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Malawi fish

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Admin
Post subject: Malawi fish
Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 2:58 pm
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Posts: 11346
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2004 12:16 pm
Location: Millis MA
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Recently I have noticed a color change in my electric yellow, Taiwan reef, Brichardi, and Afra Jalo reef.
I saw nothing wrong in the pictures at all

More specifically, the electric yellow has a lot of rusty color around its whole body, the Taiwan reef has lost color on the top of its head and its body is more dark with some rusty color, the Brichardi has some rusty color around its mouth, and my Afra Jalo reef have lost color on the bottom of its mouth.
I saw no rust color
If you are worried about it use Cupramine
a copper based anti parasite medicine
we have it here at Uncle Ned's

Any advice? My tank is a 55 gallon with two 70 gallon fluval filters. I have aquarium salt
aquarium salt is sodium chloride (table salt) there is almost none in the lakes

My water parameters are nitrate 80,
fine
nitrite 0, pH 8.0, carbonate hardness 240, and general hardness 180.
fine, fine, fine, fine

I don't know the ammonia level.
it is zero which is fine

I do weekly water changes of 25%.
good, more is better but that's fine

It appears my nitrate levels are too high, as I will do daily 25% water changes until my nitrates are below 20ppm.
you may never get it below 20, nitrAte is not toxic anyway ... nitIte IS.

Once established, I will do 50% water changes once a week to maintain a nitrate level below 20ppm.
below 20 is almost impossible, if you are concerned you can use Purigen, we have it here at Uncle Ned's
but 80 ppm nitrAte is normal

Also, a lot of people on this forum have said to avoid using brackish salt during water changes? I was under the impression that malawi cichlids are brackish fish and require lake salt to promote gill function as well as bring out their color. Let me know what you think!

here's the thing with the salt
"Brackish" water is where a river meets an ocean, fish like archers and puffers live there, it's half sea water

the African Rift Lakes are not brackish, but they are hard and alkaline, so the best stuff to use is the proper Lake buffers (use only 30% of what the directions say, because they are too strong)
and Lake "salts" which are many minerals, but NOT sodium chloride
... we have the buffers and "salts" here at Uncle Ned's

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unclenedsfishfactory@gmail.com
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