Arowana's in Aquarium fish magazine

[Shane Tesser]

Its kinda funny that here all got into somewhat of a debate about these fish the last week and there is an article on keeping them in the september "Aquarium Fish" magazine!

Sophia, its a really good read, i know you have one so i thought of you immediately...I think Lizzy has one too....but im not worried about her cause i picked it up in her store...and im sure she has seen it lol. If for some strange reason you don't get it in your area Sophia, please let me know and ill mail you a copy.

And can you believe that it answered the p.h. question perfectly. I should have bet money here lol...but i didn't. Ill quote the article if i may. " Because their native water contain stumps, roots, floating plants and all sorts of other decaying organic matter, arowanas prefer slightly acid ph. Somewhere around 6.5 to 6.8 is best, while 7.0 should be the uppermost limit". This was my thinking if you recall originally with the post of the original p.h. question. This is what i was worried about for Sophia's tank, that the water may however the opposite way for a little too long and would cause discomfort for the animal. Sophia, if your reading this, to bring down the water just a few drops on the p.h. scale...i personally would just use some peat. I hope this helps...it will just make your little bad boy more comfortable.....and let me know about the magazine! Thanks, shane.

[Jeff_Favelle]

We use Citric Acid at work for the Koi, but it has no buffering capacity so the pH may not stay down for long. But we do 1/3 water changes every 2 days, so it doesn't really apply to us.

[sophia]

Shane,

I appreciate that a bunch; now to a question... would black water extract work if I can't get the peat? Because, I don't know whether to trust the peat that you can buy in nurseries around here or not...

Is that what you're using in the bales?

Tay

[Shane Tesser]

Yes, black water extract works, problem is you'll probably need quite a bit of it....especially when you get a bigger tank, i think it would be quite costly. I use Hagan brand peat. It comes in two forms....natural...it almost looks like hair...and granual. Hagan is a huge company here in Canada, Im not sure if you get their products your way or not. I have heard of people using peat from garden centres...ive never tried it myself...but perhaps a good local store could suggest where to get it. Just make sure its pure peat...it should be only the stuff pulled out of peat bogs from tropical countries...thats really all the info i ever found when i researched it. Hope this helps, ive you find a peat and your not sure...please ask and ill try and help you. In the meantime...seek out the Hagan brand stuff...it is really high quality...fairly cheap and will easily last three or so months. Shane.

[sophia]

Shane,

We get Hagan here, but I've never seen the peat and I worked in the pet trade invoicing, so maybe they don't offer that product here. Could I possibly use 'peat moss' and put it in unused panty hose and rinse it thouroughly and drop that in the bottom of the tank?

Just wondering

Tay

[Lizzy]

Hmmm...not to sure about the peat moss. You can also buy it in slate form. I use that in my Aqua Clear filters because it is easy to break off a piece that fits the filter basket...no mess! I'll look up the product codes for you the next time I am at work and forward them to you. It should be easy to order...maybe something your store should start carying! Hopefully the Canadian product codes are the same as the American codes.

That article is great! I highly recomend you get the magazine! I read it as soon as the sales rep pulled them out of the box! It's just one of the perks...small perks...of working in a pet store. I can read all the books and magazines without shelling out the cash!

Shane, when are you planning on visiting me? I work every day except sundays and mondays.

Lizzy

[Shane Tesser]

Soon Lizzy, soon, im sorry, ive had a busy summer and ill try my best. This week i work day shift from 6-3:30 and then a quick fifteen minute drive to your store, so ill do my best...if not, maybe Saturday...one way or the other, i promise i will get there. And Sophia...well you get hagan products so thats a good start. And i believe there is quite a difference between pure peat and peat moss...Ive always heard peat moss is not suitable, don't know the exact reason but ill look into it for you. S.t.

[corr]

I just bought it... the cover article is about Firefish! I just set up a 15 gallon FOWLR (fish only with live rock) and it's one of my choices. Bonus I get to read about Arowanas too!

200 gallons! Whoa, I need a bigger house.

[sophia]

Thanks Lizzy and Shane and I would appreciate you looking those codes up for me Lizzy, I no longer work in the trade here, so it may be like pulling teeth to get them to order it at one of the two stores here, but the other carrys a very wide selection of products and is a franchise, so I'll approach them first. I like the idea of the slate, sounds clean and easy! I can also get a copy of the magazine there, I think I'll pop in there in the next day or so and pick one up and take a looksie around at what they've got, I'll let you all know what products I find.

