Kaylen's Discus Blog
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Understanding pH, KH, GH in Home Aquariums
Great informative thread from fishlore.com so I thought I post it here on my blog for easy reference.
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Before I start off, i would like to warn anybody reading this that this involves, to a degree, some involved water chemistry. By all means not advanced as i will try my best to keep it as simple as possible, while helping others understand the topic much better...
I see that there is many threads and links around that tell you what pH, kH and gH is safe for your particular fish, as well as how to increase, decrease etc. these numbers. What there is a lack of, is an understanding of these numbers, and what they have to do with you or your fish. Hopefully this will help you out and understand your fish better. After all, is that not what you want to do? I will explain the importance of the essential minerals in your fish’s life, using the pH, KH, GH values
We've all unfortunately come across the poor guy who bought a new tank and straight off worried about pH... We've all done this. I know I did: "Bought 2 bottles of pH down and pH up. The pH was 8.2 from the tap so i put pH down and the next day it was at 7.4... GREAT!!! Next day it's back up to 8.0 so more pH down with a double dose to be sure it's safe. pH plummets to below 6.0 the next day, so pH up at half dose and the pH is at 7.2... GREAT!!! Next day it's back up at 8.0"
By the end of the day, we've spent a pocket-full, got no results, broken any chance of a cycle having the possibility to start, have a handful of dead fish, very milky water and some staining of everything in the tank. So there we are with less money, less fish, less chemicals and less quality in terms of water. I believe that these chemicals can be used safely in the home aquarium without these hassles, but if you do not understand what it is, or how it works, then unfortunately you will end up with a tank like my first one! Nobody wants that. Nevertheless, this can and unfortunately will get tricky, but here goes... ... ...
When it comes to water chemistry in aquariums, there are two big sections to consider. These are Water Parameters and Water Quality.
Water Quality is defined by how safe your water is for fish. These are things like Ammonia/Ammonium, Nitrite and Nitrates. The less of these, the higher the water quality is essence. That's quite simple right, yes right...
Water Parameters is defined by a reading of a specific "thing" of your water. Naturally, these do not affect water quality direcly, but are just as important to good fish health. These are things like temperature, pH, KH, GH, conductivity, viscosity, volatility... believe me, and the list will never end. The ones we will focus on, because they are mostly relevant to our aquariums, are:
1) pH (also known as per Hydrion or percentage hydrogen)
2) KH (also known as Carbonate Hardness)
3) GH (also known as General Hardness)
4) Temperature (not also known as)
5) How to safely adjust these values
Now, Fish have a specific bodily function which we call Osmoregulation, which in simple terms is the fish's function that regulates it’s intake and expulsion (balancing) of minerals and water throughout its body. A healthy osmoregualtion system goes like this: Water goes in through the mouth, out the gills, out the skin and excreted; this is then replaced by minerals taken into the skin, or “drank” through the gills so to speak, and vice versa. Without this system a fish would either suffer from lack of the correct balance of minerals, or too much of one mineral, resulting in some form of deficiency. This is often what is believed to lead to the disease of fish not properly acclimated, which is why the “floating bag” method is so widely discouraged by the more experienced nowadays Fish osmoregulation is needed by fish because although we as humans get all our nutrients and minerals through food, fish live in an environment where these are readily available to them, which is why the correct balance of your water parameters is so important to your particular fish.
Note: freshwater fish and saltwater fish systems work on a different level and are not the same. The basics however, as I will explain further, are the same.
1) pH - per Hydrion... "I've never heard of that" Well here's your lesson. Per Hydrion refers to the amount of hydrogen, in its ionic form "Hydrion", that is in a solution, in our case, tank water. The pH scale is a logarithmic scale, and therefore means that 6.0 pH is 10 times more acidic than 7.0 pH, and 5.0 pH is 100 times more acidic than 7.0 pH . Now to understand how hydrogen changes pH, we need to understand what makes your water acidic (below 7.0 pH) or basic (above 7.0 pH). "H+" ions make water acidic; "OH-" ions make water basic. You may notice that with those two together, there are two hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen - yeah that’s right... Water, H2O. That is why pure water is the most neutral substance in existence, exactly 7.0 pH... The unfortunate fact is that pH in aquariums isn't stable without other minerals as I mentioned above, such as calcium, magnesium, Sodium, Iodine, Chloride, etc etc... These are what KH and GH measures are partly for.
