Lost A Cory, High Ph Problem.

[TetraFin]

Hi.

I've lost one of my 6 panda corys. I have just ran tests and my every thing seems fine, except my ph, it's about 8.2. How can I lower this? I'm about to do a 50% water change, hoping that will help lower it.

Some questions.

What would cause the ph to rise?

How do you combat against this?

I should also add that I have fairly hard water, so it shouldn't fluctuate too much, should it?

Many thanks for any replies!

 

[SombreroBanana]

pH can rise from a lot of things. Certain kinds of rocks in your tank, gravel, etc. You can start adding a little bit of RO water every time you do a water change, that will definitely lower it. You can also add some peat to the filter, that will also help. You just gotta replace it every now and then. It also releases tannins into the water too I think. Carbonate hardness (KH) is what keeps your pH from fluctuating too much, general hardness (GH) is just the amount of minerals in your water.

 

[Primous]

Never try to manually adjust your ph manually. Take a glass of water and test the ph, note the reading. Allow the same glass of water to stand for 24hours and test the reading. Unless you have done something to change the ph in your tank my guess is that the loss was due to something else or that it simply didn't make it, which can happen sometimes. Panda corys can adjust to your ph. In fact, I subscribe to a guy on youtube who went to peru and caught corys of all types directly from the river, shipped them over and they are all living happy in his aquarium in ohio.

Manually adjusting your tap water is a waste of time, effort, and money. But that's just one opinion.

 

[Steve H.]

I agree with above. I have hard water with a Ph 8.4. Perfect for Africans. But, I am keeping CPDs and Rainbows just fine.

Did your Ph swing up? If so, what was it prior to the 8.2 reading?

 

[TetraFin]

I agree with above. I have hard water with a Ph 8.4. Perfect for Africans. But, I am keeping CPDs and Rainbows just fine.

Did your Ph swing up? If so, what was it prior to the 8.2 reading?

Last time I tested the ph was just over a week and it was about 7.6. I'm worried about a second cory in my tank now too, he is appearing extremly lethargic, even during feeding time, choosing to hid at the back behind plants.

Ammonia and nitrite are 0 and nitrate is 20ppm. I wish I had a QT tank set up to move him over.

 

[ColR1948]

Another question, how long have you had the Corys, are they a new edition, I got 6 a while ago and 2 died in a matter of a few days, the others are fine and look healthy.

As well as Peat as suggested I believe bog wood can also lower the PH but if I'm wrong someone will correct me on that.

 

[TetraFin]

Another question, how long have you had the Corys, are they a new edition, I got 6 a while ago and 2 died in a matter of a few days, the others are fine and look healthy.

As well as Peat as suggested I believe bog wood can also lower the PH but if I'm wrong someone will correct me on that.

I actually have a bit of bogwood soaking, trying to rid it of tannins. I could put that in, if people think my ph is too high? The cory's were added to my tank about 2 weeks ago, and seemed healthy until one died.

 

[ColR1948]

Similar to what happened to mine, one went straight to the corner and stayed there hardly ever moved and the other vanished, I found it a few days later partly under a rock at the rear of the tank.

 

[watertown28]

I think your corries should be fine with that pH. Mine is 8.2-8.4 and they thrive. In fact, I got some fry out of the whole deal.

 

[FATMOLLY]

well you should get pH down when you buy it put a little pinch in your fish tank after 20min test the pH

 

[Steve H.]

Any other stock besides the Panda's?

I'm not convinced Ph is the problem. I wouldn't mess with it. Stable ph is more important than the number.

If you add Ph down...it will go down, but eventually it will go up again and you'll have to add more.

 

[TetraFin]

Any other stock besides the Panda's?

I'm not convinced Ph is the problem. I wouldn't mess with it. Stable ph is more important than the number.

If you add Ph down...it will go down, but eventually it will go up again and you'll have to add more.

The only other thing I got is 4 guppies. After reading the replies on here i'm assuming it wasnt the ph which caused this, and now my assumtion is malnutrition... I have increased the amount of hikari sinking pellets from 1 to 3-4. The second fish that was very legthagic now appears to of made a full recovery.

 

[Steve H.]

Any other stock besides the Panda's?

I'm not convinced Ph is the problem. I wouldn't mess with it. Stable ph is more important than the number.

If you add Ph down...it will go down, but eventually it will go up again and you'll have to add more.

The only other thing I got is 4 guppies. After reading the replies on here i'm assuming it wasnt the ph which caused this, and now my assumtion is malnutrition... I have increased the amount of hikari sinking pellets from 1 to 3-4. The second fish that was very legthagic now appears to of made a full recovery.

I'm glad you are getting some results and the panda is on the mend.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Doubt pH itself is the root issue here, unless they came from very different water two weeks ago.

Far better to keep new fish in a quarantine setup, not just in case they are diseased, but also to ensure the new purchases have easy access to food as many fish are underfed from the wholesale transportation process and then the overstocked tanks at fish stores.

Check the catfish for external disease such as slightly off-white slime patches.

As an aside, I don't get this common trend of trying to leach bogwood of its tannins before adding it to the tank, they are beneficial to many fish health wise and the stained water will help settle fish from the intensity of the tank lighting, plus they will soften the water a little.