Re: Have nothos, now what to do next?

[Wright Huntley <jwwiii at pacbell_net>]

Barry Cooper wrote:
> I would have to disagree with that. Without salt, especially in soft 
> water, there is a pretty good risk of the fish getting velvet (Oodinium 
> spp infection). Most Notho breeders, including myself, use salt in the 
> water, usually about 1 tsp per gallon. As I have very soft water I also 
> add some Equilibrium brand water conditioner.

As always, it pains me to admit when Barry is correct. :^)

Apparently, some of the water around St. Louis is very soft. Adding plain 
salt (NaCl) can be quite rough on fish and plants, as Barry and I have 
discovered. Nevertheless, it is needed to protect against Velvet in 
susceptible species, like many Nothos.

To make the salt tolerable to fish and plants, one needs to add some Ca 
and/or Mg also. "Equilibrium" and probably "RO Right" can provide this, 
but many marine/reef-tank salt blends, like "Coralife" or "Instant Ocean" 
may have what you need to avoid the electrolyte imbalance that adding 
plain salt causes in really soft water. Use them in place of rock or 
kosher salt for your tanks.

I had to learn this the hard way, when I moved to Modesto. The local water 
is Sierra snow-melt surface water, with a tds of 34 ppm. About 2 ppm is 
the sodium hypochlorite they add (chlorine) and the rest mostly silica or 
silicates, driving pH very high. No way I could add salt without killing 
fish and plants. A little "Equilibrium" stopped that problem, cold.

Folks say "Equilibrium" can cloud the water, but the tiny pinch I need to 
get tds up over 100 ppm never has done that to my tanks. YMMV.

Wright

--
Wright Huntley -- 209 521-0557 -- 731 Loletta Ave, Modesto CA 95351

When you are in mortal danger, you are supposed to dial 911, so that
the police can arrive on the scene some time later, identify your body,
and file reports in triplicate.  -- Thomas Sowell 4/21/03

                 www.sfbaka.net


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