Time. It will ultimately settle in. Getting there can be a little stressful, but the pay off is coming.
Is My Tank Cycled/ready Yet?
- Thread starter Ruskull
- Start date
Ammonia is bright yellow, Nitrite is a perfect blue.
Regular pH looks high at somewhere between 7.2 & 7.6 or so. High pH reads between 7.4 & 7.8 or so. The pH would be around 7.6 which is a bit high for a community tank.
I have a brand new bottle of API pH down. Should I use it? Would a slightly high pH kill fish?
I've never tested the water hardness, could that cause these problems? I have 2 small pieces of driftwood in the tank with plants growing in them. In fact I have 13 plants in there of various species. I thought all those things would lower pH?
Nitrates look to be exactly 40 ppm. Not bad but I did expect it to be lower than that.
Regular pH looks high at somewhere between 7.2 & 7.6 or so. High pH reads between 7.4 & 7.8 or so. The pH would be around 7.6 which is a bit high for a community tank.
I have a brand new bottle of API pH down. Should I use it? Would a slightly high pH kill fish?
I've never tested the water hardness, could that cause these problems? I have 2 small pieces of driftwood in the tank with plants growing in them. In fact I have 13 plants in there of various species. I thought all those things would lower pH?
Nitrates look to be exactly 40 ppm. Not bad but I did expect it to be lower than that.
I've had consistent yellow & blue ammonia & nitrite. I feel like I accomplished something, even if I did lose some of my best fish. The learning curve for aquariums is very steep but I'm sure it's worth it.
About an hour ago I used the API pH down. I just checked the pH & it's either 7.0 or 7.2. The colors are so similar it's virtually impossible to tell the difference anyway.
I also dosed the tank again with the kordon rid-fungus.
I also dosed the tank again with the kordon rid-fungus.
pH down is generally NOT recommended. It changes the pH too quickly. What is your tap water pH? Fish are more adaptable to high pH than they are fluctuating pH. pH down isn't a permanent solution, the pH will probably rise again. No big deal. Just let it go. If you are looking to lower it, adding more driftwood, adding some peat to the filter will both work, but slower. Ultimately, 7.4-7.6 isn't really a dangerous level. A member here, Harlequin, has corys at about a 8.0 pH and they are breeding like crazy.
That figures. I guess I was desperate for an answer to the problem with the chemistry. I'm going to return the dead Pearl to the fish store later today. He said to bring a water sample to determine what my problem is. I can only guess that it's a soft/hard water thing since that's the only test I haven't run yet.
The pH is currently at around 7.1-7.2 and we'll see how long that lasts.
The pH is currently at around 7.1-7.2 and we'll see how long that lasts.
Well I returned the dead Pearl to the fish store & they checked my water. Zero for ammonia & nitrite, pH normal at 7.0 according to them. They discarded my 4th vial of water before I requested that they check my water hardness. He assured me that my water hardness should be normal if I'm on city/county water.
I ended up getting a Pearl Gourami male & 2 more Lemon Tetras.
The tank shows no signs of Ich or fungus but I'm still continuing the rid-fungus treatments, reduced to once a day, and we'll see how that goes.
I ended up getting a Pearl Gourami male & 2 more Lemon Tetras.
The tank shows no signs of Ich or fungus but I'm still continuing the rid-fungus treatments, reduced to once a day, and we'll see how that goes.
Well I treated the tank again this morning & my wife noticed that distinct, pickish white spot was still on my Pearl Gourami's head and now she has some sort of white junk on her side. She's been "flashing" against stuff in the tank as if she knows something isn't right. I don't know if she's in pain or what. I don't have any idea what to do at this point. Should I take her out & bring her to a fish store? They'll probably just flush her rather than figure out what the problem is. The store that I got her from is an hour away & I work during the week. I can't imagine what I could do better to eradicate this problem once & for all.
I'm sorry to say that I don't know what you should do at this point. I've never had Pearl Gouramis. I don't know what the issue could be. Perhaps a thread in the gourami section will give you some new perspective. Do any of the other fish show signs of this? Or is it limited to the gourami?
