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[APD] RE: water changes = ich?



 Robert H. wrote:
>
 > Large water changes DO put
 > stress on fish. It can even trigger ICH, particularly if a newbie is
 > not carefull with the temp change It could also trigger Cryp melt. You
 > would be changing water chemistry, hardness, pH... frequent large
 > water changes can interfere with spawning.

Well, I have fish breeding in my plant tank(3 species and fry running
around).
I have not used any form of medications for well over 15 years.
I have not had too. My tap water has gone from almost pure water(GH 2 KH
0-1) to rock hard KH 10 GH 24 and several grades in between.
I've had several years of each type of tap water as well plus a number of
client's tanks.
I have bred more fish species than most folks before I got into plants.
I did this same routine then.

Oh yea, I slack off, we all do and do not do any water changes every so
often and skip normal routines.
Everyone does this but folks often want to know how to whip a tank into
shape that's "fallen off the boat" and is not what they want.

But if you want a nice rocking tank, it sure helps whip things into top
shape.
I am not really all that vigilent and keep up a high level of intensity
like if I am trying to get a show like tank ready, but when folks have
issues, want an Amano like tank and other general issues, water changes and
dosing after is the best remedy in most folk's case.  

Doesn't matter if you have richer or milder substrates eco complete, mature
flourite etc.
Good water column dosing ___still helps___ to achieve top plant health.

In regards to Crypt culturing. Having bloomed many species, raised plants
from seeds, some quite difficult and having compared notes with Jan over
many years, I'm quite competent in my advice about Crypts.
I've kept Crypts for close to 30 Years. Some of my blooms are on the
Crypt's pages.

If there is one single thing a new person can do to maintain the tank and
the fish's/plant's health, it's a water change.
Large water changes will prevent any NH4/NO2/NO3 from ever becoming an
issue. This goes for non planted tanks, Reef tanks, etc.
It's simpler than plant export of waste. 

Ich?
Heck....name the last time your fish had Ich? I honestly couldn't tell you.
It been decades though.

So if the fish are stressed, why are they not getting it ich? Why are they
breeding?

Sort of like if PO4 causes algae, then where is my algae? 
Large water changes, peat, mulm like substrates seem to work well for Amano.

Can you do with less? Sure. I did not dispute that issue, but you disputed
that what I do does.

I have shown, along with others, that you do not need ____any water
changes_____ at all.  No water changes for 2 years or so(okay, not
forever), the Discus spawned. My fish have spawned as well. I have the
photo's and person that will show as such. I seem to have a command of both
extremes.

Mixing bits of each into one's own method is no great feat if you can do
both extremes. But looking at goals, experiences of each new person, even
the seasoned vet is the key to what goal they might have.
If folks seek to do less water column dosing that is perfectly fine using
the substrate, but no one is adding NO3/NH4/PO4 in any significant amounts
to the substrates.
If you want to add more Zn, Ca, Mn, heck, that's not going to do that much,
might help a bit if you limit things in the water column but why limit
things in the water column at all?

Are you suggesting that it causes algae?
We know that is simply not true. 

I stand by my advice which is very specific for each poster's goal/issue.
I also help the person __all the way_ through the process.

You very simply can export any excesses much easier with that method than
any others unless you want to use plants/macro's which are a good export
also.
If you add less, you can do less water changes, but folks generally need to
figure out how much this range is for a day to day routine, I always
suggest overkill when dealing with algae or plant health. There's nothing
wrong with that type of advice and considering other variables over the
web, I think it is simply quite prudent.
I'd bet a wooden nickel that the methods I suggest will handle and cure
more problems than the other methods.

If you want to discuss methods and set up types, I need to know the goal of
the grower.
If make it easy as possible is the goal, heck, non CO2 has got you beat
hands down.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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