So how does any of this help my fish? Well that's where the other parameter's come in. But before we go into the heavy detail stuff, i would like to mention this:
- Besides very specific fish, such as African cichlids, most fish will live HAPPILY in water that has a pH of between 6.6 and 8.2. Fish are very adaptable creatures, and as such can easily adapt to these conditions. The most important factor to keep in mind is, even at the very extremes of the pH scale, it is more important to keep the pH constant than at a precise value.
2) KH – Carbonate Hardness... The reason this is called carbonate hardness is because it measures the amount of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) that exists within your water. Again, in a very complicated way, this is what prevents your pH from having the ability to “crash” or even budge. If you are aiming to lower your pH, you need to lower this value in order to do it. Calcium is the most abundant mineral within water, and is especially important in the lives of marine, brackish, or even rift lake fish. A fish that has a “hard water” or “soft water” requirement to keep, simply means that that fish has evolved/adapted it’s osomregulation pattern over many generations to take up a certain amount of minerals from the water in a given time, which is categorized by whatever body of water that fish has lived in...
Hard water fish – take more minerals up in a given time
Soft water Fish – take less minerals up in the same given time
That would then very simply explain why soft water fish are easier to adjust to hard water than it is to do the reverse. Soft water fish are able to still take up minerals in the water because there is an abundance of it in hard water, whereas hard water fish struggle because they need to take up minerals, which simply aren’t there in soft water. This is not to say that soft water fish can live fully comfortable in a hard water environment, because hard water tanks have a higher pH than soft water tanks, and the same for the reverse situation This is the one of two (but not only 2) prime reason why it is important to know your KH value in your aquarium. Calcium therefore plays an important role in the tank in that 1, it stabilizes the pH (but also raises it) and 2, it plays the one of the biggest roles in fish osmoregulation.
Calcium as we all know promotes good bone growth, teeth quality... The usual. What it also serves to do however, is regulate blood flow, helps immune system functions, aids in metabolism and is required in its free ionic form for necessary and quality heart function. Think it’s important yet?
Now you may ask, but why does calcium carbonate make my water more basic? Well, good question. The Calcium carbonate is broken up in water into Calcium (Ca) and Carbonate (CO3). Carbonate is extremely unstable so it will match up with “H+” ions. Remember now that these make your water acidic, but because there are now less of them, it will make your water basic.
So as you can see, KH is a very important value in your aquarium, even more important than pH IMO, simply because on most occasions, the value of KH is almost a direct correlation to the value of your pH.
3) GH – General Hardness ... Luckily for us, we have a measure that can tell us the amount of all the minerals dissolved in our water! While Calcium is important, without other minerals that the GH value measures, it is useless, some even claim it is more dangerous as such. Your GH test kit measures the amount of all minerals in our water, including, but not only Carbonate Hardness like KH. This is also helpful as water does not only have calcium for fish. These other minerals (at least the most important ones) are:
- Magnesium (Mg)
- Chloride (Cl) (NOTE: NOT chlorine (Cl2))
- Sodium (Na)
- Sulphur (S)
- Potassium (K)
Beyond these there are many others, but are not really measurable without extensive testing. The main reason GH is also important in home aquaria, is because it measures the very important Magnesium. Magnesium performs the same ideal function as Calcium. Fish need it for osmoregualtion, just as they need Calcium. Magnesium serves to aid in digestion, improves immunity, aids in growth (of both bones and muscles) and development of the gills. See why this is also important? I sure do!...
Magnesium therefore is also important to your fish’s development, just as is Calcium, and the other minerals. This is why there are also other water parameters to consider rather than just temperature and pH. There are many things that will change your pH, such as Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate – hence why many say that it is pointless to test pH during a cycle.
4) Temperature – Boy this is a tough one... After all your study on pH, KH, GH, electrolytes, minerals, fish function... Now you have to deal with this... Okay so here goes. Temperature – Keep it constant... Wow okay glad thats done... moving on now...
