Freshwater tank pH Spike?

Question

I have a 30 gallon freshwater tank with 3 angelfish, 1 blue gourami, and a silver dollar.

The silver dollar is being treated with melafix for fin rot, using the prescribed dosage. Today was the fourth day of a seven-day treatment.

Ammonia and nitrites are testing fine, but the pH is between 8.0 and 8.5 today thought it was only at 7.0 yesterday. What's going on? And how do I fix it? Help!

This is a new established tank...sort of. My friend is moving out of state, so I adopted his tank. We moved it from his house to mine on Wednesday, and transferred about 1/3 of the old water. I'm using Cycle to help establish the tank. The fish are already stressed from the move (not eating, silver dollar developed fin rot) -- and this pH spike isn't helping. They seem very agitated. Help!

Yup -- I'm using the Tetra kit with the liquid drops and the little vials. It's saying everything but the pH is OK...

Answer 1

Increase in alkalinity like this is usually down to higer ammonia in a near new set up. Check out the potency of you ammonia test kit. Don't rely on test strip as they can become tainted, I rely on liquid testers that use three differnt chemcals to produce a colour change.
TETRA do a very good test kit.

Answer 2

When you say ammonia and nitrites are "fine" - what is the exact number? 3 angelfish, 1 blue gourami and 1 silver dollar is a lot of fish for a 30 gallon tank and I would not be surprised that excess ammonia is causing a pH spike, particularly because Cycle is actually completely ineffective (it's just the dead nitrifying bacteria - and you want the live bacteria).

This could be a reason they are stressed. Most fish will move fairly easily.

I don't know whether you're aware but silver dollars can grow to 8" and are schools. They should be kept in nothing smaller than 55 gallons. Angelfish can grow to 6" long and tall, and while you can get away with keeping a pair in a 30 gallon TALL, putting 3 in a 30 gallon normal is a stretch. Considering bringing the silver dollar and the angelfish to the petstore, and stocking it with some smallre fish to complement your blue gourami, and I bet you'd see a marked improvement in pH stability.

Answer 3

well, do you and your friend live in the same city? different cities have different Ph levels. Test the tap water. You may need to soften the water before you do water changes.

go slow with any method you choose with the Ph. Even though it is not a recommended Ph level, it isn't poison either. 8.0 and 8.5 is survivable. if your buffers are high, then it should stabilize. You'll be looking for alkalinity and hardness. when those numbers are moderate to high, it prevents sudden shifts in Ph. To change the buffering capacity you could use a product called buffer up or buffer down. A more gentle way to change the Ph is to use peat moss in a mechanical filter. Please have your water tested for hardness, alkalinity, and Ph and then speak to several people before you choose your action.

remember, It is easier for a fish to adapt to a stable point then to constantly try to adapt to a changing point. 8.5 is survivable. you will cause more stress to your fish by messing with the water constantly then you would if you gave them a chance to adapt. Once everything is stable and settled, then you can slowly change the Ph through water changes. It will just take time.



in my experience, copper safe is a bad, bad thing if you do not know how to use it. Not to mention that any stress coat that detoxifies heavy metal will make that copper safe null and void. I had a professional work up done on my water and found that copper was what was killing my sensitive fish, scaleless fish, and invertebrates. a type of stress coat was recommended and it solved my issue by removing the copper. Latterly, I saw improvement overnight.

second, i have had a lot of success with melafix for low level bacterial infections, and it isn't harmful to the other fish. It's like...liquid band-aide.

I'm not saying that copper safe is a bad product, you just have to know when and how to use it properly.


btw...with melafix, you have to remove the carbon filters. if you have, then the water quality is deteriorating. You should use melafix in a three-five day cycle, doing a 25% water change before and after treatment. In between cycles, you should run the water through the carbon to remove and build up of chemicals in the water.

Sorry, i like to write books!

Answer 4

Hello. See if you can obtain some stress coat made by Jungle Labs and treat the tail rot with coppersafe by Mardel labs. I also suggest for the PH spike to obtain PH down made by Wardley's or Jungle labs. Drops are easier to use than the powder. Make sure there are no seashells in the tank. Some meds will spike a PH level but usually not that extreme. That is a dangerous level for the above mentioned fish--Good Luck