RD.

http://www.epcor.com/water/reports-edmonton/Pages/wq-daily.aspx?cid=1 According to EPCOR's analysis, in the period between Jan 09 - 15, the maximum chloramine residual in any Edmonton tap water was 2.07.

Probably, maybe, might be? It would be nice to know. Also, for this purpose the Seachem Multi Test kit is plenty accurate enough when it comes to testing for free ammonia (NH3). FYI - typically the water leaving the EPCOR plant in Edmonton is the same as here in RD, 2 mg/l chloramine. Not saying that something hasn't changed recently at EPCOR, but without knowing what kind of test kit was used, and what type of ammonia was found at 1.0 ppm I certainly wouldn't be getting too excited about any of this.

It's a simple enough question - what test kit are they using to test for "free" ammonia?

BTW - testing for total ammonia, is not the same as testing for free ammonia. Only the latter is of concern to the health of your fish, so if the 1.0 ppm "toxic" ammonia level came from a total ammonia reading using a standard test kit, everyone can relax. People manage to wipe out their tanks on a regular basis, and it is seldom due to an ammonia spike in the tap water.

According to the head honcho at the RD water treatment facility, the chloramine level is constant year round @ 2 mg/l. (2 ppm) The tests that I have performed over the years have confirmed that this info is accurate. Generally with chloramine there is really no reason for ammonia levels to be increased during times of turbidity, such as spring run off, or heavy rains. Has anyone actually tested the Edmonton tap water, with a test kit that can accurately test for free ammonia once the chlorine/ammonia bond has been broken with a water conditioner such as Seachem Prime, or Safe - when dosing for 2 ppm? Most aquarium test kits will give a false positive, and are not accurate when testing for residual free ammonia.

While it is true that Safe does not contain stabilizers, as per Dr. Greg Morin, the CEO of Seachem, Safe can be pre-dissolved in water as long as it is used up within approx 30 days.

I would say by the amount that Jay goes through, he's always scoop happy! lol Yes, you can OD your tanks on both Prime and Safe, but it typically takes a LOT to cause harmful affects with ones fish. Both Prime & Safe are reducing agents, so when they have completed reducing the chlorine compounds they will begin reducing other oxidising agents, such as the oxygen in the tank. Just something to keep in mind when you're getting scoop happy. A 4KG container will treat 526,400 gallons of Edmonton or Red Deer water, so for most people a container of that quantity should last several years, or more. If my math is correct, 1 teaspoon of Safe will treat a total of 2500 liters of tap water, or 658 gallons. (Edmonton & RD city) 1/2 teaspoon will treat 329 gallons 1/4 teaspoon will treat 164.5 gallons 1/8 teaspoon will treat 82.25 gallons HTH

I use the little kitchen measuring spoons from the dollar store, but my smallest tank is 90 gallons.

It appears that Seachem has adjusted their dosage rates over the past few years. Not that I'm complaining, The same thing happened to Prime several years ago when their chemists crunched some numbers into a new formula. This is good news, even more bang for the buck. My 4kg container states for chloramine, 5 g (1 teaspoon) to each 950l (250 gallons) of tap water (4ppm) ........ now Seachem has upped that value to 5 g (1 tsp.*) to each 1250 L (300 gallons - actually works out to 329 gallons*) of tap water (removes 4 ppm). Val, key thing to remember is that Edmonton (and Red Deer) chloramine levels are almost bang on 2 ppm (2 mg/l) year round, so you can safely double all of the values listed by Seachem at 4 ppm. As an example, 1 teaspoon of Safe will treat a total of 2500 liters of tap water, or 658 gallons. (Edmonton & RD city) HTH

Looking good!

Nice score Irene! Looks like Bill is going to have to build an addition to the house.

There has been a LOT of confusion caused on forums over the years due to people confusing the harmful effects of copper medication, with the life supporting attributes of the mineral copper when added in trace amounts to fish food. Even Hikari has copper in their shrimp cuisine. http://www.hikari.info/tropical/t_29.html " Contains copper which is necessary for blood regeneration" Often the copper found in fish food is naturally occuring, derived from some of the raw ingredients themselves. Some manufacturers list it as part of the mineral composition on their labels, and some don't, but I doubt that there is a single fish/shrimp food made in the world that is completely void of copper, for the reasons explained in the link that I posted in my previous response.