5) How To Safely Adjust These Values – Nowadays, it is easy to access equipment or supplies that will aid in adjusting pH, KH and GH (and temperature – new tech called a heater )
- How to raise pH – In order to raise your pH, you must increase your kH value, and preferably your GH value as well. Remember how I said that in most cases your pH value is a direct correlation of your kH value? Well yes, your kH or buffering capacity will increase your pH as it increases itself. The following methods can be used:
1) Aquarium Buffer – Whether bought or home-made, make absolutely sure you do your research here. This can cause many issues if not played well, but if executed correctly can be a great pH buffer (by adding minerals to your water thereby increasing your kH and GH values). If you do not have a full understanding of redox potentials/electrolysis in aquariums then I urge you not to try homemade mixes.
2) Aragonite/Crushed coral Substrate – This is commonly used in hard water aquariums because the substrate leaches minerals into the water. I note that these do not leach all the minerals required but do serve as a good starting point to raising pH correctly.
3) Crushed Coral Filter – This is helpful when combined with method #2, because the combination provides all necessary minerals for FULL healthy osmoregulation of hard water fish. The crushed coral leaches predominantly calcium into the water, but also other trace elements.
4) Addition of Aquarium Salt – This is dependent on what salt we are referring to here. Marine Salt mix, yes, it is a great source of the necessary nutrients in hard water, but be careful on the dosage. You are aiming to add minerals to the tank, not overdose it. Regular aquarium salt is a no, no. Good treatment in diseases yes, terrible aid in raising pH safely.
- How to lower pH – In order to lower your pH, you must decrease your KH value, and again, preferably GH too. Be careful though. It is safer to keep a soft water fish in slightly harder water than to keep a soft water fish in a very soft water environment. The reason being: Harder water holds its pH value much better than soft water. pH crashes and inconsistent pH values can be attributed to KH every time. Not sometimes, EVERY TIME. Note that you will not be able to lower your pH without lowering your carbonate harness.
1) Aquarium Buffer – Same as above, research is essential. I suggest using the buffer to lower KH and thereby lower pH, and combine this with a tiny amount of shell in your tank, or small amount of crushed coral in your filter to simultaneously buffer the water, which means that your pH will remain lower, but relatively stable because of the buffer being released by said shell or coral. Homemade mixes include potassium salts. Stray away from these as they will only temporarily lower your pH, then “jumping” it back up which will be more stressful to the fish in any case.
2) Carbon Dioxide Dosing – Carbon Dioxide serves to lower your pH and is a great plant nutrient. 30 PPM of CO2 will lower your pH by 1 degree - I.e. from 7.0 ph to 6.0 pH. Be careful of homemade mixes as the CO2 isn’t constant and can therefore play with your pH, resulting in stressed out fish.
3) Peat/Clay Substrate – This will leach minerals into the water that will bond with the Carbonate thereby preventing it from bonding to the “H+” ion we discussed much earlier, thereby lowering KH and subsequently pH. This is a good method for planted tanks as the nutrients can also be used by plants.
4) Peat Filter – Same as the substrate version pretty much, just that it has a higher flow through it and therefore leaches faster. Be careful not to use too much.
5) reverse osmosis / De-Ionized Water - This method is commonly used because RO/DI water has effectively 0 Hardness (both KH and GH). When mixing this with other water, it can have an overall "softening effect" and thereby lower you pH safely. Be sure not to use too much RO/DI water as you still want some value to water hardness (again both KH and GH) in your tank. Distilled Water can also be used as above.
Lastly, I note that it is important to buffer your water very slightly while trying to lower it. This will allow your KH levels to drop but not to plummet, and thereby keeping you pH relatively constant, even in a soft water aquarium
It is however, important to note that pH is EQUALLY important compared to KH and GH. I am not aiming to promote that you forget about pH entirely, but to consider why your pH is where it is, or why there are problems etc. Remember, a fish that lives in 8.0 pH waters will not do well in 9.0 pH... Remember why? No? Don’t forget that 9.0 pH is 10 times more basic than 8.0, so it isn’t just a “1 point pH jump”, it’s a big change to have. Imagine you living in 60 degrees your entire life, and then over the time of 2 hours adjusting to living in 600 degrees (it is 10 times extreme afterall?).
