Uaru F. Log

[Beetlebug515]

So I brought three uaru f. home yesterday and figured I would share my experience with them over the next few weeks. Especially after reading all of the challenges these fish present. First off, they were picked up from a local fish store here in San Diego for a decent price. Brought them home and drip acclimated for an hour before putting them in my tank. They ate immediately, and have since eaten cucumber, blood worms, krill, and spirulina flakes. I take their fondness for food as a good sign so far. I've subdued the lighting quite a bit, and they have been out and exploring constantly since yesterday. Unfortunately, I think one of the larger ones is infected with ich. Treating my entire 250 is going to be a challenge.

 

[peathenster]

Try romaine lettuce....and get ready for veggie poop

 

[Woefulrelic]

Nice pick up. Do you alter your water at all? I was really worried about the tds of my water when I was considering them. Keep us posted.

 

[Beetlebug515]

The only change I plan on making to the water is adding peat and almond leaves. Shift towards blackwater. I honestly don't think that the high tds would affect them (my tap is about 18dgh), but the lack of tannins that they have in their natural environments will.

 

[Beetlebug515]

Try romaine lettuce....and get ready for veggie poop

Do you freeze your lettuce? The only problem ive ever had feeding vegs is it going bad before the fish eat it all. I do freeze cucumber and that seems to work well enough.

 

[peathenster]

Nope just fresh leaves. They like hearts.

 

[ehh]

Ugh they're such cool fish. They're on my list of fish I'd love to own but never will lol

 

[Beetlebug515]

Ugh they're such cool fish. They're on my list of fish I'd love to own but never will lol

May I ask why?

 

[Beetlebug515]

So today's update: fish are still doing well, and I received my almond leaves and fluval peat granules today. I know the granules are not the most cost effective solution, but as this is more if a trial run than anything else I figured I would give it a shot. I also moved my uv from my planted 75 to the big tank. It's a 15w that I regulate with a ball valve to reduce the flow to about 100gph. I may reduce flow even more to be sure to eliminate as many parasites as possible. Before I added the peat and leaves, I used every test I have to establish a baseline for the tank as the tannins leach.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate > 20
Ph 7.8
Kh 9
Gh 18
Phosphate 1ppm

I'll continue to monitor the levels and the fish over the next week or so to see how they do. I don't think the pandas are quite comfortable yet as their sides show more light grey than the white that I have always seen in pics. Also I'm still monitoring for ich. I may have been a bit jumpy yesterday, because it doesn't seem like they are showing signs now. Unfortunately, when I thought I saw ich, I decided to bump up my tank temp from the 81 it usually is to 84. My tank only made it to 82. I run 2 eheim jager 300w and that should be enough to push to higher temps, but I don't think they are capable of doing it. I may have to invest in a higher quality heater setup if I ever have to crank up to 86+. I'll keep the updates coming. Comments always appreciated.

 

[ehh]

May I ask why?

I've seen them get pretty big. And I guess they're best kept in groups?
I don't see myself ever setting up a tank large enough for a decent group of those guys.