I have a filter, 3 live plants. I had a total of 7 fish now iam down to 2 and a baby fish. At first they were all happy and they even had babies. Then they started dying off. Out of the blue. My last silver one died this morning and she had red all over her coat. I check the ph today and it was pretty high so i put some ph disolve tablets just now in there. I also have some stuff to cure any diseases. Can i put it in even though iam in the process of bring the ph down? HELP PLEASE!
2007-08-27 09:40:51 · 7 answers · asked by retrokittyspad 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
ghapy dont be rude. Iam asking for help. Second i have a 25 gallon tank.
2007-08-27 11:21:56 · update #1
i think maybe it might by the ammonia or nitrate, So i just did a 25 percent water change and put in new with some water cond. (ran out so im gonna pick some up). Tommorow ill do another 25 percent.
2007-08-27 11:46:22 · update #2
Nice sized tank, but pour water quality
This is definately ammonia poisening, never touch your pH, it will do more harm then good, there are natural ways to get it down as well like peat moss and drift wood
Do a waterchange of 50% with a gravel siphon right away, to save the rest of the fish, and add 1 tablespoon per 5 gallon of aquarium salt dissolved in a cup of tank water to it
The ammonia is ripping of the slimecoat from your fish
Do partial waterchanges of 25% every 3 days until your ammonia levels are at "0", then keep up with weekly maintanance of 25% partial waterchange
Hope that helps
Good luck
EB
Feel free to email me for further questions
2007-08-27 11:49:01 · answer #1 · answered by Kribensis lover 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The problem lies in solving the pH movement in the first place reducing it at this point quickly will do as much damage as it spiking in the first place.
A high pH generally occurs when your water table is high so the water company buffers the water to a comfortable level for your palate, of course when you put the water in the fish tank this buffer eventually breaks down over a period of time doing little damage however on occasions this can happen in a matter of minutes suddenly spiking the pH, this is due to many different reasons but if you have any ammonia in the system it causes major problems for the fish, including severe burning to the gills and body. It can also damage the bacteria in the filter thus requiring recycling the system (not exactly from scratch).
At this point I'd not put any cures into the system for fear of doing more damage than good.
Take a pH reading of the water, do a 25 pct water change and take another reading, repeat the process tomorrow and the next day until the pH is closer to 7, also do a separate test on the tap water and store it for 24hrs and repeat the process see what the difference is. It may mean you will need to obtain a different source of water or change the pH in buckets before putting it in the fish tank but you should try and avoid altering the pH with fish present in the system.
AJ
2007-08-27 09:57:19 · answer #2 · answered by andyjh_uk 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
You don't mention the size of your tank. 7 gallons and under, they're cramped and of course they would die. 10 gallons and up, that's another story. The red coat sounds like ammonia/nitrite poisoning. Test your water or bring it to a local pet store and have them test it for you. Do 25% water changes daily until the ammonia/nitrite goes away.
It would take a very high pH to kill your fish. Don't bother messing with your pH unless a specific fish needs a specific pH, like discus. Adding too much chemicals in your tank will upset the chemical balance of your tank. I wouldn't add any medicine unless the fish are actually sick.
~ZTM
2007-08-27 11:13:40 · answer #3 · answered by ZooTycoonMaster 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would take a very high PH to kill your fish and I doubt that's the problem, and those tablets are temporary solution that results in unstable water. I don't recommend using them. I also don't recommend dumping random medication into the tank without knowing whats wrong. Meds are hard on the fishes system and a last resort. I do recommend, however, doing daily water changes as you try to figure out what's going on.
The more important things to test in cases like this are Ammonia and Nitrite. WIthout knowing these, adding anything to the tank is risky and pointless.
2007-08-27 09:55:43 · answer #4 · answered by Ghapy 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
A ph swing brought on by those stupid pellets might kill the remaining fish. Trops can live in a ph from 5-9 about, so don't ever try to change it.
Do you test the ammonia and nitrite levels?
2007-08-27 11:23:11 · answer #5 · answered by bzzflygirl 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I wouldn't add anymore fish until you figure out what's wrong.
2007-08-30 12:07:11 · answer #6 · answered by Chris 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i think you should go see the pet doctor ok bye.
2007-08-27 09:56:50 · answer #7 · answered by Anisa 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