Again, I really appreciate all the help!

Tay

[sophia]

Lizzy,
I managed to get the granular peat today put out by Fluval for their cannisters and it lowered the ph considerably which of course worries me, since I didn't put but 1/2 cup of it in the filter baskets! But I re-stress coated the tank heavily and he seems to be managing fine, his color is back, that's a good thing. Sometime between the time I posted the first quesiton about clouding in the tank and yesterday, the da*** Ph spiked to 7.5 and was reading 7.5 to 7.8 on different tests! This with me cleaning the tank by doing half water changes and vacuuming waste every 4 to 5 days trying to get rid of the clouding!

I am going to try to get a new tank for him at the show if I can get a good price, which the $1 per gallon people are supposed to be at the show, so I should be able to, I'm crossing my fingers and toes and then if we can, it will be about a month before I can get him moved, I want the Oceanic bow front, but I may have to settle on this occasion and choose for lower prices! I was planning on a bottom drilled Oceanic and a Fluval cannister, oh well... so it goes.

I just wanted to let you know that the granules are available and I can buy them in a 10 lb bag for ponds as well for $25, or the bucket for ponds for $16. The only thing I can't get is the darn magazine!!! They don't carry it in my store although I have seen it around and will look for it this weekend.

Thanks to both you and Shane for all the help, he's looking much better.

Tay

[Lizzy]

I'm glad you were able to get the peat. Have you tested the ph of the water that comes out of your tap? Maybe it is why the ph spiked like that seeing as you were doing so many water changes.

Do you have a Chapters book store in your area? I can't remember if it's just a Canadian chain...anyways, they sell the magazine. The ones here do anyways. It's wierd you can't find it in your area since it's an American Fish Magazine!

I love the Oceanic bowfronts aswell. We sell them at my store. I've been drooling over the 90 Gallon for months, but I can't afford to blow $1600.00 on it...not including the filter and stuff.

Lizzy

[sophia]

Lizzy,
Yeah I tested it, but the ****e is registering 7.0 every dang time! I don't get it and the tank is still driving me nutz!

Noppers, we don't have Chapters, we have Borders and Barnes and Noble, but we are planning on going down to PetSmart this weekend to pick up a copy of both Aquarium Fish and Reptiles, we have to drive 35 miles to get good supplies and books around here!!! and yeah, you're right it is weird that we can't get our own magazines!!!

OUCH $1600 for a 90??? OY!!! Have you tried ordering them online to see if you can get a better deal? Man, that's high! Now that's what in American about $800 to $900 American? Here I can get the 75 with filter, stand, canopy, light hood, substrate and thermometer (submersible) for just over $600, do yours come with the stands and canopies, or is that just the price on tank alone?

Tay

[Shane Tesser]

Lizzy, your talking stand and everything for that bow front right? Tay, the peat takes often several weeks to break down. It will eventually bring the water to where it should be, but it does it very gradually. This is the best method so that the poor beauty doesnt go through ph shock! Just be patient...in the meantime if it stays at seven, i wouldnt worry to much....if it shoots a full 1.0 in either direction...start worring. But your water sounds fairly stable to me so i wouldn't worry too much. Perhaps it has moved, and the test kit just isn't sensitive enough!!! Usually those test kits that can detect .01 are really expensive, too expensive, i would personally never spend the money, but then again im cheap lol. You did state earlier that his looks improved...so if he is active, full of colour and eating well, i would say that he is happy with his home and his owner. I have to share as well, i was recently in a store a few weeks back in Buffalo N.y. and saw the most amazing Red Arowana i have ever seen. Im talking unbelievable red....glowing red....one of the most beautiful fish ive ever seen period. Of course i wanted to bring him home....but the owner of the store had kept him as a personal pet for over five years....and needless to say would not part with him for less than $4000.00 USD. I know that sounds steap, but he was so vibrant i would say he was worth every penny....of course, i dont have that many pennies right now, lol, oh well....we can always dream!!!

[Shane Tesser]

Tay!!! before everyone yells at me, what i meant by the ph shooting up a full degree...i meant like over night or so, lol. I hope that makes sense, my fingers go faster than my brain!