| Water Quality |
| Wild angelfish come from rivers in South America where the water is slightly acid and soft. Domestic angelfish have adapted quite well to various water conditions found through out the world. From acid to alkaline, from soft to hard This section will mainly deal with simple definitions of some of the more common things we test for to determine the quality of our water supply. It will also cover the nitrification process (breaking in a new tank) and some general maintenance information to help you maintain optimum water quality. pH For simple purposes pH is the measure of acidity or alkalinity. A pH value of 7 is nuetral. Lower values represent acidity and higher values represent alkaline levels. For the most part angelfish can be hatched, raised and bred in a very broad range of pH. Most of the problems regarding pH and angelfish keeping result from sudden changes in the pH values. Any sudden changes in pH can be lethal in angelfish. Many water supplies have fluctuations in pH values. A great example is New Berlin, WI the city we live in. The city's water supply comes from 8 wells located in different parts of the city. The city runs 6 of these wells at a time leaving 2 for replenishing, maintenance and emergencies. The pH fluctuates between values of 7.4 to 7.8. In addition, after the water sits in the aquarium for 24 hours the pH rises to 8.2. When people say "I changed my water yesterday and all of my fish are dead today". The cause could be a rapid change in pH. Angelfish can easily tolerate pH changes at a rate of 2/10ths per hour. Healthy non stressed fish will probably tolerate quicker pH shifts. Hardness Hardness is simply the amount of dissolved salts in the water, more specifically calcium and magnesium. It can be tested for as GH and KH. Unless you are trying to breed wilds or cultivate plants it isn't really an issue other than to say angels and plants prefer medium to medium soft water. Chlorine Chlorine is added to most water supplies to reduce the growth of bacteria. More is generally added in warmer months. Even small amounts of it can kill your fish. It can be removed by letting the water sit for 24 hours or adding a dechlorinater to your water. Sometimes chloramine is used instead or added to the chlorine. The only product that I am aware of that removes chloramine effectively is Amquel. There may be others I am not aware of. The nitrogen cycle (breaking in a new tank) Ammonia Any uneaten food, fish wastes and other decaying organic matter adds ammonia to the water. Even at low levels it will increase the breathing rate of fish by irritating gill tissues. At higher levels it becomes very toxic and can kill your fish as well as causing other problems down the road. In established tanks the ammonia can be removed by doing a water change or adding Amquel. I recommend doing both. The cause for this in an established tank is over feeding, over crowding or both. Other causes could be filter failures or power outages. In newly established tanks cloudy water will often accompany elevated ammonia levels. The clowdy water is bacteria trying to establish itself. Only enough water should be changed to reduce the stress in the fish. Otherwise you will interfere with the bacteria trying to establish itself and prolong the process. Nitrite Oxygen needing bacteria convert the ammonia to nitrite. Nitrite is not as toxic as ammonia but in higher levels can destroy the hemoglobin in the blood of fish causing death. Nitrate Another wave of oxygen needing bacteria convert the nitrite to nitrate. Nitrate is the least toxic of the 3. In higher levels it can cause stress, encourage desease and cause stunting. Live plants and algae use some of the nitrates but regular water changes are most effective. Anytime the nitrate level reaches 50 ppm or more a water change is in order. I try to keep mine below 20 ppm. Some water supplies contain nitrates. Doing changes with this water is not effective. Reverse osmosis or dionization units become necessary if this is the case. Additives must be added to the R O or DI water to restore some of the electrolytes and minerals that your fish require. . |
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