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But remember – it’s only one part of my preparing of water, I additionally put in oak and beech leaves, alder cones, and I soak a small amount of black peat in the rain water I use for the tanks. I think it’s the sum of these single methods which leads to a low pH at last. And that’s still not all – I think that, for example, the tank size plays a role, too. Still each single tank is a living system, with imponderables beyond our influence……………
I first put it in a bowl and scald it with boiling water, let it soak for a very short time – just until all granules are sunken. Then I pour it through a sieve to remove the hot water. After that I spread the granules on the bottom of the aquarium, in a very thin layer of about the grain size, just enough to merely cover the ground.
I think an amount of two cups is enough for a 20 l tank. Just try with a small amount – you can easily prepare a bit more if needed.Hi, Davy,
I use this product and was quite satisfied with it so far.
[quote=”helene” post=3192]maybe even :unsure: :dry: :silly: :blink: :S …. :woohoo:[/quote]
Yes – that’s definitely what happened when I spotted the “questionable fry” ……
[quote=”helene” post=3188]
But this is also the couple which you expected were bad at eating own fry ?? So again this little fish must be glad he/she was able to escape not only yours, but also his mothers eyes, – well done, little fish ![/quote]Yes, this is another “survivor” – I don’t know which was the greater danger – his/her father or mother ………??
But now I dare to hope that there might be not only this one – overlooking one fry for about three months might also be overlooking more fry …….Just today I counted a group of my cf. rubrimontis fry of different sizes. I had always seen at least 4 young in this tank – today I could clearly distinguish 7 …………… How many are there actually?
Yes – you are right – it’s simply paro’s fry…………. 🙂
Now, let me show you what I detected some minutes ago on this beautiful morning in May:
I saw this young fish in the tank of my adult nagyi-pair (which never have fry – except this “escaped” young male I reported about earlier).
It’s unbelievable – this is a 12-liter-tank, closely observed by me each day. I hopefully look for fry with a torch/flashlght from time to time – I have never seen any. And now this young fish – which is at least two months old, rather three. NEVER noticed before!!!Taking the observations of the young male fry I reported about – which was not to be seen most of the time, too – I now have the impression that nagyi-fry are extremely secret and hidden. Is this only subjective – are especially my nagyi fry that shy? Or has anyone else observed such behaviour before?
By now (after a bit of practice 😉 ) I have a really good eye for young fry, I detected all fry of my paro and Betta species at a very young age, nearly invisible. But here – seeing a fry first when it is longer than one centimeter? Still can’t believe it…………..[quote=”Little” post=3184]Hello Stephanie,
That would make much more sense … my that was almost an immediate response!![/quote]I had just sent off my last post when I read your newly arrived question …… so I answered at once 😉
[quote=”Little” post=3]
Do we have a translation problem here … do you actually keep snakes in your tank with the shrimp??[/quote]Hello, Bill,
I am sure it’s a mistake – I am convinced that Dorothee has no snakes but snails in her tanks ….. 🙂
[quote=”7 Zwerge” post=3179]Hallo stefanie!
Do you clean the tank while the fish still live in it, or do you often make a new tank?[/quote]Hi, Dorothee,
that was just something I wanted to correct when I read your answer (in post 3178) to my post 😉 .
I also, like you, don’t like to disturb my animals too often, so I don’t do bigger cleaning works, I just clean the glass front every week when I do the water changes. Whenever I think the tank needs a thorough cleaning (remove the old leaves etc.) I take out the fish and set up the tank completely new: Empty it, clean it with hot water, put in new peat granules, leaves and so on – like described above. That’s the great advantage in paros – that you can set up a tank completely new and put the fish in at once.
[quote=”Davy” post=”3177″]What is your conductivity in yours tanks just before you change the water on it?[/quote]
The conductivity stays much the same – it’s about 55 µS max. when I change it. Putting in only about 25% new water with a conductivity of about 30 µS like our rain water doesn’t show a great influence, the conductivity is around 45 – 50 µS again after changing. That’s the average level I (or better my paros) live with ………..
I have one tank, it’s one of the smallest (12 liter), where my cf. rubrimontis fry live in. This tank has a pH about 4,2 – and a conductivity of about 100 µS. I can do 50% water changes and do not succeed in lowering the conductivity level. The tank is set up like all other tanks ………… I can’t say why the conductivity is so high. I’m waiting for the fry to grow to a “catchable” size – then I can empty the tank and clean it thoroughly. Right now the fish seem to do well ………….. as long as they are too young to breed the conductivity will be no problem, I think.
Hello,
I use peat granules as a very thin ground layer – just covering the ground in not more than the grain size. I experienced it as very stable, keeping it’s grain form for months – until it’s time to clean the whole tank anyway.
Second, I fill in dried beech and oak leaves, scalded before with boiling water. Not too many leaves – let’s say a layer of single leaves side by side. And one catappa leaf per tank. If available, sometimes I put in some peat moss (you get it as an orchid substrate). If it’s still moist you can take it as it is, if it is already dried, you have to soak it for a while in boiling water. The fish love to dive under this layer of leaves and fibres, and there always developes a good micro fauna which supplies very young fry (which you haven’t even noticed) with the first food.
And third, I use pure rain water “enriched” with humic acids by hanging a nylon stocking filled with black peat into the water for some days – before I fill the water in the tank.
I use the same water for water changes – I change about 25% almost every week.
This way I achieve water parameters of about 40 to 50 µS, no measurable hardness, and pH levels between 4,2 and 5,5.
[quote=”Davy” post=3152]Very interesting.
What is black peat? I know only blonde peat.[/quote]
Blonde peat is younger, it comes from the upper layer of moors and peat swamps. Black peat is the oldest layer from deeper strata.
[quote=”Gerald Gantschnigg” post=3151][quote=”David” post=3149][…] manage to have very low pH around 2.72- 3 with conductivity like 12 to 20 µS/cm.[/quote]Never ever, I’m sorry! It’ not possible to gain very low conductivity at very low pH, this would violate some electrochemical laws. [/quote]
But, Gerald – what about the habitat data of the locations the fish come from? For example, Horst Linke reports a pH of 3,9 at a conductivity of 29 µS from the location of P. parvulus. How can this be if “it violates some electrochemical laws”?
[quote=”ourmanflint” post=3136]Superb photos Stefanie!
Is the purple/blue belly that pronounced in real life or is that a camera color change?[/quote]No, I’m afraid that’s an artefact caused by the camera. The belly is silvery in this mood.
But I have the impression that young nagyi males (at least those from Pekan Nenas) have a stronger turquoise tinge in the iridescent bands of dorsal and anal fin than older males. I looked through older photos of my old male and noticed this, and now looking at the young male I notice the same.
The bands of my older male are now of a greenish golden colouration, as shown in my avatar photo. I don’t think that it’s an artefact because the same camera with the same settings shows turquoise bands in the young and green-golden bands in the older male.End of discussion – all questions answered – see here.
