CanadianCray wrote:
"Such a helpful post from Cray. And even top-posted to break my

newsreader. "


This I don't quite understand, but anyway.

Labidochromis caeruleus (Electric Yellow) likes hard alkaline water around
76-82 degrees with a ph of at least 8 but preferably 8.2. It is really not a
good idea to play around with a fish's PH. Most people don't understand how
PH scale works. The pH scale runs from 0 (acidic) to 14 (alkaline), with
neutral pH 7 in the middle. The pH scale is logarithmic, which means, for
example, that pH 5 is ten times more acidic than pH 6. So by taking a fish
that likes 8.2 & placing it in a tank with a Ph of 7 or 7.5 you are
basically placing it in water that is 10X more acidic than they are supposed
to be in. How would you like that. Also in the wild they live between 6 to
120 feet where they feed on mostly insects & snails. So feeding them a
traditional tropical fish diet is not great.

I did not mean to sound crass before but I think people should provide the
proper environment for their fish if they are going to keep them.


The tradition on usenet is to post at the bottom of the previous
message. It happens that some newsreaders don't even handle messages
posted above the previous one very well. I had to cut and paste by hand
into Thunderbird to reply to your previous post.

First, one has to ask what the proper environment is for a tank-raised
fish that is probably many generations away from the wild fish. That
fish may have been tapwater pH for all its life - there's no way of
knowing. As for diet, I bet that Larry's fish was raised on prepared
foods. Insects and snails as a natural diet means it can be kept on a
normal or high-protein flake with maybe freeze-dried or frozen
bloodworms as a treat. Tetras, rams and keyholes will do fine on a
similar diet.

As for pH, fish can adapt pretty well to changes. Yes, there are
10-fold changes for each step on the scale, but near neutrality you're
talking about a shift in protons from 10^-7 M to 10^-8 M. There are
many other things in tankwater that can mess with a fish faster than pH
in the range of about 6.5-8.

Now, I'm with you that fish kept at pH ranges, temperature, hardness,
etc. near what they are found in in the wild can live longer and stay
healthier. However, I've read a million stories on this NG of fish
thriving and even breeding in conditions you would never think could
possibly work. Also, the rift lakes are unusual in their stability.
Most streams and rivers where FW fish are found vary seasonally in
hardness, pH, temperature, food availability, and probably a half-dozen
things I haven't even though of.

Anyway, once someone has purchased a fish and has it in the tank, I
believe that providing concrete suggestions for the particular situation
in the tank is the most help in improving fishkeepers' skill and fishes
lives. Thus, my reaction to your first post.

--
__ Elaine T __
__' http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__