Tatia Musaica breathing question

[allentwnguy]

Any Musaica keepers... Just a simple question. I've had these wood cats (I have 2 pair) for a few weeks now. After putting them in their tank I noticed their breathing was quite fast, what I would say was stress in other fish. A couple of days later it was still at that rapid pace. Trying not to do a panic change I gave them more time. I did lower the ph from just over 7 to about 6.5 over the course of a week. TDS is 215 and temp is 75. They are kept in a 10 gallon tank with a Fluval C2 providing filtering and current flow. There are stones, several nice driftwood pieces with nooks and crannies just the right size for wood cats (I've kept perugiae for several years now and have had a few successful spawns). They eat like typical wood cat slobs!

Any information on their breathing habits would be appreciated.

[bekateen]

Hi allentwnguy,

I've never kept

Tatia musaica

, but I have

Tatia orca

, and they're very similar. They do breathe fast. Give them an airstone to improve oxygenation and/or a powerhead with a venturi. My orcas were pretty oblivious to pH and TDS as long as they were near neutral pH (mine fluctuated from 6 to 7.5, all good) and TDS 100-300ppm.

These fish do get a few inches long, so a 10 gal tank will probably feel cramped.

I don't know of any people who routinely spawn musaica, but they have been spawned. That said, my orcas have never spawned.

Good luck, Eric