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Pleco PH acclimation
Posted: 30 Jan 2023, 18:21
by AmazonTank
Hi hope everyone is doing well!
I'm moving L397 & L306 babies 1-2+ month to growout tanks.
The PH in both parents tanks are very low and new tanks are normal PH so maybe 5.5-6 with a transfer asap to 7.
Anything special I can do to acclimate better 300X l397 fry
& 100X l306?
Re: Pleco PH acclimation
Posted: 30 Jan 2023, 18:46
by Jools
It's not too risky to move fry at this age to grow them out. It's not too risky to acclimate fry at this age to a neutral pH (over a few days). Doing both is risky - so thinking about how to de-risk it is key.
What sizes are both sets of tanks? Can you set-up the new tanks with water for the parents tanks? Do you need to keep the parents tanks at 5.5?
Cheers,
Jools
Re: Pleco PH acclimation
Posted: 30 Jan 2023, 19:09
by AmazonTank
Hi Jools so nice to hear from you!
Well you answered my question I'll transfer water so it won't be to shocking!
Parents are in 75 gallon tanks and fry are moving to 50 gallon tanks.
The 50's are far from the 75's so will have to work transferring water!
Re: Pleco PH acclimation
Posted: 30 Jan 2023, 19:27
by Jools
Yes, thank you, it is nice to help here! Define far LOL. If less than an hour away:
Set-up the new tank filters (and heaters if you wish) ASAP in the parent's tanks. It will be a mess, but they will all start working with the same water. If you up the water changes for a while it will probably keep the pH up a bit.
Then fill new tanks to 60-75% with parent tank water, hot-swap the filters over and off you go. Should be able to move fish then. Don't restart water changes for a week and, if different water source, maybe do some testing.
HTH,
Jools
Re: Pleco PH acclimation
Posted: 04 Feb 2023, 00:55
by AmazonTank
Hi Jools!
My definition of far was on the other side of my house
Does anyone ever float ice to induce spawning after a water change! My breeding season seems to end when my weather warms up here in Miami, Florida
Re: Pleco PH acclimation
Posted: 04 Feb 2023, 07:33
by aquaholic
Yes, I use ice in the evening to trigger a spawn the next morning.
Instead of cumbersome water changes, I also boost dissolved oxygen with a home made reactor and oxygen cylinder.
On tetras, I drain 80% water out and do a gradual overnight water change via airline siphon using rain water and a small fistful of rich loam (soil - dirt) high in organic compost. Don't be scared of cloudy muddy tanks.
Re: Pleco PH acclimation
Posted: 05 Feb 2023, 17:37
by AmazonTank
aquaholic wrote: ↑04 Feb 2023, 07:33
Yes, I use ice in the evening to trigger a spawn the next morning.
Instead of cumbersome water changes, I also boost dissolved oxygen with a home made reactor and oxygen cylinder.
On tetras, I drain 80% water out and do a gradual overnight water change via airline siphon using rain water and a small fistful of rich loam (soil - dirt) high in organic compost. Don't be scared of cloudy muddy tanks.
Thanks for the insights your post are always so enlightening!
Now that I have all the fry in 50 gallon growouts I can concentrate more on the parents
Re: Pleco PH acclimation
Posted: 05 Feb 2023, 19:38
by AmazonTank
I wanted to ask how many degrees you would drop your tank I'm thinking of trying tonight a 3 degrees F drop
Re: Pleco PH acclimation
Posted: 18 Feb 2023, 23:20
by aquaholic
Hello, sorry I did not see your query (I turn off all forum notifications).
I use metric units but I suspect your 3 degree F shift is too small. However, it's a great place to start experimenting. Turn up the tank aeration as much as possible too. This will assist cooling and boost dissolved oxygen levels which is why you are adding ice. If you have a tank chiller, this makes accurate temperature changes very simple.
I aim for a 5 degree celcuis shift overnight which depending on ambient room temperature requires a 5kg bag of party ice (small cubes, not a solid block) in a 400 litre tank about two thirds full. Unfortunately I guestimate with experience, sometimes using less than a full bag. The condition and behaviour of fish, volume of water, starting tank temperature will vary. I throw the whole plastic bag into tank, not scattering ice cubes around which slows the rate of melt. If your temperature drop is unsuccessful, wait a couple of days before trying again. Your fish should be well conditioned to improve spawning success.
I looked up a useful formula for your USA units.
"Water volume (in US gallons) / 1,000 x the number of degrees (Fahrenheit) you'd like to cool the water by x 43.75" provides how much ice in pounds.
Taken from:
https://www.aaapoolservice.com/blog/201 ... -pool.aspx
Re: Pleco PH acclimation
Posted: 02 Mar 2023, 03:48
by AmazonTank
Thanks for your excellent message! I love your method since my breeding season is usually over summertime.
aquaholic wrote: ↑18 Feb 2023, 23:20
Hello, sorry I did not see your query (I turn off all forum notifications).
I use metric units but I suspect your 3 degree F shift is too small. However, it's a great place to start experimenting. Turn up the tank aeration as much as possible too. This will assist cooling and boost dissolved oxygen levels which is why you are adding ice. If you have a tank chiller, this makes accurate temperature changes very simple.
I aim for a 5 degree celcuis shift overnight which depending on ambient room temperature requires a 5kg bag of party ice (small cubes, not a solid block) in a 400 litre tank about two thirds full. Unfortunately I guestimate with experience, sometimes using less than a full bag. The condition and behaviour of fish, volume of water, starting tank temperature will vary. I throw the whole plastic bag into tank, not scattering ice cubes around which slows the rate of melt. If your temperature drop is unsuccessful, wait a couple of days before trying again. Your fish should be well conditioned to improve spawning success.
I looked up a useful formula for your USA units.
"Water volume (in US gallons) / 1,000 x the number of degrees (Fahrenheit) you'd like to cool the water by x 43.75" provides how much ice in pounds.
Taken from:
https://www.aaapoolservice.com/blog/201 ... -pool.aspx
