Water Conditions For The Heros Severum

kimmeh121 · Feb 12, 2010

Hello all.. I have just recieved my test kit today but didnt want to do any tests untill i know what the water conditions are suppose to be for the heros severum... I have been looking around sites to try and see but cant seem to find anything, the only thing i can seem to find is what the Ph level is suppose to be for this breed.

My Fish tank.
Its been running for well over 6 months now never encountered any problems with the tank untill now.

its roughly 50gals if not a little bit more... it holds just 1 heros and one pleco at the moment untill i receive the bigger tank.
( which unfortunately got damaged befor it got delivered! )

Thanks if you can help!

minxfishy · Feb 12, 2010

Obviously for Severums and all fish, you need Zero ammonia and nitrItes, nitrAtes preferably as low as possible. Temperature range from 24-28c, ph 6.6 - 7.8, but most fish are tank bred and therefore acclimatise to the water ph/hardness of the water they are bred and kept in, so doesnt have to be in there 'preferred' range, so long as it is stable.

star4 · Feb 12, 2010

My Rotkeils do prefere more frequent water changes, when I was going a small amount every other day they spawned almost straight away, now I have increased the amount but twice a week they havent spawned for a couple of weeks now.

kimmeh121 · Feb 12, 2010

well i belive i need to do a big water change as my Nitrite levels are sky high, not sure about ammonia as of yet as im leaving that for 20mins to set but ill post to let you know...

kimmeh121 · Feb 12, 2010

It appears the Ammonia is between 0 - 0.2

minxfishy · Feb 12, 2010

If your NitrIte levels are sky high, then yes you need to do a minimum of 50% water change, try to keep the water returning to the tank the same temperature as the tank water, so as not to shock the fish.

If this tank has been set up for a while, do you know why your nitrIte would be so high? What test kit are you using?