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Hi Peter,
Thanks for all the input. I will rectify the problem while it is not too late. What you said is indeed true, of which I’ve never thought of. We can never replicate the environment because of the small water volume in our tanks. The decomposition process of the leaves would produce harmful chemicals that may affect the well-being of the fish.
Hi Peter,
I’m glad for your response. 🙂
From what you mentioned, I believe what I’m doing is wrong. :unsure: Usually, I leave the leaves in the aquarium till they have fully broken down. I used to remove the mulm diligently but the fish don’t like it, so nowadays, I keep some of it.
Some of my tanks also have peat and I use various aquatic plants to delay the water changes, such as Ceratopteris sp., Java ferns, moss, Pistia stratiotes and Utricularia gibba. I noticed that whenever the decaying leaves and mulm are removed from the tanks, with fresh leaves added, the water turns slightly cloudy after 2-3 days. I think the removal of the detritus not only removes the physical waste, but also the microorganisms that are already thriving in it. The fresh leaves therefore, as they decay over the first few days, creates a new population of microorganisms. I’m sure this is similar to what is happening in an otherwise, normal healthy aquarium going through the phase of cycling.
As much as I have said, I hope to hear from more opinion from as many blackwater fish specialists as possible. 🙂
Hi all,
I’m still fairly new to this forum although I’ve registered for quite some time.
I emailed to Peter Finke 2 days ago and this is what I wrote;
Here’s another interesting subject that I hope to hear from your opinion. There is a similar topic in the Paros-project forum which you have all discussed there. However, I would like to include a few more things that have been in my mind for a while.
> An old/seasoned tank often accumulates a lot of mulm/decaying organic material at the bottom of the tank. I leave these stuff there whenever I do water changes, only siphoning the water column to about 30 – 40% and replace it with either 80% distilled water and 20% tap water or simply 100% distilled water/RO.
> Decaying leaves left in the tank creates a teem of microorganisms but I believe the species are different from the ones which usually occur in a normal aquarium (Those that obey the principle of biological cycling process).
Hope to hear from you. Thanks!