This is to serve an even further purpose as to why minerals (especially calcium and magnesium) are so important in your fish’s lifetime and why it is so important to keep your pH stable, and guess what? You can provide your fish with the necessary minerals while doing it!
I hope that you, reader, have found this interesting at the least if not useful. Good luck and happy fish keeping!
Please if you have any questions or queries do not be afraid to ask. If you have anything to add to this, please do speak up and I will be happy to include it!
Acknowledgments
Thanks to my friend Josh McDonald for all his help in writing this article.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Artifically Raising Discus Fry
19 Simple Steps To Artificially Rearing Discus Fry
Step 1:
Give the parents a 1.5-2" PVC pipe 14-16" long to let them spawn on. pH must be below 7 and water used throughout this process must be soft (around 100 ppm and uS around 120-180). This helps the eggs in sticking.
Step 2:
Make sure that the males is fertilizing the eggs, otherwise any attempt is futile.
Step 3:
Wait two hours after spawning is finished.
Step 4:
Using a 1 gallon glass jar, fill it with the tank water the parents (& eggs) are in. Put the PVC in the jar (quickly and calmly).
Step 5:
Place the jar in a small 5 gallon tank filled with water at 84f (50w heater is required). Also put a hydrospnge (by far my personal choice in sponge filters). in the tank and turn it on. This will keep the jar warm and allow the tank to cycle. I always have filters in my 5 gals so they are cycled.
Step 6:
Add an airstone to the jar. Turn it on medium so that there is a good currrent in the jar (dont blast the eggs though).
Step 7:
Add three drops of methyl blue. Other people may reccomend more, but I believe that it may cause fry loss. Three drops works well and allows you to observe the eggs.
Step 8:
Wait. They will begin hatching (if they are fertile and the correct water perameters/hardness/uS are present) in two days (about).
Step 9:
Wait. They will start free swimming in two-three days (mostly three). They will be clogged in a bunch on the bottom of the tub during this period and will untangle when good and ready.
Step 10:
As soon as they become free swimming, give them their first feeding. Use artificial plankton and rotifers (a.p.r.) used for feeding marine filter feeders. Add an amount the size of the winding screw on your watch (it was the only thing I could see around my desk of to relate how small small MUST be (g)).
Step 11:
4 hrs later remove the jar from the 5g tank and float a small rubbermaid tub in the 5g tank. Place the airstone in the tub (turn it off first). Use a baster to move the fry to the little tub. Fill the tub with the jar water 75% and 5g tank 25% until the tub is almost full. Turn the airston on to a small blip...blip..blip..... enough to keep the surface of the water in the tub broken. Keep the tank with the tub covered to avoid cooling/evap/drafting on the tub.
Step 12:
Add the same small amount of food.
Step 13:
4 hrs. later do a fifty percent water change of tub water using the baster. I go from the baster to another small tub before I dump the water in case I suck up some fry (so I dont dump them out). Replace the tub water with the tank water (Hey, notice the tank water is the same temp as the tub water!). Feed same small amount.
Step 14:
4-6 hrs later do a 90% change using the above method. (NOTE: eventually the 5g starts to get low. NEVER (REPEAT VERY LOUDLY, NEVER EVER) fill the 5g untill the tub water has been changed and refilled. If you do fill the 5g tank prior to filling the tup, the temp may not be exactly the same and when you fill the tub afterwards you might watch the babies go into shock...they WILL NOT recover! (This cost me A LOT of fry to figure this out!).
Step 15:
Repeat 90% water change and feeding every 4-6 hrs. (8 at the most so you can sleep, I've gone 10 before, but dont recommend it unless the is nothing you can do about it).
Step 16:
On the second day of free swimming, add a tiny amount (VERY TINY) amount of NEWLY HATCHED baby brine shrimp (b.b.s.) with every feeding. Dont stop using the a.p.r. at this point. Continue performing step 15. a.p.r. shows grey bellies, b.b.s. shows pink bellies.
Step 17:
Continue feeding a.p.r. and b.b.s. for one week. All bellies should show pink by end of week.
