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Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 10:02 am
by eieio
Smashtoad wrote:

I am only doing 35 - 40% water changes about every other month; my ammonia and nitrites are zero...and nitrates are very low as well. With puffers, IMO, it's all about your level of biological filtration.
WRONG!
the test kits we commonly use are only a yardstick for water quality analysis
there are probably many toxins & pollutants that we as hobbyists cannot measure
not to mention the benefits of a change of fresh water on a regular frequent basis, especially in the case of a smaller-than-desirable tank
do you let your dog drink the slime from the bottom of it's water bowl, or do you wash the bowl and refill it with fresh water? :o

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 1:35 pm
by bertie 83
35- 40 % waterchanges are good to brag about if you do multiples of these weekly. Not every other month, I want my fish to live as long as they can. I am afraid yours will not live their full expected life if minimum is done to keep the fish healthy.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 9:03 pm
by Terrance
I'm a huge fan of meeting minimum requirement and providing the best water quality as possible. Its not fun to push a fish to its limit. Interesting to know that tankmates are still alive.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2012 1:12 pm
by Smashtoad
First off, when you're wrong you're wrong, and I was wrong. Even a well fed Joey is the picture of patience, and at the time of this writing there is only one SAE left. Secondly...the quote below probably wouldn't have bothered me as much if it were not for the snide rolling eyes emoticon, but since you used it, please allow me to respond:
eieio wrote:
Smashtoad wrote:

I am only doing 35 - 40% water changes about every other month
ever go for a swim in your toilet? :roll:
Ever go for a swim in your toliet...that's cute. Did you stop to read that my ammonia and nitrites are zero, and nitrates are also very low? Did you read my comment about biological filtration? Do you know what those things are? And if you do, why would you write something so stupid?

It is stupid because, put simply, my water quality is fabulous. Let me repeat that...fabulous. So for you to bash my maintenance regime, complete with the cute little rolling eye emoticon...is stupid.

It is also dumb...and there is a difference. It is dumb because you display an inherent lack of knowledge of the nitrification cycle when you compare my tank to a toilet. My level of nitrifiers is off the chart, and I am housing one small cyprinid and a miurus in almost 30 gallons of water. 30 gallons of water that also houses several specimens of two different species of Anubias, which inhale extra nitrates. The tank is in great shape.

So, before you decide to insult someone's husbandry techniques, which seems to be some kind of sport on these forums, you might want to consider that you don't know everything, because no one does. We can all learn, and what you learned today is that tanks with very low stocking levels and great capacity for biological filtration don't have to have obsessive water change schedules. You're welcome.

The person you insult might also just have a couple of decades more experience than you as an aquarist, and may also have a few extra minutes on a Saturday afternoon to take the time to logically eviscerate your insult. Sorry to go overboard, but this kind of crap is why I rarely use forums anymore...20 something elitists than know about 24% as much as they think they do. Later.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:14 pm
by bertie 83
Whilst your water params are good we can only measure certain trace elements. Sometimes statements are not meant as harsh as they come accross but perhaps should not be said. We are not elitists we are just totally obsessed and passionate about our fish and fish care in general, not saying you are not. We do follow minimum practices of 50% weekly water changes which not everyone will think us necessary but we air on the side of caution, I would change 50% water daily if I could. Lol.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 1:09 pm
by Mirrorpad
Smashtoad wrote:First off, when you're wrong you're wrong, and I was wrong. Even a well fed Joey is the picture of patience, and at the time of this writing there is only one SAE left. Secondly...the quote below probably wouldn't have bothered me as much if it were not for the snide rolling eyes emoticon, but since you used it, please allow me to respond:
eieio wrote:
Smashtoad wrote:

I am only doing 35 - 40% water changes about every other month
ever go for a swim in your toilet? :roll:
Ever go for a swim in your toliet...that's cute. Did you stop to read that my ammonia and nitrites are zero, and nitrates are also very low? Did you read my comment about biological filtration? Do you know what those things are? And if you do, why would you write something so stupid?

It is stupid because, put simply, my water quality is fabulous. Let me repeat that...fabulous. So for you to bash my maintenance regime, complete with the cute little rolling eye emoticon...is stupid.

It is also dumb...and there is a difference. It is dumb because you display an inherent lack of knowledge of the nitrification cycle when you compare my tank to a toilet. My level of nitrifiers is off the chart, and I am housing one small cyprinid and a miurus in almost 30 gallons of water. 30 gallons of water that also houses several specimens of two different species of Anubias, which inhale extra nitrates. The tank is in great shape.

So, before you decide to insult someone's husbandry techniques, which seems to be some kind of sport on these forums, you might want to consider that you don't know everything, because no one does. We can all learn, and what you learned today is that tanks with very low stocking levels and great capacity for biological filtration don't have to have obsessive water change schedules. You're welcome.

The person you insult might also just have a couple of decades more experience than you as an aquarist, and may also have a few extra minutes on a Saturday afternoon to take the time to logically eviscerate your insult. Sorry to go overboard, but this kind of crap is why I rarely use forums anymore...20 something elitists than know about 24% as much as they think they do. Later.
+1 to Smashtoad.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:33 pm
by Pufferpunk
And don't ask me for my tank size!
That would be my very 1st question. This is my forum. If you don't like the way folks are passionate about pufferkeeping, you are welcome to go elsewhere.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:49 pm
by Mirrorpad
ssdfg egre

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:55 pm
by Pufferpunk
I'm not sure where you'd go for better advice than you'd find here. If you're just here to laugh at us & cause trouble, I'd be happy to ban you from the site.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:58 pm
by Mirrorpad
wetwebmedia.com for the advice as per your question.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:40 pm
by Pufferpunk
I was on their Crew for 5 years. I sent many people over there that now answer the puffer questions. Traveled to Egypt with Bob Fenner for being on their Crew. Great trip & all paid for by WWM. He often asked me to go on the lecture circuit with him.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:32 pm
by Mirrorpad
Yeah. I've read your replies during my research period. Neale does a lot of the puffer questions now. As you will probably know.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:41 pm
by Pufferpunk
Yep, I sent him & Marco over there, as I got tired of correcting, spelling, punctuation & capitalization of all the letters, before even responding. 4 years was enough of that... Both are Mentors here though.

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:32 pm
by RTR
I always enjoy threads from folks who consider nitrification to be the only significant thing going on in semi-closed systems. I especially enjoy it when they avow that their water quality is "fabulous" on the basis on ammoni, nitrite and nitrate alone. I enjoy those because most of such tanks which I have physically seen and tested myself were in advanced OTS, old tank syndrome, with DOCs through the roof to the level where foam fractionators would actually work on them.

So, some questions about the fabulous parameters:

What is the GH, KH, & pH of the tank?

What is the GH, KH, and pH of the make-up water?

Re: Tankmates for Congo

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 12:09 am
by Terrance
I think we need to be better at explaining things to all members since we carry the special knowledge and not everyone know or understand some of our knowledge. First time going into this hobby was very difficult for me. I remember PMing RTR (thank you) with many specific questions since I had a feeling of insecurity about posting questions. That feeling led me to many hours of researching about the stuff I needed to know or wanted to know out of curiosity (which was really really good for me). I think its a privilege to help another member in need if they have questions or seem misguided. Sometimes I don't see the respect from members - the same respect I see everyday from everybody in every community I surround myself in. IMHO there is no right or wrong way, just a better way of doing certain things in this hobby than others ways.