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I do water changes if the conductivity increases. The volume and rate of water changes I need to keep the conductivity constant, ranges from zero to 30% per week and depends on fish density and plant growth rate. 1cm fish per 5l water, for example 1 pair of Paros in 45l brutto, do not need water changes.
Hello,
substrate for plants can stabilize pH around 6,5 or 7. I only use a thin layer of sand and if it must be clay balls (for Echinodorus in pot). Experiments with thick layer lava granulate went wrong (pH around 7). With sand-substrate, peat and pure RO water pH easily drops down under 5. Avoid carbonate hardiness, with KH the pH will not drop down and the Paros eggs can not exist.1/4 tap water means more than KH 2 and this result in pH higher than 7! And in my opinion you do not need aqua safe or other related products, because RO-water or rainwater is pure water without copper or other harmful metals/substances.
Greetings Patrick
Hello,
I understand the discussion in that way:
tds=all minerals
conductivity=all substances conducting electric current (including humic acids, H+, nitrate)–> conductivity is always higher than tds – is it right?
I use the conductivity to check when water must be changed. For example if the value of 40uS is reached (RO water pure: 15uS). In some auariums the conductivity declines very slow, in this case I do not change water. If tds is not effected by Nitrate, conductivity is the “better” method.
Greetings Patrick
Hello Jordy,
plants you can use at pH around 4-5 are:
Mayaca fluviatilis
Anubias barteri
Javafern
Javamoss
Ceratopteris
Salviniadown to 4,5 Lymnea
with these plants you can create a very nice aquarium. I would not use a motor filter. Because it is too strong and soaks the larvae in. It is better to use a small airpump with bubble filter.
Greetings
PatrickI use peat and I am very satisfied with it. I think bacteria (harmful or harmless)reduces oxygen in the water and we should avoid very low oxygen contents.
I use cartridge-bubble-filters i my 25l and 45l aquariums. Larvae cannot be soaked in and the cartridge is easy to clean. Some companies produces big cartridges for large aquariums up to 200l or even more.
I think important are constant water conditions. When you do water changes with water that has the same quality (RO water plus peat for example, same pH and conductivity) you can do big water changes. Once I changed 90% water without problems. But I think big water changes are often a waste of water, because you can clean the water with plants. Good plants for blackwater are Salvinia and Mayaca. I change water when the conductivity increases, so I keep this parameter stabil around a fixed point. But it depends on the aquarium. In my big 200l clearwater aquarium with Apistpgramma, I do not change water, because cond. is stabil at 15uS like my fresh RO water.
Hello Peter,
Krause (1998) describes that breaking carbonate hardness with (strong) acids changes the Ion-composition of the water. As a result some fish-species do not breed when the Ion relativity is too far away from standard water. He uses the german term “aquaristischer Kuntsfehler”. You say that Parosphromenus are not sensitiv in thar way to “Eichenextrakt”, do you have experiences with HCL? I used “Eichenextrakt” in an experiment without fish and it led to an strong increase of the conductivity, so I dont use it to lower pH. I only use peat, conductivity rises only a little bit. But it takes a lot of time untill pH goes down. It seems that fishes help to lower pH (more nitrification?, CO2?).
Greetings
PatrickKrause (1998): Handbuch Aquarienwasser 6.Auflage. Bede-Verlag
Hello,
I know this problem – no fish, just plants, bubble filter, RO-water plus peat, lava and leaf litter on the ground – pH at 7!
The pH often decreases when nitrification starts. Just put some fish in and feed…pH at 7 do not harm Paros and pH will decrease in a few weeks.
Greetings
PatrickHello Romain,
I keep my Paros in 25l or 45l aquariums. I use 100% RO-water and peat to lower pH. Water conditions are pH 4,3 to 6 (depends on aquarium) and conductivity 20 to 40 microsiemens. To filter the aquariums I use bubble filter with air pump. Substrate is sand or gravel, or lava gravel covered with leaves. I use coconut caves and caves for cichlids and caves for catfish. The aquariums are planted with Javafern, Javamoss, Anubias, Mayaca fluviatilis, small Echinodorus. Good structured aquariums (wood, stones, plants) are important! The surface is covered with Salvinia. Swimming plants are very imortant, because the larvae hide under the surface. Temperature is about 23 to 24°C. Paros are breeding continously but most larvae are eaten by older offspring…
I feed my Paros once a day with artemia and white or black mosquito larvae. They do not like Daphnia.
Hello Romain,
How easy or difficult Paros are depends on your experience with (blackwater) fishes.
You wrote that you are very young (12), how long do you keep fishes? If you have no experience with other related fishes, I think you should try to keep and breed species that are not endangered. For example Trichopsis pumila. They will help you to get an feeling and an eye for the things that (can) happen in an aquarium, you learn to handle live food cultures for larvae and so on.
When you do this for the next 4 years, you are ready for breeding Paros.
nice greetings
Patrickyou can put peat in a little Nylon bag. Just hang the bag in the water. The external filter can soak in the Larvae. I think it is better to use no or only air bubble filter.
Hallo,
gestern habe ich mir die Amazonas gekauft und gleich die Artikel über die Paros verschlungen. Mit dieser Ausgabe wurden Maßstäbe gesetzt! Alle drei Artikel sind hercorragend geschrieben und sehr ausführlich. Nach dem Studium dieser Lektüre sollte eigentlich jeder in der Lage sein, Paros erfolgreich zu halten und zu vermehren. Neben Pflege und Zucht erfährt man viel über die Lebensweise und die Biotope dieser Fische. Ein Highlight sind sicher die vielen Photos in einer spitzen Qualität. Außerdem erhält der Leser einen Einblick in die Struktur und Tätigkeit des Parosphromenus Projekts und wird ermutigt sich an der Erhaltung der Paros zu beteiligen.
Ich denke nun werden sich einige Aquarianer ensthaft überlegen, sich auch mal mit Paros zu beschäftigen. Ein großes Dankeschön an die Autoren und an die “Macher” der Amazonas.
Gruß
Patrick
