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[Killietalk] Some question about Nothobranchius biotopes
Hi Brian!
A skillful lesson, thanks!
¡§I do not have a lot of actual hardness data but I
can tell you what the
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) content is. In Notho
habitats there is a
reasonably good correlation between TDS and Hardness
because most the
dissloved ions contributing to TDS are Ca, with lesser
Mg and Na.
I have measured the properties of water in a few
hundred Notho habitats
and
the TDS values are mostly in the range from less than
5 ppm to about
350
ppm. A minor percentage of habitats have water with
TDS values above
350 ppm
up to a few thousand ppm. If one ignores the very high
values (as they
tend
to skew the data and distort the overall picture), the
average TDS
value is
about 95 ppm.
The pH measurements that I have taken range from 5.8
to 9.6 with the
vast
majority being close to the average of 7.4 ¡§
About TDS, I have a big problem with it.
Is some variable, because my house water is from a
perforation(well).
The are was few thousands years ago a big sea, the
Paranaense Sea.
The calcium is very hight, not less 120 ppm, hardness
30 to 35 GH and condictivity can vary, from 500 to
+2000 microsiemens.
The fishes can survive, but all the eggs disappear on
the peat.
Tho solve this problem I just mix, one rain water
part, with one normal water part, and the hardness and
salts values diminish completely.
After do this, I obtain a better water, with 10 ¡V 12
GH and not more than 200-300 TDS.
I use too, a anionic resine filter, that changes
calcium ions by sodium.
I guess the fishes can tolerate better sodium than
calcium.
About PH, 8,5 to 9, but I guess my fishes can tolerate
this.
¡§You really need to see the graphical representations
of these
parameters to
get a better idea of the distribution.¡¨
Yes! Would be great.
¡§Now, should one attempt to duplicate these
conditions in your
fish-rooms ? I
would say that in the case of TDS, no. Remember that
in the aquarium f
the
water is relatively soft (e.g. <95 ppm) it will have
very limited
buffering
capacity and will very quickly become acidic. You are
also likely to
have
Velvet problems using soft water (even with the
addition of salt). My
tap
water has about 280 ppm TDS and it has worked very
well for me. I still
add
salt to that water.¡¨
Well, isnt my problem, my problem is a very hard
water, I call ¡§stone liquid¡¨?º
¡§In nature, the water in the majority of Notho
habitats will be alkaline
and
in cases where it is not, the acidity is due almost
invariably to an
abundance of decaying vegetation in the pool. The
reason for this
normally
alkaline condition is the alkaline nature of the
substrate which has an
enormous buffering capacity. I have measured quite a
few Notho habitats
where the TDS of the water has been less than 10 ppm
and yet the water
was
still alkaline. This attests to the strong buffering
capacity of the
substrate.¡¨
Yes Dr Watters, I can see as well in Austrolebias
and Megalebias pools.
So many miles of distance between Africa and Argentina
seem not to vary so much the fishesw conditions , is
incredible!
"So, should we try to maintain alkaline water for our
Nothos in
captivity ? I
would say yes, that would be best. As mentioned above,
in the confines
of a
small aquarium, this is difficult to do if the water
is soft. However,
having said that, many Nothos will do just as well in
slightly acidic
water.
My suggestion is not to get paranoid about water
conditions and always
keep
in mind that the conditions under which we keep our
fish in an aquarium
are,
of necessity, quite different to conditions in nature.
The fish are
quite
adaptable and don't always mind very much. Use what
water you have
readily
available and if it works then fine. If it doesn't
work then, and only
then,
start making changes."
I WILL DO!
Thanks again , master!
Best regards
Martin
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