# Calvus Water Change



## kuopan (Jan 10, 2012)

I do approximately a 30-40% weekly water change in my 90gallon tank with calvus and fronts. For some reason, every time I do this water change, my calvus just freezes up and stops swimming. After about an hour or two, they go back to normal. Has anyone experienced this and does anyone know why? Am I changing too much of the water and causing a shock to their system such that they need to re-acclimate??

Thanks!


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## Jack Stone (Nov 29, 2010)

Hi kuopan

A friend of mine experienced the same thing with his Calvus, I believe the large changes are causing some shock to their systems, look into your water change routine.
As you likely know Calvus are somewhat more sensitive to changes in water parameters than some of the other Tanganyika lamprologines.

Do you age and pre-heat your water? That should sort out the issue.
If you're doing that weekly and still having issues it's likely due to changes in hardness.

In that case, the tank water is likely being buffered by your rocks and or substrate, you can remedy the issue by doing smaller water changes more often (test your nitrate, you may not need to do them more often). Alternatively, you can add some of whatever is in your tank (stuff that buffers your water) to your water change bin aiming to even out the hardness somewhat, this.

Cheers,
Jack


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## dstuer (Mar 27, 2013)

If in between water changes, nutrients like nitrate have built up enough to drop alkalinity and pH in comparison to your tap water, this may cause this kind of shock. As stated above, doing smaller water changes more frequently could reduce the shock.
I like to do 30% water changes every other day in order to keep the parameters stable, especially in Lamprologine, other Tanganyika or pH sensitive tanks. Because I also keep plants and old wood in my tanks, although my tap water alkalinity hovers around 100ppm, it can easily drop to 60 in a day or 2, and pH values change correspondingly.


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

Kuopan.. how long have you had the fish, and how long have you been maintaining this routine?

I do the same on a 55g with calvus and mine resume normal life pretty much as soon as I put the lids back in place.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Are they breathing heavy too? Could be a pH drop? Definitely something not right that you need to correct.

I can do a 50% water change with any of Altolamps without any trouble. I use a reservoir tank system to pre condition my new water for at least 24 hours.

Best wishes figuring it out. You might want to start by doing a complete battery of tests on both your tank water and tap water. Include GH, KH, & pH in those tests.

Btw: do you add tap directly to your tank and then condition it?


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## dstuer (Mar 27, 2013)

Something I just thought of when I noticed your Canadian location.
At this time of year, water in northern climates can be super saturated with oxygen (the colder the water, the higher the concentration), and if added directly to the tank, can create a situation in fish similar to the bends in scuba divers.
Because tap water in pipes is under pressure the saturated gas is not released until in the tank.
You can sometimes see this phenom when water is put in a glass and you see microscopic bubbles rise, and it clears from the bottom up.
In winter when I add water, I add it to the sump instead of directly to the tank, or let it cascade over a rock, or into the updraft of an air stone to help the gases disperse more quickly.


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## ExReefer (Jan 9, 2013)

dstuer said:


> Something I just thought of when I noticed your Canadian location.
> At this time of year, water in northern climates can be super saturated with oxygen (the colder the water, the higher the concentration), and if added directly to the tank, can create a situation in fish similar to the bends in scuba divers.
> Because tap water in pipes is under pressure the saturated gas is not released until in the tank.
> You can sometimes see this phenom when water is put in a glass and you see microscopic bubbles rise, and it clears from the bottom up.
> In winter when I add water, I add it to the sump instead of directly to the tank, or let it cascade over a rock, or into the updraft of an air stone to help the gases disperse more quickly.


This is true. While it does not seem to bother my Lake Tang. fish, it used to stress out my Discus big time. It is one the reasons I don't keep Discus anymore. I don't want to age, degas, and preheat my water.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

You should be able to resolve the issue without having to age your water. Check all the parameters listed above on both the tap and tank water. If degassing is the issue, simply running a powerhead and keeping your refill hose above the water surface when refilling works quite well.


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## kuopan (Jan 10, 2012)

Hi everyone! thanks so much for everyone's input.

T've had the calvus for a month or so now and they are still alive and well. they only appear to "freeze" when i perform my water changes. Unfortunately, doing frequent water changes and aging the water isn't an option. The aquarium is at my parents' home and I come back once a week to perform water changes and such. I also use a phython to fill the water up and temperature doesn't seem to be an issue. I will have to consider doing smaller water changes and perhaps moving the calvus to another tank. Thanks again for everyone's input! it's very much appreciated!

Happy Holidays Everone!


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## kuopan (Jan 10, 2012)

ExReefer said:


> dstuer said:
> 
> 
> > Something I just thought of when I noticed your Canadian location.
> ...


thanks! this is great insight! I will try some of your recommendations - adding it to a cascade over a rock or into the updraft of an air stone. Unfortunately, I only have an external canister filter with no sump. Cheers!


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

kuopan said:


> Hi everyone! thanks so much for everyone's input.
> 
> T've had the calvus for a month or so now and they are still alive and well. they only appear to "freeze" when i perform my water changes. Unfortunately, doing frequent water changes and aging the water isn't an option. The aquarium is at my parents' home and I come back once a week to perform water changes and such. I also use a phython to fill the water up and temperature doesn't seem to be an issue. I will have to consider doing smaller water changes and perhaps moving the calvus to another tank. Thanks again for everyone's input! it's very much appreciated!
> 
> Happy Holidays Everone!


If the its only been a month, I wouldn't worry about it, I'll bet they get used to it in time.


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