I need all the help I can get... Please! I have a chocolate Gourami...

[siymdapolio]

And i need to get this guys conditions up to par! This guy did not look great at the lfs and he has brightened up in my tank but still the readings on the net are scary! everyone says they die on the,....

Please everybody help me out!

Ammonia is 0 ppm
Nitrite is 0 ppm
Nitrate is 8 ppm

Ph is neutral 7.2 and i have read they need it around 6 - 6.9
Temp is a stable 81
Sorry i posted thread before got the post done

[smaug]

Whats up with him?He is faded,fins clamped,hiding at the bottom?Im sure the ph is ok.7.2 isnt bad at all.

[siymdapolio]

No! not that i know. He his doing his own thing and exploring and good color but i am nervous because everybody on the net say its very hard to care for this fish and have a huge death rate!

I am scared:14: :11: I get to attached to these buggers immedietly!

[siymdapolio]

I have ph down but I want to know the best way to take it down slowly specially with such a sensitive fish like the chocolate gourami... The alkalinity is good so ph should be able to be stable

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Chocolate Gouramis have terrible tank records. For some reason they do not deal well with captivity. They are one species of fish I would personally leave at the store.

[siymdapolio]

I know thats why i am trying to get as much help as possible :scry::scry:
I didnt know before i bought it, he looks better compared at the lfs but I feeel i have done a terrible mistake

[Drumachine09]

Why is your temp up so high?

[Fishalicious]

I have had them and they do fine... mine all lived to good old ages... don't play around with the PH too much as it is better for them if it is stable rather than unstable. Feed them well and just care for them as you would your other fish (with love) and they will be fine :19: :19:

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Probably not a terrible mistake. That fish has a better chance in your tank then it did at the store.

What's your pH like? They do best in water that is 4.0-6.0 and they are omnivores. However as Fishalicious mentioned, don't play with your pH

[smaug]

I have ph down but I want to know the best way to take it down slowly specially with such a sensitive fish like the chocolate gourami... The alkalinity is good so ph should be able to be stable
No,you dont need any ph help.7.2 is fine with any FW fish.If they are such a fragile fish the last thing to do is mess with ph.And this is coming from a guy who messes with his ph LOL.

[siymdapolio]

Why is your temp up so high?
They prefer temps this high drummachine if my readings are correct. I acclimated him over a 45- an hour period. They prefer temps 77-82 I am now starting to turn it down to 80. Very slowly ....

I have had them and they do fine... mine all lived to good old ages... don't play around with the PH too much as it is better for them if it is stable rather than unstable. Feed them well and just care for them as you would your other fish (with love) and they will be fine :19: :19:
Thank you so much fishalicious!! IAppreciate the support! I will take as much care of him as i can! I bought some baby brine shrimp today and actually got them for free because at the lfs i didnt have a dollar so he gave it to me lol. anyways HE LOVED THEM!!! WOOT!! That makes me feel better and he his still going at them.
Probably not a terrible mistake. That fish has a better chance in your tank then it did at the store.

What's your pH like? They do best in water that is 4.0-6.0 and they are omnivores. However as Fishalicious mentioned, don't play with your pH

I have read this ILMGB but i am not going to try to mess with ph right now. He seems to be doing well. The only thing i am considering being such a shy fish is should i cover up all the sides of the aqurium with background and leave the front open??

No,you dont need any ph help.7.2 is fine with any FW fish.If they are such a fragile fish the last thing to do is mess with ph.And this is coming from a guy who messes with his ph LOL.

Thanks smaug that is what i was thinking but wanted to know the ratio of adding ph down to not give your fish ph shock... He seems ok but loves to go up and down the glass is this normal?

[smaug]

My angel has been doing that for a year and half!As for ratio?I dont know,I dont use ph down,I use acid buffer.But if you do change your ph,dont do it by more the .1-.2 per 24hr period.The instructions on the product should give some info.

[Fishalicious]

The swimming up and down the glas is normal for a new fish getting used to it's new settings... they really love heavily planted tanks and some floating plants seeing they are at the top quite a lot :1luvu:

I wouldn't change the PH more than 0.5 (so 7.2 to 7.150 to 7.1 etc.) per day if you are going to try and lower it but I would leave it at 7.2 - it is pretty neutral

Good Luck to the little guy and you xxx

[siymdapolio]

My angel has been doing that for a year and half!As for ratio?I dont know,I dont use ph down,I use acid buffer.But if you do change your ph,dont do it by more the .1-.2 per 24hr period.The instructions on the product should give some info.
Allright sounds good, thanks smaug!. I am glad that is normal. Thats the problem is that the ph down just says to add 2 drops per gallon or something and nothing about how fast it will change so i am sketched out to do it you know

The swimming up and down the glas is normal for a new fish getting used to it's new settings... they really love heavily planted tanks and some floating plants seeing they are at the top quite a lot

I wouldn't change the PH more than 0.5 (so 7.2 to 7.150 to 7.1 etc.) per day if you are going to try and lower it but I would leave it at 7.2 - it is pretty neutral

Good Luck to the little guy and you xxx

Thanks so much Fishalicious I have some plants but they dont do all that great in my tank its .68 wpg I have such a crappy light! I will not mess with the ph and I am actually going to call the Eugene water and electric and ask them the exact ph of the water here.
the problem is the instructions have nothing about ph shock just warns you... and says to add 2 drops per gallon or something.

[smaug]

The one bottle I had in the past saif that the prescribed dose would lower ph by X amount.I wouldnt use the stuff if that is all the info it gives.

[siymdapolio]

Hmmm i will !check it out thanks for all the help guys!

[sailor]

I wouldn't mess with chemicals to lower your ph at all, it just leads to stress, head aches and fish that are not happy. Put a couple of peices of a hard drift wood such as mopani or malaysian and let that do its job. It won't lower it alot but it will be slow and stable. You can also mix RO water in with your tap water at your water changes. Don't mess with the chemical crap. The stability of your ph is more important than the actual number.

[siymdapolio]

I wouldn't mess with chemicals to lower your ph at all, it just leads to stress, head aches and fish that are not happy. Put a couple of peices of a hard drift wood such as mopani or malaysian and let that do its job. It won't lower it alot but it will be slow and stable. You can also mix RO water in with your tap water at your water changes. Don't mess with the chemical crap. The stability of your ph is more important than the actual number.
Thanks sailor I know about this. I dont want to be using these chemicals I would rather do it by adding organic material for instance wood! The ph is very stable in my tank and I know it wont fluctuate or move.

Thanks I will be saving up some money to buy a good center peice then, My lfs has them but they are pretty exspensive. Is 7 bucks a pound exspensive?>????