Step 18:
Once all bellies show pink discontinue the a.p.r. and continue the b.b.s. Keep performing step 15.
Step 19:
One week later you should have lots of fry the size of baby angelfish. Let them go into the 5g tank and feed them there from now on. Keep the tank clean and watch the water changing temp. A once a day water change is good enough. The rest is standard baby fish stuff!
Source Link
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Treating Orange with PP
Orange is not eating and is having white poop. It has been a while since I got Orange and he is always in the background while others feed. Before I start with Metro treatment, I feel it is better to rule out some possibilities by doing a PP bath. These are the steps I learned from a discus friend and the materials I used for this treatment:
Materials:
Activated carbon
10gal treatment tank
Hang Over Back (HOB) filter
.05gram of Potassium Permanganate
10gal tap water
10gal treated aged water for replacing after treatment
Heater
Airstone
1gal container
1/4tbs measurement teaspoon
1. Either using conditioned water and run it through carbon for at least 24 hours, or using straight tap water and run it through carbon for 24 hrs. Do not put any kind of water conditioner or buffers in this tap water in you choose the latter. Activated carbon in the HOB filter should be able to take out any impurities or trace of chemical from the water.
2. The next day, move the sick fish to the 10gal hospital tank. Take out the HOB filter and run only the heater and airstone in the tank.
3. Use the 1gal container to take out some water from the hospital tank. With the 1/4 tbs measurement spoon, measure 1/10th of Potassium Permanganate. Mix the PP in the 1gal container until the purple color is uniformed.
4. Pour the solution of the 1gal container into the 10gal hospital tank.
5. The tank water should then look pinkish after dilution like the photo below. Let the fish bathe in this hospital solution between 3-4 hours while closely monitoring its behavior.
6. It is normal for the fish to breath hard throughout the bathe, but it should still be upright. Signs of fish feeling too stressed and can't handle treatment include: laying sideways, swimming at the top gasping for air. At these signs, the fish must be removed from treatment.
7. After 3-4 hours, scoop the fish out from the hospital tank with the 1gal container. Drain all the water from the 10gal hospital tank and replace the hospital with new aged water with the same temperature. Release the fish into the new water.
8. Put back the HOB filter running activated carbon for the hospital tank to take out any trace of medication.
Materials:
Activated carbon
10gal treatment tank
Hang Over Back (HOB) filter
.05gram of Potassium Permanganate
10gal tap water
10gal treated aged water for replacing after treatment
Heater
Airstone
1gal container
1/4tbs measurement teaspoon
1. Either using conditioned water and run it through carbon for at least 24 hours, or using straight tap water and run it through carbon for 24 hrs. Do not put any kind of water conditioner or buffers in this tap water in you choose the latter. Activated carbon in the HOB filter should be able to take out any impurities or trace of chemical from the water.
2. The next day, move the sick fish to the 10gal hospital tank. Take out the HOB filter and run only the heater and airstone in the tank.
3. Use the 1gal container to take out some water from the hospital tank. With the 1/4 tbs measurement spoon, measure 1/10th of Potassium Permanganate. Mix the PP in the 1gal container until the purple color is uniformed.
4. Pour the solution of the 1gal container into the 10gal hospital tank.
5. The tank water should then look pinkish after dilution like the photo below. Let the fish bathe in this hospital solution between 3-4 hours while closely monitoring its behavior.
6. It is normal for the fish to breath hard throughout the bathe, but it should still be upright. Signs of fish feeling too stressed and can't handle treatment include: laying sideways, swimming at the top gasping for air. At these signs, the fish must be removed from treatment.
7. After 3-4 hours, scoop the fish out from the hospital tank with the 1gal container. Drain all the water from the 10gal hospital tank and replace the hospital with new aged water with the same temperature. Release the fish into the new water.
8. Put back the HOB filter running activated carbon for the hospital tank to take out any trace of medication.
Postassium Permanganate (PP)
Potassium permanganate is an oxidizer which can be used to "disinfect" the external surfaces of fish. It effectively removes most external parasites, as well as fungal and bacterial agents. Most fish can be treated by prolonged immersion in a 2 mg/L potassium permanganate solution (water must retain a purple color for at least 4 hours), although some species (i.e., Malawi cichlids) seem to be sensitive to it and may not tolerate a full strength (2 mg/L) bath. Because of its harsh oxidizing properties, potassium permanganate should not be applied to fish more frequently than once per week or mortality may result. It is safe to use in marine and recirculating systems at 2 mg/L.
