Ph way too high

[bettafishlover86]

Its been a while since I’ve been here. I got out of the hobby and didn’t have much time for my tank but last week a did a deep clean and checked my water parameters and they were good. Two days I got a new betta to live with my harlequin raspboras in their 29 gallon tank and everything was going well until I realized he started being not as active and swimming slowly. I checked my ph and it instantly went to the highest possible measurement 8.8. I have no idea how the ph spiked so much. I’m performing a water change now. And ideas on how to get this down to a safe level quick and why it may have spiked? Edit: After water change ph is 7.0

 

[Ram419]

Wow, that is high pH. Have you tested your source water to find out what the pH is on it? Oh wait, nevermind, you said after a water change it was good. Interesting you have a male betta that is ok with living with other fish. I've always heard they don't do well with any other fish in the tank.

I'm not sure about the pH hopefully someone who knows more then I can answer.

 

[bettafishlover86]

Wow, that is high pH. Have you tested your source water to find out what the pH is on it? Interesting you have a male betta that is ok with living with other fish. I've always heard they don't do well with any other fish in the tank.

I haven’t tested the water source, I’ll do that rq. Tho I don’t think that’s the case since my ph is normally fine. Harlequin raspboras are one of the only types of fish bettas can live peacefully with since they live with them in the wild I think

 

[Byron]

First off, you need to know the exact pH of your source water. When it "seems" lower and in a day turns higher, it is usually CO2. Let a glass sit for 24 hours, then test the pH (this only applies to tap water, not tank water which will already have out-gassed the CO2). Or chck with the site of the municipal water authority to confirm.

Second, the pH can be very susceptible to the weather/seasons, depending where it comes from.

I really would never keep a Betta in with small fish, but that's all I will say. And nbo, from the betta experts I have consulted, they do not live together. Or if they did, they would have miles of open water around them. An aquarium is a very different matter.

 

[PygmyPepperJulli]

I thought (keep in mind I have never kept a beta) peaceful betas (betas vary wildly in temperament) can live with lots of things, as long as the ph temp etc. is ok and they don't inhabit the same tank area (for example, cories). That IS a MASSIVE spike- have you added anything recently? Especially substrate or rocks or something. Byron posted while I was halfway through writing this.

 

[Byron]

I thought (keep in mind I have never kept a beta) peaceful betas (betas vary wildly in temperament) can live with lots of things, as long as the ph temp etc. is ok and they don't inhabit the same tank area (for example, cories). That IS a MASSIVE spike- have you added anything recently? Especially substrate or rocks or something. Byron posted while I was halfway through writing this.

That is a lot of "ifs." The temperament of the betta is key, but none of us can read that unless it is extreme from the start. A betta after a few months suddenly takes after everything--or the smaller fish find it is fun to nip at the poor betta. It is simply not a good idea.

 

[bettafishlover86]

I thought (keep in mind I have never kept a beta) peaceful betas (betas vary wildly in temperament) can live with lots of things, as long as the ph temp etc. is ok and they don't inhabit the same tank area (for example, cories). That IS a MASSIVE spike- have you added anything recently? Especially substrate or rocks or something. Byron posted while I was halfway through writing this.

I haven’t added anything recently, I’m going to try what Byron said and let some of my rap wasted sit out for a day and then test it to see what the ph of that is

 

[bettafishlover86]

First off, you need to know the exact pH of your source water. When it "seems" lower and in a day turns higher, it is usually CO2. Let a glass sit for 24 hours, then test the pH (this only applies to tap water, not tank water which will already have out-gassed the CO2). Or chck with the site of the municipal water authority to confirm.

Second, the pH can be very susceptible to the weather/seasons, depending where it comes from.

I really would never keep a Betta in with small fish, but that's all I will say. And nbo, from the betta experts I have consulted, they do not live together. Or if they did, they would have miles of open water around them. An aquarium is a very different matter.

I’ll try testing the ph of my tap water like you said. I had read from many websites online that bettas and harlequin raspboras are good tank mates, so I tried it with my last beta and they got along fine. I’ll keep an eye on them and if they start billing or if the beta chases them too much or seems stressed by them I’ll move them to a new tank.

 

[Sleeveless]

I see I'm not the only one with PH issues. Comes out of tap at 7 and ends up 8.2. Nothing in the tank that I can see causing it to spike. Curious what you find out.

 

[Back in the fold]

Did you follow the test kit instructions and do the test correctly ? You have to do those tests EXACTLY .

 

[Essjay]

And what's the pH of a glass of water that's been allowed to stand for 24 hours - have you done that yet?

 

[Uberhoust]

I suspect the issue was from the deep clean. I have seen pH fluctuations in my tanks after a deep cleaning. I suspect there are dissolved mineral salts at saturation levels within the undisturbed sections of the tank, cleaning releases these into the other sections of the tank. When I do a big cleaning I will usually lower the water level only by about ten percent, clean the tank, then draw down a larger amount of water, i.e. only leave 15 to 20% of the original water before refilling the tank, this pulls more "gunk" out of the water. I can get away with this in my large tanks because my water from the tap closely matches the chemistry of my fish tank water.

Most of my fish seem to enjoy the experience, but I do have one older angel that can get stressed. I find that if I refill the tank slowly she is not affected.

 

[sharkweek178]

Its been a while since I’ve been here. I got out of the hobby and didn’t have much time for my tank but last week a did a deep clean and checked my water parameters and they were good. Two days I got a new betta to live with my harlequin raspboras in their 29 gallon tank and everything was going well until I realized he started being not as active and swimming slowly. I checked my ph and it instantly went to the highest possible measurement 8.8. I have no idea how the ph spiked so much. I’m performing a water change now. And ideas on how to get this down to a safe level quick and why it may have spiked? Edit: After water change ph is 7.0

Some rocks and stones can increase pH. Do you have anything like that in the aquarium?

 

[GaryE]

The lone Betta or not debate is endless. It's opinion, lacking facts.

A fancy Betta splendens doesn't exist in nature, unless it's been dumped. Wild bettas, radically different from their domestic form (think of the domestic as a fighting pug, and the wild as a wolf) have other fish in their habitats - small Rasboras, etc. They have lots of other species around them. They don't interact with them and don't share their surface niche. They are far less aggressive than bred for gambling/fighting domestics.

I had tetras nip overgrown Betta fins, and moved those Bettas to their own tanks. I had Bettas in communities for 30 years, and never had a problem. But nothing under 15 gallons can be a community to me. Such tanks need space.

I'm told what I've done is impossible, but it always worked fine. I will not keep fancy Bettas anymore because I think the fin sizes and deformities have crossed a line, and the health issues are worse. But I had them for 40 years or so. In communities.

 

[bettafishlover86]

Some rocks and stones can increase pH. Do you have anything like that in the aquarium?I

And what's the pH of a glass of water that's been allowed to stand for 24 hours - have you done that yet?

it came out as 6.2

I

Did you follow the test kit instructions and do the test correctly ? You have to do those tests EXACTLY .

Yeah I did do it correctly