If so, and you have a QT (Quarantine tank) I would move her as soon as possible. Take a pinch or two of media with her to cycle the QT immediately for her. Have no substrate in there to be able to vac out any waste and keep her water crystal clear as best you can. The most important thing is clean water. Beyond that, I'm not sure what the next step should be.
If so, and you have a QT (Quarantine tank) I would move her as soon as possible. Take a pinch or two of media with her to cycle the QT immediately for her. Have no substrate in there to be able to vac out any waste and keep her water crystal clear as best you can. The most important thing is clean water. Beyond that, I'm not sure what the next step should be.
I don't have any QT tanks available. The shape of the mark on her left side toward the front looks like a sideways "V" pointing to the front of her face. The original top spot is more pinkish than white and it seems slightly larger. There doesn't appear to be any tufts of white like you'd expect from a fungus. There is a slight haze of whiteness around the "V" shape which could be Ich. You have to look at it in a certain light to see it though.
We'll see how she looks after another dose of the rid-fungus & I'm going to use some conditioning salt too. I know the salt isn't good for Corries, Otos and even Tetras but what else can I do?
If she looks bad tomorrow morning I'll net her & bring her back to the store where I got her from. This is frickin' ridiculous already.
We'll see how she looks after another dose of the rid-fungus & I'm going to use some conditioning salt too. I know the salt isn't good for Corries, Otos and even Tetras but what else can I do?
If she looks bad tomorrow morning I'll net her & bring her back to the store where I got her from. This is frickin' ridiculous already.
I would suggest you not add salt. You know that it is bad for the cories and otos, but are just hoping that it will do something for the gourami. Ultimately, you have to think about ALL of your fish right now, not just the Pearl. If you are already resigned to bagging her up tomorrow morning and taking her back to the store, then just do a massive water change to give her some clean water to swim around in and let that do her some help. Hopefully, we can help her, while not harming the others.
Sorry I can't be of more help. You've had a tough go of it.
Sorry I can't be of more help. You've had a tough go of it.
After a salt treatment of 1 scoop per 5 gallons I noticed a slight white haze that looks a lot like Ich. I waited about an hour & a half & I just treated the tank with the rid-fungus.
The bad news is that the Ich is back, only on one fish though. The good news is that the feelers have healed on the Gold & Opaline Gouramis so all my efforts have achieved something at least.
Yes, the Corries are still playing around and I saw the Oto looking for a place to suck. Everyone seems to be taking the meds & salt well.
I also raised the temp slightly from 82 to 84 degrees.
The bad news is that the Ich is back, only on one fish though. The good news is that the feelers have healed on the Gold & Opaline Gouramis so all my efforts have achieved something at least.
Yes, the Corries are still playing around and I saw the Oto looking for a place to suck. Everyone seems to be taking the meds & salt well.
I also raised the temp slightly from 82 to 84 degrees.
I do appreciate your help but in my mind the whole tank is infected, not just a single fish. I have to treat the whole tank & I understand that the salt isn't good for them but I'm sure Ich is worse. I believe the Pearl female is infected pretty bad but I did save the Gold female from a worse state than what the Pearl looks like right now. The Gold looks great and hopefully the Pearl will recover too. I don't want to return her to the store because I can't be sure they won't just put her down. They have a whole store to worry about. It's hard to believe that they'd treat her when the fish probably cost them a dollar or two. I guess I don't have a lot of faith in humans.................sometimes.
Now you can see the white haze on her. It def. looks like Ich. #41####! According to every single source I checked, salt is a better, safer treatment than any meds. Corries & Otos HATE meds. They can deal with salt to some extent, especially if it isn't long term.
The amount I does the tank with is the amount to supposedly regularly treat a tank, not the quantity you'd use to treat Ich. If all goes well with the Corries & Otos I'll slowly raise the amount of salt to 2 scoops per 5 gallons over the next few days.
If that doesn't work I'll have to treat with meds, again. I used Super Ich Cure last time & it did work but maybe there's something better?
The amount I does the tank with is the amount to supposedly regularly treat a tank, not the quantity you'd use to treat Ich. If all goes well with the Corries & Otos I'll slowly raise the amount of salt to 2 scoops per 5 gallons over the next few days.
If that doesn't work I'll have to treat with meds, again. I used Super Ich Cure last time & it did work but maybe there's something better?
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