Treatment Failure
Poor efficacy following use of potassium permanganate is usually caused by one of three factors:
(1) incorrect or incomplete diagnosis;
(2) incorrect calculation or measurement of amount of chemical needed; and
(3) excessive organic material in the system resulting in rapid degradation of the chemical.
Determining the Amount of Potassium Permanganate to Use
To calculate the amount of chemical required, a simple formula can be used:
Amount of Chemical = Volume x Conversion Factor x Treatment Rate
If the pond or tank volume is measured in gallons, the conversion factor is 0.0038 and the answer will be given in grams (see Table 1 for other conversion factors). For a treatment rate of 2 mg/L, this formula would be:
Grams of Chemical = Gallons Treated x 0.0038 x 2 mg/L
Therefore, to treat a 250-gallon vat, the grams of potassium permanganate needed are:
Grams needed = (250 gal) x (0.0038) x (2 mg/L) = 1.9 grams
An inexpensive gram scale can be obtained by purchasing a dietary scale at your local grocery store or pharmacy. One level teaspoon of potassium permanganate weighs about 7.0 grams
Reference source: Simplydiscus.com
Friday, April 24, 2015
Display Tank Update
I tried so hard to not get anymore discus, I know I'm running out of space in the 75g. Anyways, I now have 11 discus in the display tank as of April 2015.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Tips on Selecting Discus
Below are some general tips on how to select good discus:
- The first step is to observe the discus in your dealer’s tank. Make sure that they are active, curious and are not hiding in the corners. Discus which are stressed or sick turn dark (with the exception of pigeonbloods, ghosts, snow whites and goldens).
- Check for sick or dying fishes in the tank. If so, then avoid picking fishes from the tank.
- Presence of medication in the tank might mean the discus are sick, recovering from a disease outbreak or in quarantine.
- Check for wounds and lesions on the body.
- Make sure that the gill plates are not short or deformed - they should cover the gills completely. Look out for heavy breathing too
- The eyes should be clear. Discus with cloudy eyes and chipped eyes should be avoided.
- Avoid fishes with deformities of the spine.
- The discus should swim in an upright position. Fishes which struggle to do so could be suffering from swim bladder problems or other such ailments.
- Give a thorough check to see if there any external parasites attached to the body of the discus.
- Ask the dealer to feed the discus and observe if they have a healthy appetite. Make sure that the discus were not raised on Tubifex worms as food.
- Observe the feces of the discus. It should not be stringy or white in colour.
- Avoid discus with bellies which look thin or sunken. If so, this is could be due to long periods of starvation or presence of internal parasites. The same criteria applies to foreheads - a healthy discus would have a broad forehead.
- Avoid picking from tanks in which discus have peeling slime coat or the slime coat is absent.
- Ensure that the eye is not too big in proportion to the body. Large eyes could mean that the discus is stunted.
- The discus should have a round shape and should not be triangular or elongated.
- Lookout for hormone treated fish which have adult coloration in the juvenile stage. Juveniles with coloration on their caudal fins and on the tip of their noses are signs of hormone treatment.
- Avoid discus which keep their fins clamped, or with fins that are whitish and frayed.
Some tips which are strain specific:
Blue Diamonds: They shouldn’t show any stress bars on the body or along the eye.
Pigeon Bloods: Avoid Pigeon Bloods with a lot of black specks on the body (peppering). They can be pretty unsightly.
Turquoise: These are generally late coloring. Two inch juveniles with adult patterns usually mean that they are stunted.
Some more tips after you bring your discus home:
- Always quarantine your new discus.
- Avoid mixing discus which were bought from different sources to avoid disease transfer.
- Do not feed Tubifex worms! There is a higher risk of them carrying parasites than other foods you could offer.
- Young discus need to be fed several times a day to maintain good growth.
- Regular water changes help to keep your discus healthy.
- Avoid shotgun treatment for medicating your discus.
Reference Source
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