Potasium?

[Ben]

I am aware that potasium is good for plants but apparently it is very good fish fish ie: it helps fish fertility.

Does anyone know more about potasium and its use with fish?

I would be very interested if anyone knows more info or has any good links on the subject.

[ILLUSN]

just an observation, my fish started spawning more frequantly, and laying alot more eggs once i strated adding KCl each change to my tank for my plants, again could be purly coincidence.

[Merrilyn]

What are you trying to breed now Ben?

Thought you had bred most fish LOL

:P

[fiftycal]

I know that the best potassium comes from Kazakhstan...all other countries have inferior potassium

[Ben]

I have just started to trial use potassium but i cant find any good infomation on it and its affect with fish.

Plenty of info on potassium and plant growth though.

[madasa]

just an observation, my fish started spawning more frequantly, and laying alot more eggs once i strated adding KCl each change to my tank for my plants, again could be purly coincidence.

May I ask what dose and where you got the KCl?

[ILLUSN]

May I ask what dose and where you got the KCl?

1 heaped teaspoon per water change (30 -40% in a 6x2x2 650L) this is in addition to 10ml of florish and 1-2 heaped teaspoons of chelated iron from bunnings

I stole the KCl from work, the joys of working in a cell culture lab :wink:

[ozarowana]

I know that the best potassium comes from Kazakhstan...all other countries have inferior potassium

How does this work?? :ug Potassium is an element, I'm pretty sure there's no best or worst. If your talking about purity of KCl then maybe you mean that country exports the most pure.

[Kingkat]

Ben, In horticulture we use potassium mainly for it's fruit or seed 'filling' qualities. And with fruit/seeds being the reproductive parts of the plant it could make sense. Boron is an important requirement for pollen viability which is obviously the male reproductive part of the plant. It is however required in tiny amounts and it must go hand in hand with calcium as neither will work to full potential without the other. Calcium is important with potassium as well. In the system of horticulture that I used to follow we would say calcium is the truck that carries all other nutrients and boron is the steering wheel. Just my 2 cents worth.

[ILLUSN]

How does this work?? Potassium is an element, I'm pretty sure there's no best or worst. If your talking about purity of KCl then maybe you mean that country exports the most pure.

Your honestly telling me you havn't seen Borat?????????????

go the mankini!!!!!!

[taksan]

I've heard potassium comes from potatoes

[Kingkat]

Bananas contain high bio-available potassium levels. I have some in my current beef heart mix and it works well as a binder also.

[tzwms]

This is an interesting thread and I wish that we could get someone involved in aquaculture or from a university to comment. My lfs told me that water softened with Potasium Chloride would be good for the plants but would kill my fish in short order. Mind you softened water might be too much of a good thing. :( :?

[Kingkat]

I always used potassium sulphate or potassium nitrate as opposed to potassium chloride in horticulture as potassium chloride kills off the majority of beneficial soil organisms.

[tzwms]

My water softener uses potasium chloride instead of sodium chloride. I have to use KCl because when recharging the water goes either into my spetic tank (and into the water table) or onto the ground to water my trees. In the end my house water has all of the divalent cations (Ca, Mn, Mg, Fe) replaced by potasium and at that resulting concentration, I am told that the potasium will fill the fish.

[fishgeek]

Potassium in mammalian system(well from what i can remember) is mainly to do with electrical conducitivty

it passes charge through muscle activity and hence both too high and too low levels can have issue's

think cramp after exercise and sweating out the K+, very high levels can stop the heart
i cant think of any fertility issue's per se though

andrew