P. Altum Angelfish keeping

M

Morledzep

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Aug 19, 2008
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i'm a BIG angelfish fan. i've kept P. Scalares for the last few years and i love them.

now i'm making the big move up to P. Altum and i've found that the rules i know don't apply.

i currently have a 60 gallon tank (wide, not a show tank), with crushed coral and riverrocks as substrate, and a nice sized hunk of driftwood. the only living things in the tank currently are 1/4" or smaller Haustrum snails that i've always successfully kept in my angelfish tanks. Filled with 100% RO/DI water and the filtration is 2 ATI Hydro V foam filters (one seasoned in my other angelfish tank) run off of a single MA 600 air pump.

the current water parameters are as follows after running with a 100% water change for 14 hours:

PH 7.0
Ammonia 0 PPM
Nitrite 0 PPM
Nitrate 10 PPM
TDS 96 PPM.

what else do i need to test for? and what do i need to change to successfully keep P. Altums?
:help:
 
I thought altums liked very soft, low pH water. if that is the case, you're not doing them any good by using crushed coral in the substrate. it dissolves slowly in water, raising both the pH and the hardness. if you are using 100% RO/DI, you also need to use a mineral replacer, which is not the same as just having the crushed coral in there.
 
:iagree:
you can use ro/di water but you will need to buffer it. usually using a buffer mix like a discus buffer.
Altums usually require serious maintenance until they get accustomed to the tanks.
let me know if you find a good source.
I find online you may find angels listed as altums but they are scalare.
 
I agree w/the above...get rid of the crushed coral and you need to add minerals back in if you're using 100% RO/DI water. You could mix the RO/DI with tap water or add a mineral replacer/buffer as suggested.
 
lucy42083 said:
I agree w/the above...get rid of the crushed coral and you need to add minerals back in if you're using 100% RO/DI water. You could mix the RO/DI with tap water or add a mineral replacer/buffer as suggested.
Click to expand...

we initially used tap water in the tanks.. and had terrible ammonia spikes. we did water change after water change to get the ammonia down.. and nothing worked. then my (now ex) hubby thought to test the source water. And come to find out the ammonia problem was from the tap water. i won't put my fish in it, and i can't bring myself to drink it anymore.

we started buying water at the local water store until we set up our own RO/DI filter. And now i have two filter set ups, one in the back yard that we hook up to the back yard faucet and one in the kitchen for our drinking water.

i will be testing the water in the 60 gallon tank again in a little bit, i'll post the results.

thanks for your input.

Catherine:rolleyes:
 
while using water with ammonia already in it (how much, by the way?) will increase overall nitrates, it isn't really a big problem for the fish as long as you use something that "neutralizes" the ammonia before it enters the tank. Prime (a dechlorinator) binds any free ammonia into a nontoxic form so that the bacteria can process it but it is not harmful to the fish. Basically, it puts each molecule of ammonia into a safety bubble. Since the ammonia is still available to the bacteria, you cycle not only continues, but the bacterial colonies increase a little bit to be able to handle the ammonia that is being added.
 
ok.. i was running out of time yesterday.. so i didn't get to post the second water test results.

they were as follows:

ammonia 0 PPM
nitrite 0 PPM
nitrate 5 PPM
PH 7.0
TDS 115

and some of the water has evaporated since the first test is probably the reason for the slightly higher TDS readings. i'll put another 5 gal bottle of the RO/DI water in tonight and do another water test on Friday night.

i'll be driving out to pick up the P. Altum angelfish Saturday afternoon.
 
Last edited:
wataugachicken said:
while using water with ammonia already in it (how much, by the way?) will increase overall nitrates, it isn't really a big problem for the fish as long as you use something that "neutralizes" the ammonia before it enters the tank. Prime (a dechlorinator) binds any free ammonia into a nontoxic form so that the bacteria can process it but it is not harmful to the fish. Basically, it puts each molecule of ammonia into a safety bubble. Since the ammonia is still available to the bacteria, you cycle not only continues, but the bacterial colonies increase a little bit to be able to handle the ammonia that is being added.
Click to expand...


i do NOT use the tap water with the ammonia problem anymore. i use ONLY RO/DI water. At first i was buying from a water store, but i now have 2 RO/DI filter setups at my house, one in the backyard and one under my kitchen sink.

i did forget to ask if there is anything else i should be testing for? anything that i can buy a test kit or a meter for that is important for P. Altum angelfish?
 
Please, do not use pure RO/DI water unless doing large daily water changes.
pure RO/DI water will not have any buffers and will not be stable.
RO/DI when properly set up will remove all but a trace minerals.
You will need to add back some buffers(like discus buffer, amazon buffer etc)
 
if you keep the tank the way it is, your fish are not going to be happy. you CAN NOT use pure RO/DI water. it is not safe. add that and crushed coral, and your fish are going to be swimming in calcium soup. it would be better to mix it with the tap water and not worry about the ammonia because you can neutralize it.

is the tank even cycled beyond the bioload of the snails? how do you plan on changing large amounts of water if you do actually go through a fish cycle? how much water can your RO filters make every day?
 
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