Fish Dying Unknown Reason

[NickAu]

Bettas are solitary fish and best kept that way, Bettas and Angel fish do not mix, the Angels are too aggressive and the Betta is to slow to get out of their way not to mention that some Bettas may try to stand their ground, This will end in the Betta being picked on having its tail nipped and eventual death.

 

[NickAu]

I am not a fan of well water.
Well water can contain the following.

General Minerals, organic compounds, heavy metals ( Lead, Copper Etc ), pesticides, and herbicides, Coliform Bacteria, Solvents, Gas, and Oil just to name a few.

As some of these things do not evaporate everytime you do a water change you are adding more to the tank and possibly making it worse not saying this is the problem but its worth exploring.

While the water may be ok for us to drink it may not be fish safe. Well water needs to be professionally tested at regular intervals for safety.

 

[Emily_R]

I only added a quarter of the recommended amount of PHup, I don’t plan on adding anything to my tank in large quantities and the fish are still acting much better. My PH was around 6, I believe it should be around 7 though.

I will look for some of those plants to add. My local pet stores don’t carry that much of a variety, but at some point I hope to visit an aquarium store. Are there good places to buy online? I’ve heard mixed reviews about a few places.

My betta was introduced to the tank when the angels were young and still on the small side (which they still are) and I keep a close eye on them, I have not once seen the angels go after the betta, they actually get along very well and don’t bother each other. I’ve made sure there’s plenty of places for them to get away from each other if need be, but so far so good. I do have the space to separate the betta if things ever do go south though.

Thank you for the added information on well water, I’ll look into that.

 

[Colin_T]

I am not a fan of well water.
Well water can contain the following.

General Minerals, organic compounds, heavy metals ( Lead, Copper Etc ), pesticides, and herbicides, Coliform Bacteria, Solvents, Gas, and Oil just to name a few.

A lot of that stuff has been found in tap water too.

In Perth and surrounding areas in the south west of Western Australia, we get a white residue from tap water after it evaporates, and it sets as a very hard glossy white layer, almost like a glaze on ceramics. When I scrape some up and test it for pH, GH & KH it does not produce a result. The water corporation says the only stuff in the water is chlorine and fluoride. Their own tests should we had 3.5 times the safe level of chlorine and double the safe level of fluoride.

There is also something else in the tap water here that makes methylated spirits (metho or methy) green. Methy is 95% ethal alcohol (ethanol) and is clear. I use it to disinfect and clean stuff. I dilute it with water for this purpose. If I use bottled or filtered water, the methy stays clear. But if I add tap water in the methy, it turns green and slowly changes to yellow after 24 hours.

The water corp says there is nothing in the tap water that should cause that. The company that make methy hasn't responded to any emails. This started about 2 years ago and to date, nobody in the government wants to comment on what's in our tap water.

Basically any water source can be polluted or contaminated. If using ground water (from a well or bore), or dam water, river water, or even mains water, it should be checked regularly for anything and everything you can test it for. And if should be aerated for at least 30 minutes before using it to stabilise the gasses in it.

If you are unsure about the water, you can filter it with Activated or Highly Activated carbon before using it. Make sure you filter it for at least 24 hours before use.

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If the pH is dropping during the course of a week, you can add a few shells, limestone or dead coral skeleton to the tank, (limestone is the best choice). These are calcium based and will help to neutralise acids in water and will increase the pH a bit.

If you add lots of limestone, shells or coral, the pH will go well above 8.0 so you only want to add a small bit and monitor the pH over a week. If the pH continues to drop then add another bit. Eventually you will get enough pieces in the tank to keep the pH stable and then you stop adding it.

The pieces in the tank will last for years and only need to be taken out once a month and hosed off or scrubbed down to remove algae and biofilm that grows on it.

 

[NickAu]

There is also something else in the tap water here that makes methylated spirits (metho or methy) green. Methy is 95% ethal alcohol (ethanol) and is clear.

Are you sure thats not something in the metho to prevent people from mixing it with another alcohol? Eg take 4 bottles of vodka pour out a 1/4 from each bottle add metho, every 5th bottle is free profit.

 

[Colin_T]

They do add a bittering agent to make the methy smell and taste bad but if I use bottle or filtered water, the methy stays clear. It only turns green if I use tap water. So I'm guessing there is something in the tap water (that is not in the bottled or filtered water) that is reacting with the ethanol or the bittering agent.

 

[Byron]

I only added a quarter of the recommended amount of PHup, I don’t plan on adding anything to my tank in large quantities and the fish are still acting much better. My PH was around 6, I believe it should be around 7 though.

You have fish that will be much healthier with a pH around 6. But you also have fish (mollies) that must have a pH closer to 8. A pH in the mid-7's would be better, but pH-UP is not the way to do this as I explained. You are and will continue to harm the fish by adding this product. There are safe methods to achieve this, but it is connected to the GH and KH and without dealing with those, pH will not remain stable.

And I missed the Betta previously, Nick is correct, this is not a community fish. There is stress here without question, it is in the DNA of the fish, and assuming you care about the fish you should deal with this before something worse occurs.