came to a decision- shellies

[Dragonscales]

I own the gold variety, very, very nice looking fish

Another word on breeding, even if you have a species tank, occies aren't very good for step breeding, the older fry will eat their smaller, younger siblings. This isn't a prob if you can seperate them of course.

 

[yhbae]

Hiya,

I would only suggest mixing your own buffer if you are experienced! The buffers I mentioned would cost about 15.00 dollars and last for a while with a 20 gal tank!


Ang

P.S. you cant just tell newbies to add epsom salt!

Perhaps you are right...

I did use it in my first-ever African tank, and I did manage to kill 2 small Yellow Labs earlier on (still not sure how I did it), so it took a while to get the stability I wanted. Once stable though, it seems quite easy to do and water parameters are rock solid... One of them even bred...

 

[Angjo72]

Hiya yhbae,

Perhaps when he gets a bigger tank and has some experience with them! I havent even tried mixing my own mix yet! Lord knows that I can NOT replace the fish I have LOL (you become attached to them) Nothing wrong with the self mixed buffers if you know what you are doing though!

What is your ph after adding the mix and the hardness?

Ang

 

[yhbae]

Hiya yhbae,

Perhaps when he gets a bigger tank and has some experience with them! I havent even tried mixing my own mix yet! Lord knows that I can NOT replace the fish I have LOL (you become attached to them) Nothing wrong with the self mixed buffers if you know what you are doing though!

What is your ph after adding the mix and the hardness?

Ang

This is my normal water parameters:

- pH : 7.2
- GH = 3
- KH = 2

After adding chemicals:

- pH = 8.0
- GH = 8
- KH = 8

I've been monitoring the water parameters for the first couple of months carefully and the water parameters don't change at all during the week. Now I check once in a while (less than once a month), and they are always the same. I originally planned to add some additional buffer (crushed corals) in my filter, but I am re-considering, as it appears that I've found a way to create a stable water parameter without any other help...

The above seem good enough for both malawi and tang species so I'll use them for both!

 

[Angjo72]

Hiya,

Its sounds stable, thats important!

I use a mix of crushed aragonite and 3 dollar kiddie play sand I bought at Lowes hardware! The crushes coral will not cause it to be unstable, but in the slight possibility that something happens to change the water chemistry, I believe it works as a back up.

I do know that tanganyika has the highest ph of all the rift lakes and should have a range of 9.0 to 9.4 (I have seen it recommended at 8.6 to 9.0 as well) and malawi/victoria range should be 7.8 to 9.0. I keep my ph at about 8.8, below the most recommended amount and I tell others to try to get it above that. What is important is the fishes are healthy though, Mine have certainly bred and are healthy! If you have any problems with your tangs you may try bringing the ph up, otherwise it sounds good

 

[yhbae]

Hiya,

Its sounds stable, thats important!

I use a mix of crushed aragonite and 3 dollar kiddie play sand I bought at Lowes hardware! The crushes coral will not cause it to be unstable, but in the slight possibility that something happens to change the water chemistry, I believe it works as a back up.

I do know that tanganyika has the highest ph of all the rift lakes and should have a range of 9.0 to 9.4 (I have seen it recommended at 8.6 to 9.0 as well) and malawi/victoria range should be 7.8 to 9.0. I keep my ph at about 8.8, below the most recommended amount and I tell others to try to get it above that. What is important is the fishes are healthy though, Mine have certainly bred and are healthy! If you have any problems with your tangs you may try bringing the ph up, otherwise it sounds good

I did read quite a bit about Lake Tang recepi and my conclusion was that 8.0 is good enough for just about all species in Lake Tang... I did check this formula out in cichlid-forum.com and most seem ok with it, although there's always few who objects... (Some says chemistry is totally different between the two lakes, which is true so you need much more chemicals than the two I mentioned already).

I might add some crushed corals as a backup in the filter (don't want to add it into my main tank substrate), as a backup as you suggested...

By the way, some people even bred N Brichardi in pH of 7.4! I guess they too are adaptable like most other species...

 

[Angjo72]

Hey,

Brichardi bred at 7.4 WOW! Guess the water quality was good! I know its possible to keep tang's at a ph of 8, and thats cool. But, my opinion is, I want to make the tank as close to their natural habitat as possible, so that would mean a much higher ph! I dont just want my fish to survive, but thrive, breed and be happy lil campers! Besides, when my fish do get big enough to sell, it will be easier for others to acclimate them, if ph levels are closer! Oh well, good luck!

Ang

 

[yhbae]

Hey,

Brichardi bred at 7.4 WOW! Guess the water quality was good! I know its possible to keep tang's at a ph of 8, and thats cool. But, my opinion is, I want to make the tank as close to their natural habitat as possible, so that would mean a much higher ph! I dont just want my fish to survive, but thrive, breed and be happy lil campers! Besides, when my fish do get big enough to sell, it will be easier for others to acclimate them, if ph levels are closer! Oh well, good luck!

Ang

Thanks, and good luck to you as well!