Worried Newcomer

[jmc2005]

Hi all,

I am a complete newcomer to tropical fish. I have a 40gallon tank, was set-up,planted etc for 2 weeks. Then got 5 danios, one of which was not right straight after putting them in tank. Anyway 2 days later I was down to 3 danios. Tested water pH-8.0 (LFS said way too high so added drops to lower ph and has only gone down slightly). NO2 also a bit high so did water changes, added cycle bacteria, water softner pad to filter, etc. Having brought NO2 down a bit I bought 5 harlequins and a pleco. Noticed one of the harlequins had lump on its back (told by LFS that it was hernia and needless to say it died!! the body never showed up though, searched everywhere (could pleco/danios have eaten it over night). 2 days later pleco dead after 25% water change (started swimming around all crazy during change but was fine until next day!!! Very upsetting. What can I do to get NO2 to zero and stop the deaths. Thinking about giving up completely if anymore die.


Advice needed!!!!

 

[rdd1952]

It sounds like your LFS may have some fish that aren't top quality but you probably have some other problems too. A pH of 8.0 is pretty high but most fish can handle it if they are acclimated properly. When you buy fish and get them home, open the bag and start them floating. Take a test sample of the bag water and test the pH. That is the most critical thing when acclimating fish. Most LFS generally try to keep their pH around 7.0 so if your's is 8.0 and you are just floating them for 10 or 15 minutes and turning them loose, they are probably dying from pH shock. That is a huge change. Best way to acclimate is to float for 10 minutes, add a cup or your tank water to the bag, float 10 minutes and add more water to bag. Contimue to do this until the bag is full or for about an hour. That will slowly get them accustomed to the higher pH.

I would be very careful adding chemicals as your tank can become dependent on them and it can get very expensive. To lower your pH, look into adding CO2 (you said you had plants) or driftwood. Both will generally lower pH. How much depends on how hard the water is. The harder the water, the less effect they will have.

As for the fish that disappeared, yes the other fish probably ate him. All of us have fish that mysteriously disappear and that is generally what happens. How many fish do you have left and how many did you start with? It is definitely possible to cycle with fish but you have to go slowly. I would suggest you do some research and try to find fish that like higher pH so you don't have to do much to try changing it. It is always better to get the fish that are suited for your water than to try to change your water to suit your fish.

 

[jmc2005]

Thanks rdd1952,

Have a few pieces of bogwood and plenty of plants. Started with 5 danios and 2 weeks later added 5 harlequins and pleco. Lost 2 danios initially and then 1 harlequin and pleco yesterday. Will leave it to cycle for another while before considering getting more fish. Will also look for a new LFS. Whats the best method of softening my water, believe its quite hard.

Jonathan

 

[jflowers]

Have you thought about rainbows? Very nice fish and they like harder alkaline water. i would have thought the danios would be ok too, if acclimatised properly.

Its always better to go with fish that enjoy your standard tap water conditions, addatives are not always the best way to go. As stated though, going from a ph of 7 to 8 is a big change, the acidity changes x10 per point, so 8 is ten times more alkaline than 7.

Jon

 

[isu_guy]

don't quote me but I'm pretty sure you can soften your water by mixing in rainwater, reverse osmosis water, or distilled water.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Mixing in rain water can be dodgy these days, as you're also going to be mixing in an awful lot of pollution. As somebody else said, it is probably safer to choose your fish to suit your water rather than trying to adapt your water to your fish.

 

[sylvia]

Don't mess with your pH. I have water with a pH of 8 and just spending a little longer acclimating new fish means I can keep anything I want. Even fish like angels, neon tetras etc do fine in a pH of 8. My LFS keeps discus at that pH and has no problems with it. Also, I have zebra danios, harlequin rasboras etc and none have problems with pH.

I would say your problem is that you have not cycled your tank. Read up on that. There are pinned topics in this forum and links in my signature that should point you in the right direction. A search through this forum should also bring up plenty of helpfull threads.