With regards to copper in food for shrimp, this topic comes up from time to time on various forums and is something that many shrimp owners do not fully understand. In small quantities, copper is an essential element to all life forms, including shrimp. Copper and Aquatic Life http://www.copper.or...ter_health.html

Agreed, not an easy fish to get onto prepared foods, but I do know a number of people that have managed to train their wild caught Mandarins onto NLS pellets. Also, Ora Farms is breeding and raising Mandarins in captivity, and one of the foods they feed their juvies is NLS Small Fish formula. As far as I can tell, Ora is still breeding Blue, Spotted, and Red Mandarins in captivity. Click on the pics in the following link for more info. http://www.orafarm.com/products/fish/dragonets/ HTH

The only NLS that is on sale, is the Finicky Fish formula. (150 g containers)

Sorry to hear that, Val. My guess is that your fish was a gravid female, that became egg bound. Not an uncommon thing with loaches, and in severe cases where the eggs are not expelled, or reabsorbed by the fish it can sometimes result in internal complications and death. The good news is I don't think that you have to worry about your other fish getting sick, IMHO this was not caused by any type of internal pathogen. If by chance you still have the corpse open it up & you'll have your answer.

Walmart used to sell the venturi pumps for waterbeds, which is what that part is.

Smokin! Nice job Bret.

aquabrain is correct, there are a number of potential causes that can trigger a case of HITH. If hexamita is suspected, then the protozoa involved will typically be spironucleus vortens. The safest & most cost effective way to eliminate spironucleus from a fish can be found in the following link. http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=29679 Good luck.

Sorry to hear about your fish. Any time there is a chance of a bacterial infection, you do NOT want to raise the temperature, you want to lower it slightly if anything. Raising the temp will send most bacterial infections into overdrive. While it's anyones guess as to what the primary cause for all of this is, I do believe that the swollen red anus is the sign of a secondary bacterial infection setting in, probably from issues with something that began internally. This has nothing to do with HITH disease, although there has been some connections shown between hexamita/spironucleus flagellates & hole in the head, it's kind of like saying the egg came before the chicken. Using Parasite Clear is a decent option, as the metro/prazi combo will clear up a lot of internal parasites, and the added acriflavine will help fight off any secondary infections. If your fish is still eating, even just a bit, I highly recommend the treatment described in the following link. This will clear up internal pathogens such as hexamita/spironucleus. You can do this in conjunction with your PC treatment. http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=29679 Hope that helps.

Agar-agar is derived from seaweed, gelatin is derived from the collagen of animal skins, bones, and other assorted body parts.

Congrats on the new baby boy, Kyle!

Interesting, considering the fact that for a long time NLS was all Franco fed to the fish in his store. I heard nothing but praise about the quality of the food from both Franco & Linda. It must have taken them a few years to figure out how "dirty" it was? Perhaps Hikari is now giving them a better deal on food? Who knows. Sometimes what a retailer promotes simply boils down to what product is giving them the better profit margin at the end of the day. I can understand that, with todays economy times are tough for a lot of the smaller stores, especially where the competition is fierce such as in Calgary.

See my post in your other thread. IMO switching fish that are already being picky, to a gel food, is going to be a huge step in reverse, and a costly one at that. Especially fish that can max out at 8-10". As long as you keep feeding them foods that they "love", your fish will continue to train you. If you want to get them on to pellets you need to use a little tough lough.

... and therein lies the problem. Your fish have now trained you. If you want your fish to accept pellets you need to stop feeding frozen food & give them some tough love. I have yet to see (or even hear) of a geophagus that cannot be trained to eat pellet foods, and that includes wild caught specimens. Most accept NLS straight away. Don't feed anything for 3 days, then feed sparingly, a little bit each day until your geos realize that's all they are going to get. They will catch on soon enough.