worthwhile to be discussed. The problem how a tank for blackwater fish is to be set up and cared for so that it will constitute a healthy and stable environment for fish like chocolate or licorice gouramis, is not easy to be answered. It is rewarding to discuss that in depth and we should do so. But for that purpose the category “undetermined” is not the right place. It’s not the right place (2) because the title with focus an chocolate gouramis is misleading. The discussion is much more general and fundamental, even with licorice gouramis in mind, too.
And it contains a regional component. Jacob writes from an American point of view. His experience is the aquaristic practice in the U.S., he considers the products on the U.S.-market that might help him, and he tries to develop a contrast (or supplement) program of aquaristic practice to the predominant methods.
For me, as the moderator of the “Global”-forum having a European perspective myself but trying to learn from other perspectives, too, this valuable discussion (which is not finished at this point) has a very clear message: In our regional forums (Asian, American, European) there was an important category missing which we included in this Global-Forum from the beginning: Methods. Indeed, it is reasonable and necessary to speak about methods not only globally, but also regionally. There are typical methods of fishkeeping and -breeding (and that includes the licorice gouramis) in the home countries of our fish: water, temperature, food etc. which are to be seen differently than in Europe or America. Just so are the typical European methods that have been developed for general aquaristics (the “Holland aquarium”, for instance) and others for breeding blackwater fish as Parosphromenus specifically. And just so are there typical methods that have been developed by American aquarists for meeting their special purposes in this respect. Therefore we can learn more by finishing the thread here and open it newly at different places.
For this end I have just created and installed the three “methods-categories” mentioned above newly: Asian methods, American methods, and European methods. You will find them at once in the three sections.
And Jacob (and the others) are invited to continue the discussion at the right places. But certainly: the Global methods category remains at its place, of course! So, dear users, decide, where you want to continue that and other discussions!
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