I am back!! Six new Cuipeuas from Mark/WB Sabby

[DiscusBR]

Mauro, is this the third formalin treatment with the Uatuma in the tank?

Yes

Also remember water quality issues could also trigger the scratching behavior. Are you keeping up with water parameters and testing during the formalin treatments?

I have not been testing the water parameters because I have been doing daily 60% WCs. I will test the water tomorrow just before the WC to make sure I don't have ammonia, nitrite or high nitrate.

Mauro,

do you use any water treatments for your water? Dechlorinators?

al

I treat the water with Prime right before the WC.

[brewmaster15]

Mauro, thats probably why this issue is ongoing. PP definetly interacts with dechlors and formalin most likely does as well. Im guessing you probably neutralized the PP before it was entirely effective..same for the formalin.

Al

[DiscusBR]

So I tested the parameters right before the daily 60% WC: PH 7.4, ammonia zero, nitrite zero, nitrate 5.0 ppm. Nothing seems to be wrong with the water parameters.

Mauro, thats probably why this issue is ongoing. PP definetly interacts with dechlors and formalin most likely does as well. Im guessing you probably neutralized the PP before it was entirely effective..same for the formalin.

Al

Thank you Al. I knew that Prime neutralizes PP, so before the PP treatments this is what I did. I use a mix of 28% tap water / 72% RO water. To make sure that I would not introduce any chlorine in the tank, I used half a dose of API tap conditioner, not Prime, in the WC container. I assumed that a regular tap conditioner in half dose would not neutralize PP. Am I wrong? How to you take chlorine out of the water used for WCs during a PP treatment?

Now, I had no idea that Prime also neutralizes formalin. I have been using a full dose of Prime to treat the water for WCs. What do I need to do to make sure I do not introduce chlorine in the tank during treatments with PP or formalin?

[brewmaster15]

PP and Formalin are very reactive.... You can test whether the API tap conditioner neutralize the PP.. my guess is it does..Take some water, add some APi Conditioner and add a drop or two of your stock PP solution. IF it turns brown its reacting... If it stays pink for several hours its probably okay.

Your best bet is to use straight RO and reconstitute with something like R/o right. You can also filter thru carbon if its just chlorine and aerate well.

al

[DiscusBR]

PP and Formalin are very reactive.... You can test whether the API tap conditioner neutralize the PP.. my guess is it does..Take some water, add some APi Conditioner and add a drop or two of your stock PP solution. IF it turns brown its reacting... If it stays pink for several hours its probably okay.

Thank you, Al. When I did the PP treatment the water stayed pink for about 1.5 hour and I redosed after that. I assume PP was not neutralized by the API conditioner. I am not planning to treat with PP again any time soon.

Your best bet is to use straight RO and reconstitute with something like R/o right.

That is a possibility, but I did not want to mess up with the water, especially after getting one spawn and another pair forming.

You can also filter thru carbon if its just chlorine and aerate well.

al

That is a possibility. But how do people treat their fish and keep up with daily WCs from tap water?

[jimg]

with the amount of tap you use there is no reason to need to dechlor.

[zchauvin]

Mauro, I forgot that you are now staying in New Orleans. I travel to Laplace ( about twenty minutes away) every other weekend. Perhaps we could meet some time!

[DiscusBR]

with the amount of tap you use there is no reason to need to dechlor.

Thank you, Jim. I have doing WCs with no Prime or conditioner and the fish were fine. So I restarted the formalin treatment. Today I did the second round of formalin.

Mauro, I forgot that you are now staying in New Orleans. I travel to Laplace ( about twenty minutes away) every other weekend. Perhaps we could meet some time!

It would be a pleasure to meet. PM sent.

So, came home tonight to find a few eggs in the driftwood. It appears the pair spawn again today and ate most of the eggs. This is impressive because few days ago the Cuipeua in the pair was not doing well, getting quite dark. But today she was attending the few eggs left with good colors.

[brewmaster15]

Hope it continues to improve Mauro!
Al

[zchauvin]

Had a great visit with Mauro today, fish look great regardless of the treatment. Didn't get to see any spawning action unfortunately but it was a pleasure. Pictures do no justice for his fish, they are stunning to say the least.

[DiscusBR]

Hi Zach, it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope to see you again soon. I am glad you enjoyed the fish.

[Second Hand Pat]

Cool you two were able to get to meet. It is always fun meeting a fellow SD member
Pat

[DiscusBR]

Cool you two were able to get to meet. It is always fun meeting a fellow SD member
Pat

Exactly! I had a great time and conversation. I hope I will come to NADA next year to meet more members of the SD gang.

[Second Hand Pat]

Exactly! I had a great time and conversation. I hope I will come to NADA next year to meet more members of the SD gang.

Hope you will to Mauro. I promise you will have a blast
Pat

[brewmaster15]

Nice you guys got to meet.Its one of the things I like best about SD...the chance to meet up with great people of similar interests..priceless in a hobby.
al