Keep losing chocoalte gourami

[m.dekort]

I float for 1/2 hr - slowly mixing water
ph 6.5
temp 78
no water issues

cardinals, clown loaches and other gouramis do well

the chocolates do well for a couple days and then die quickly

I had 2 other chocolates for 8 months - they died while I was on vacation

[NetMax]

"m.dekort" > wrote in message
...
> I float for 1/2 hr - slowly mixing water
> ph 6.5
> temp 78
> no water issues
>
> cardinals, clown loaches and other gouramis do well
>
> the chocolates do well for a couple days and then die quickly
>
> I had 2 other chocolates for 8 months - they died while I was on
vacation

Check the parameters of the water they came in. Many LFS don't know how
to handle choc.gouramis and they die later from the earlier shock. I
keep mine in two tanks, one at 76F, 7.7pH, 0 NO3 and another more
appropriate 77F, 6.8pH, but some NO3. The first tank is on an automatic
water changer, so the pH always creeps back up to 7.7. The choc. were
there for almost a year before I moved them to a more prominent location
and they all sold. Try to match pH (not necessarily making the pH ideal)
and watch for nitrate shock. I think they might be more susceptible to
the NO3 shock than the bad pH. You already know about their feeding and
tank-mate requirements. Good luck with your next batch.

NetMax