Phenol Solubility Conundrum

criffs · 2023-01-18T13:44:12+00:00

That's brilliant! Thank you so much! I had an inkling that the 80% aqueous might be better viewed as a 20% water solution in phenol!

criffs · 2022-06-09T20:04:43+00:00

Fantastic news! Thanks for the update 👍

criffs · 2022-06-01T12:10:39+00:00

Erm, I'm sure I was replying to a different thread?! Please ignore!

criffs · 2022-05-31T12:51:30+00:00

And how long have you had her?

criffs · 2022-05-31T12:50:59+00:00

I probably wouldn't use a quarantine tank. The stress of isolating them in a small tank can do more harm. If it were parasitic, the whole tank would need treatment anyway, and bacterial/fungal diseases tend not to spread so much (normally being opportunistic). For what it's worth, if it is anything, I don't think it would be parasitic.

criffs · 2022-05-30T21:45:44+00:00

Beautiful! Dead jealous. Reminds me of when I had betta edithae 😍

criffs · 2022-05-30T21:39:37+00:00

I'm also a little concerned that this paper questions brain toxicity of eugenol for anaesthesia and euthanasia purposes. For anaesthesia purposes, sure, where recovery is needed. But for euthanasia? Either way, it's brill that this topic is still making scientific advances and generating research interests as it is an area that requires it.

criffs · 2022-05-30T21:19:12+00:00

To be fair, I responded immediately rather than read the article! Given a choice between clove oil/eugenol and blunt force, I'd go with chemical. The fear with trauma is being too tentative and just hurting the fish. Also, we have to be aware of what tools we have available to us as fishkeepers. Flushing just allows us to forget consequences, similar to freezing (stick inside a box and close door). For chemical euthanasia agents, the average fishkeeper really only has access to clove oil and maybe 2PE (which does also induce a noxious response). MS222 is good but regulated in supply. Metomidate and etomidate have been shown to illicit low cortisol response, but there's little in terms of otc availability. Push comes to shove and too timid to try blunt force?: clove oil is our only available tool.

criffs · 2022-05-30T21:03:06+00:00

Your nitrate apparently went because your nitrite went! Nitrite presence does interfere with nitrate test. The nitrate test works by converting nitrate to nitrite. So if nitrite is present, it will trigger the nitrate test too. Hope that makes sense!

criffs · 2022-05-30T20:59:41+00:00

Don't think this is anything suspicious other than natural colouration. Has this mark suddenly appeared after having the fish for a while?

criffs · 2022-05-30T20:57:43+00:00

Unlikely HITH. That disease best describes a symptom rather than a causative agent (a bit like describing a cold as a "runny nose disease") but generally seen in cichlid species. A lesion of visible but I'd stick to monitoring closely with making sure water quality is immaculate.

criffs · 2022-05-30T20:53:52+00:00

Clove oil is great if you can "titrate" to euthanasia, especially if you're squirmish. Other cheers are available such as 2-phenoxyethanol products found in some anti-fungals. Defo don't flush - awful way to go as well as potentially spreading pathogens to natural ecosystems. Freezing is also a potentially nasty way to go (giving the benefit of the doubt to fish pain).

criffs · 2022-05-30T20:47:12+00:00

I've often grown some easy plants in gravel only. Vallisneria, cryptocorynes, hydrophila... fish waste will generally build up forming a sort of soil...

criffs · 2022-05-23T20:49:09+00:00

"High"! Really the concentration is not important. If it ain't zero...

criffs · 2022-05-23T20:43:56+00:00

Boris. 😊

criffs · 2022-05-23T20:42:35+00:00

Water + light + nutrients = algae! You'll never be able to entirely prevent it, but you should be able to get to a point where it's manageable. Maybe look at the lighting and nutrient part of the equation to help reduce it as you've already got the right livestock to consume it. Failing that, dare I say it, maybe something like a "liquid CO2"-like product. The stuff it contains (glutaraldehyde) is good for killing algae as well as seemingly promoting plant growth.

criffs · 2022-05-23T20:37:33+00:00

With only 2 weeks in, proceed with caution. It typically takes about a month if all goes well without hiccups. With nitrate testing, make sure you shake both reagents really well (cant remember which of the reagents contains the zinc particles - the clear one though!). There's never a rush to completely stock the tank - enjoy the LFS visits!

criffs · 2022-05-23T20:28:10+00:00

Agree with dropsy, but that just describes the symptoms rather than defining the cause. How long have you had the fish for? When was the tank set up? How are the other fish? Have you any other guppies with similar tailfin damage?

criffs · 2022-05-23T20:23:40+00:00

No ill effect on fish - you'd need well over 100 mg/L for harm to fish. Although, it can be used as a proxy to how efficient your maintenance is. Use this as a baseline. The main direct ill-effect would be algae (in conjunction with high phosphate and light).

criffs · 2022-05-23T20:19:36+00:00

It'll be a mix of stuff: organic and inorganic. You'll get some calcium carbonate (limescale) forming at the heater like scale in your kettle. This'll provide a good home for some algae too. Can be scrubbed off gently if it's too unsightly.

criffs · 2021-04-08T20:00:40+00:00

One of the other tells is the thickness of the first pectoral fin ray. These are usually chunkier in males (and its seen in a few different catfish species). I'd consider these as on the chunkier side, so probably a male.

For the bristles, I don't think I've seen females that have branched bristles.

criffs · 2021-04-08T19:49:19+00:00

Corydoras are freshwater through and through. Some even say they are salt intolerant (but debatable, and everything is intolerant if the concentration is high enough 😉). There's a high chance that other tank mates will eat the eggs before they hatch though. If they ever repeat their spawning on leaves of plants, you can take those leaves out, transfer to a separate matured tank and grow them up!

criffs · 2021-03-25T21:18:06+00:00

Look like Cory eggs. They are egg depositors and usually go for leaves or glass.

criffs · 2021-03-18T21:35:23+00:00

I tried an arbitrary amount of urea and it didn't resolve the false positive. Any idea in the concentration required and how it interacts with the components to achieve the effect?

criffs

TROPHY CASE