Snail Emergency!

Byron said:

The GH, not the pH, is the indication of dissolved calcium. Do you know the GH of your tap water?

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hannahbatts said:

The GH is around 80. Sometimes it reads as 75. My tap water is very acidic..

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Byron said:

I will assume this number is in ppm so that is very soft water, which will naturally be on the acidic side. This is OK for the gourami, but not for the guppies. Snails I am not that up on, so I will leave it for other members to comment on the needs of this particular snail.

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hannahbatts said:

Yes ppm. The store I bought the guppies from keeps them in a lower pH tank, and they've been doing great. I am not adding any more livebearers to the tank though - probably just some tetras and cories. I just want to make sure that adding calcium won't harm the fish.

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Byron said:

You need to raise the GH for the guppies (I'll come back to them), and while the gourami are better off in the very soft water, increasing the GH might not have much impact, but it is still negative for them.

Guppies need mineral in the water. They are not doing great, this is a scientific impossibility because the guppies physiology requires calcium extracted from the water that continually is passing through the cells, entering their bloodstream, and passing through the kidneys. Deprived of this basic need, they still struggle to survive and they will make the best out of whatever we give them, that is a basic instinct of all animals. That cannot be equated with good health. Eventually this continual slow weakening will overcome them; it may be several weeks, or several months, but it is a guarantee that they will not thrive to their normal average lifespan.

What stores do with respect to fish and water is not to be taken as instructive for permanent housing. Stores hope their fish sell quickly, as that is more profitable, and temporary situations are not the same as permanent. The fish can manage for a time, but once we as aquarists have the fish at home, we are responsible for providing it with what it needs to be in good health, and for fish in an aquatic environment this has far greater consequences than it does for any terrestrial animal, because of their unique and complex relationship with their aquatic environment.

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hannahbatts said:

Ok, thank you. With all that being said, should I add the calcium in order to help the snails and guppies? GH is related to calcium right?

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Byron said:

Yes, GH is the measure of the dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water (other minerals may be present but in very low amounts such as to be negligible). But this means a significant increase in GH to get it from the present 80 ppm (4 dGH) up to the minimum for livebearers of 180 ppm (10 dGH). The Honey Gourami may not fare badly, probably won't, though again it will be less likely of problems in soft water.

To raise GH this much, you could use a calcareous substrate. Or use the rift lake mineral salts. The latter do not contain common salt, sodium chloride, but the salts of primarily calcium and magnesium.

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PheonixKingZ said:

I agree with everything @Byron has stated.

Even if your LFS tells you they are keeping their tanks at that level of pH, don't trust them. You can never 100% trust a LFS worker, as they usually can be incorrect.

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hannahbatts said:

Ok. While I'm working to get the GH up, should I add the calcium to the tank? The snails don't look too good to me... It's the "Kent Marine Liquid Calcium" supplement - its the only one I can find.

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