wont graze

[schance]

how long will it take my trophs to start grazing? ive had them for about a month and am starting to grow some serious algae. there is plenty of green algae. i feed them once a day in the morning and still no or barley any grazing. could they be just to small? there are no signs of bloat and i have a nice amount of epsom salt in there. any ideas? any more info i should put that might give better explanation?

[eklikewhoa]

They must be broken.

[geoff_tropheus]

Just curious what do you consider is a good amount of epson salt?

The grazing thing is a huge part of their nature, so not sure why? Maybee their just full from the once a day feeding..hmmm...probably not.

I see small fry grazing around on rocks time to time.

I guess it does not taste good to them or something..

Sorry I really dont have a better answer. Try starving them a day?

[schance]

nope, tried duck tape and nothing so there not broken

[schance]

5 gallon-tbl spoon
ill try the starving thing
thanks

[jeebus]

lol... check your warranty.

No, seriously.. My trophs grazed "right out of the box". I figured it was genetic, so I never really thought much about it.

Are they wild caught or F1?

I do a tablespoon for every 10 gallons. Geoff, Ek, anyone, how much is too much?

[cichlid1409]

beat them, like EK.

[geoff_tropheus]

I dont use epson salt. I use it if they are sick only.

People do use it as preventative for bloat becuase of its renown effect as a laxative.

It is also used for the treatment of DROPSY. Lots of times people will mis-diagnose DROPSY and call it bloat, which it is not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_Dropsy

The epson salt will raise GH (magnesium hardness) and salinity(increased osmotic function), and help fish expell liquid buildup.

I believe it is most important to maintain KH (carbonate hardness) around 18dH and keep GH atleast 10-12dH for Tangs. Which for Houston Area water, the GH is not a problem whatsoever, but KH is really low in most areas I found around town.

[geoff_tropheus]

AS for too much, you dont want to keep adding it without a waterchange. You do not want to turn the tank brackish for Trophs.

[schance]

they are f1's
im liking the beating them haha

now geoff should i stop using it then? i use a combo of 2/3 epsom and 1/3 regular aquarium salt
i do have limestone in the aquarium for kh.

[geoff_tropheus]

If it is working out for you, then go ahead. I personally think it is not worth the investment.

To keep KH up, you'll need baking soda, or some kind of crushed or sand like limestone or coral or something like that. Using Limestone rocks/boulders will not keep your pH buffered. It needs to be in fine particles that can easily dissolve.

In order to make a limeston boulder to start to dissolve, I believe the pH has to be extremely low like a 4-5. Trophs would be dead below 6.0 We have a geologist in the forum, his name is Chris and his screenmane is SOULJAA if you want to ask him more about that.

One of the things about keeping KH high is that if you miss a couple weekly waterchanges, your pH will still be 7.5 or higher if you have buffered.

If your doing regular weekly waterchanges, then keeping the KH at around 5-7 like most TAP sources are, then you'll not need to buffer with baking soda or something like that.

I use a combination of Seachem Tang Buffer, and Baking Soda to keep over 8.0 between waterchanges.

[schance]

o crap so right now my KH is way low for trophs D@mn !t well for a start i will stay with the salt because they havent died. then ill try to get to dans for some african cichlid substrate. would that and that alone keep it where it needs to be or at least one 20lb bag? if not what should i dose baking soda wise?

[geoff_tropheus]

How often are you planning your waterchanges?

A low KH will not kill them, a low PH if it gets below 6 will.

I think keeping a higher KH at 18dH, will keep your PH from getting below 7.5 even if you go two weeks, possibly even a third with once a day feedings.

[schance]

once sometimes twice a week if i can.

will the cichlid sand from caribsea keep it good if not what should my baking soda dosage be for a 90 gallon

[jeebus]

Geoff, are adding the SeaChem Tang Buffer to once weekly 70% water changes?