Ira Posted October 1, 2002 Report Share Posted October 1, 2002 I've got 3 Madagascar Rainbows(At least I think that's what they are) that I got with my latest tank. One of them keeps getting...I don't quite know what it is...It looks kind of like if you get a bad sunburn and your skin starts peeling afterwards. I don't think it looks like ick, it doesn't look like little tufts of fluff like a fungus. Anyway, if I add salt to the tank it goes away in a day or two, but then comes back after a week or two. I'm thinking that implies that it's a fungus, but wondering if it's maybe due to conditions being wrong for the fish? The water is pretty soft, PH a little bit below 6...Nitrates weren't too high last time I checked, about 30ish. It only seems to be the rainbows getting it. I think they all seem to get a touch of it, but to be honest I can't tell the difference between them to be sure it's not just one that keeps getting it. Anyone have any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 1, 2002 Report Share Posted October 1, 2002 Madagascar rainbows like a pH of 7 - 7.5. Perhaps a little below 6 is too acidic for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 1, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2002 These guys were originally...Well, a year or two before I got them...Kept with discus. So the tank would probably have been acidic then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted October 1, 2002 Report Share Posted October 1, 2002 Not necessarily. I keep my discus at 6.8 - 7.0 PH are they are quite happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted October 1, 2002 Report Share Posted October 1, 2002 Ira said... > I've got 3 Madagascar Rainbows(At least I think that's what > they are) that I got with my latest tank. Does it look anything like this (bad) photo? http://www.aquarioland2000.hpg.ig.com.b ... edotia.jpg or this? http://www.atlantafishfarm.nl/fotos/vis ... _geayi.jpg The second one is more yellow than the ones we typically see, which have more red. >.... it's maybe due to conditions being wrong for the fish? > The water is pretty soft, PH a little bit below 6... Madagascar rainbows (Bedotia geayi is the only one you'll see in the hobby in NZ although there are other Bedotia species, a couple I saw in the fishroom of Rosario LaCorte in New Jersey...) is not considered a fish for soft acid water. They also appreciate a bit of salt in their water apparently although I never did this when I was keeping them 10 or so years ago. There are good articles at: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/bre ... inbow.html and http://nonprofits.accesscomm.ca/ras/ari ... fish01.htm They're not often imported and are well worth keeping and breeding, IMHO. I'd have them again... Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 1, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2002 I'm pretty sure I was told it was a madagascar rainbow. Haven't bothered to look up much information on them because I think they're kinda ugly. But, after browsing through fishprofiles.com and looking at the different types of rainbows, this one is the closest I could find. click here That's the right shape anyway, except mine are more of a red/orange all over with not nearly as strong of a black edging on their fins, except one which is mostly just a brownish color. The webpage says they're australian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted October 2, 2002 Report Share Posted October 2, 2002 Ira said... > I'm pretty sure I was told it was a madagascar rainbow. Well, the link you included is of one of the Australian rainbows so it's likely to be a Melanotaenia species of some sort, there are various ones around some of which also occur in New Guinea. Most of the Australian types like even harder water than the Madagascar ones... Have a look at: http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/ Specifically: http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Hardness.htm Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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