My Organic Aqua 'Adventure'

I would like to start this little diatribe by stating very firmly that I am unconnected with Organic Aqua in any shape or form. Indeed, I have always been the first voice casting doubt as to its effectiveness when many others have been singing its praises.
The reason for this is my inability to put faith into something which, frankly, I could not comprehend how on earth it could work.

Now, that's absolutely no way to go about things - especially, as I have stated several times before, in view of three of the people I have the greatest regard and respect for their fishkeeping abilities not only endorse this product, but actively use it. Really I am doing it - or anything else, for that matter - a grave injustice. OK, so I don't understand the actual contents of it and am basing my cynicism of it solely on that.

I remember how I could not believe that undergravel filtration could ever work - how (later) the complete ammonia/nitrogen cycle worked and I still to this day do not know what's in Polyfilter but it cannot be argued - they all do work!

I was given a challenge by Derek from the Forum to set up a tank using OA and so this is what I'm now in the process of doing. I have to say I will give a fair and, hopefully, inbiased review and will give my findings at the end of the period - whatever way they turn out.

I cannot claim to have any scientific knowledge so all my findings will be based on 'old-fashioned' observation.

Here is the 'log' as it stands tonight.

This (Friday) morning I brought in an 84 litre tank I had bought from Dioza just before he departed for Canada (I often wonder how he's getting on over there) and spent a pleasant hour or so washing gravel for it (a job I loathe).

I put the gravel into the tank then filled it up with filtered, but not RO water.
I set a heater at 24 degrees and put it into the tank to bring the temperature up to that level...plus I set up an aerator (outside) with an airstone (inside) as this is part of the process.

At this point I had to go out for the remainder of the afternoon.
When I got back this evening the water was now warm enough so after dinner (well after, actually) I mixed up the requisite amount of 'potion' in a jug of tank water and distributed it all over the water surface (again, as recommended).

I added some existing plants (mainly Anubias and Cryptocorines - the only plants strong enough to resist my plant-growing 'abilities' and sat back for an hour waiting for the OA to fully dissolve.
Exactly an hour afterwards I started adding a few fish, 2 LDA-16s and five Corydoras, 2 Schwartzi and 3 Adolfoi. An hour on and they're still alive!

Tomorrow I plan to add some more fish (it's too late to be catching and transferring fish tonight) so I'll add to this with the next 'episode' after that has been done.
I had planned to take a series of snaps to illustrate this, but everything so far is pretty self-explanatory.

Right, that's it for tonight.

John

Indeed,
I'm from a bygone era, well 'past my prime'.

John

Watch this space, will add pt II later on.
John

After the initial process detailed in pt I there have been a couple of changes.

I added the six Blue Shiners I bought last week and I have to say, with a great deal of relief, they settled in immediately. They coloured up straight away and greedily demolished the small amount of flake I gave them, so that was great.

I didn't state it with the last report, but one of the Corydoras Schwartzi is in a 'less-than-pristine' condition - and came to me that way, the top half of its tail is completely missing, as are almost all its barbules...but it carries on as best it can. I mention this since I'm hoping the OA 'treatment' will help restore this lad to full fitness - but won't be overly disappointed if this doesn't happen.

I also added a young wild Angelfish I have had for a while (one of two) which has gradually been 'battered' by its companion to the extent that the 'end was nigh'. Well, obviously the condition of this poor soul was beyond the restorative capabilities of the OA disease treatment because I just came in to see it has gone to 'meet its maker'. Again, hardly a fair trial as I believe the demise of this fish was inevitable.

So, I've had my first casualty, but as stated, this is really not fair to blame onto the OA!

So, that aside, everything's alive and behaving exactly as it should do...but these are early days.
I'm going to add a few more inhabitants tomorrow and episode III will follow thereafter.

John

So, as the sub-heading reads: 'One Week On'...

I added just a few more fish yesterday - two more Corydoras Adolfoi, two rather small Krobias (can't remember the actual name, but I sincerely hope they turn out to be the same ones I already have two adults of) and - this might turn out to be my first serious mistake - two small Discus.
I did this figuring that, of all the fish to use in this trial, small Discus - albeit 'domestic' ones - would really test the Organic aqua to its limit - small Discus being particularly 'not-too-easy' to establish in a new tank, especially with only two of them.

As the first week had drawn to a close it was time to add the second 'dose' of the liquid part of the treatment. I took out a couple of litres of tank water, mixed in the 5ml of 'medicine' and slowly and carefully returned it to the tank.

24 hours later everything's alive and looking fit and well - that is, apart from the small Discus. They retreated into the cover of the largest bunch of Anubias where they have remained almost ever since! I'm not overly concerned about them at such an early stage but do plan to keep an eye on them on a 'just in case' basis.
Hopefully it might be merely being unduly cautious but time will tell.

So, that's it for week one. It's driving me mad not being able to test and check the progress of the water - but that's the nature of the process - any orthodox results achieved by water testing as we know it would be worthless, I'm assured since they would show no relationship to how well the OA is working.
I'm very perturbed by this...which has always been one of my chief arguments against OA - that we have to 'blindly' trust that it is doing its job. And, in all fairness that is what's happening. But...I must confess to being very tempted to put in a cycled filter and cut the experiment short - rest assured, though, that won't happen. That would sound the end to the OA 'Adventure' and would never prove whether OA is, or isn't, all it is claimed to be. And that would never do! The whole point of this exercise is to give it a fair and unbiased trial.

Episode IV to follow.

John

Good idea Christy...but in point of view the link (quite rightly) goes to Derek's thread...foiled again!
(

But to be serious for a moment, it's good that that link is posted - it should - hopefully - bring more new readers (and perhaps new members) to the Forum.

John

dar wrote:

this sounds great but something smells fishy (<<<<<oh no he didn't). personally i dont like to use things that are not needed, this falls into this category.

great thread

Dar,
I think this should be let run its course - I don't disagree with your statement about not using unnecessary things, the whole point of doing this trial was to find out whether the claims made for it are justified.
But, regarding something smelling 'fishy', perhaps the mischievous Dar has rejoined us?



John

OK, back to the topic...

The sharp-eyed among you might well have noticed (but were probably too polite to comment on) that I really was trying an unworkable 'balancing act' - I'll explain...

The Blue Shiners and Discus really are too incompatible in their water requirements, but as stated, I was trying an impossible 'balancing act' which I probably never should have.

The Shiners come from the Southern States of the USA and require cooler, more oxygenated water, while - as we all know - the Discus originated in Amazonian waters which are 'a little' different!
I was just hoping I might have been able to reach a 'happy medium' - especially as these ones are Asian, doubtless pond-raised Discus and would be about as far removed from the waters of the Amazon as could ever be imagined!

Anyway, to make a longer story short this couldn't be achieved so I have removed the Shiners to a cooler-water tank and have increased the temperature in the 'test' tank to better accommodate the requirements of the two Discus. I must say the change was almost immediate, without the Shiners harassing them the Discus this morning have moved out of their hiding place in the Anubias and are looking better each time I look over at them, even eating a little. The Krobias are looking more settled as well - but to be honest they weren't that unsettled before.

So, just a small update...more to follow in the week.

I really ought to charge up my camera batteries and attempt to illustrate this a bit - a job for in the week, plus I want to try to get a snap to enter this month's competition - with only three entries I must be in with a chance!!!.

John

derek wrote:

crikey john, why did'nt you throw in a corpse to test the lazarus effect

Encouraged by the results achieved by some bloke from Dundrum I decided it was worth a try:

"after a few days treatment with the health treatment, the almost dead tropheus wounds have healed well and he is eating again (key sign)".

Since the Angel, too, was almost dead I thought I'd give it a shot anyway (as they do say: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained").



John