Disaster Tank

[fionah]

Don't do that Fiona. It should be a simple case of regular water changes to raise the pH back up and a bit of detective work to find out what caused it to fall.

Do you inject CO2 into the tank for the plants by any chance?

I just don't want my 3 fish to suffer. Especially the little corys who were my first fish. Should I move them to the other tank then and keep the main one going without any fish?

No I don't use CO2. I only have an airstone which is on several hours a day, and a Fluval2+ filter which lets quite a lot of air bubbles in to the water.

 

[WILDER]

If you did move the fish you would have to climatise them for a very long time as the ph difference is huge.

 

[fionah]

If you did move the fish you would have to climatise them for a very long time as the ph difference is huge.

what would that entail? would I put them in a container with mixed water for a while first?

 

[WILDER]

Its going to be hard.
You would need a heater and airstone while you keep adding water from other tank.
A large bucket add the heater and airstone and add a net so they can't jump out.
You gradually keep adding the tank water till it matches the tank you are putting them in.
Also you have to match temp.
I think the best thing to do is investigate what causing the low ph.

 

[backtotropical]

While i don't agree that it would be difficult to acclimitise the fish to the other tank (a couple of hours of slowly mixing the water should be more than sufficient. Fish suffer much larger pH swings than this in their natural habitat), i don't think that it should be necessary to move them.

However, should you want the peace of mind, by all means. Just be aware that if you move all the fish from the tank, you should move the filter over to the other tank too in order to keep the beneficial bacteria alive.

You should start now with smallish water changes every day and see if that brings the pH back up. Are you sure the pH is the problem? Are all signs of fungus definitely gone? Are the remaining fish showing any signs of distress?

Sorry for all the questions. Just trying to get to the bottom of this.

BTT

 

[LauraFrog]

Do you have an undergravel filter? Sometimes fish poo, uneaten food and other gunk can get under the undergravel plates and this will make the water go acid. It can even reduce the pH by up to 1.5 units.

 

[fionah]

While i don't agree that it would be difficult to acclimitise the fish to the other tank (a couple of hours of slowly mixing the water should be more than sufficient. Fish suffer much larger pH swings than this in their natural habitat), i don't think that it should be necessary to move them.

However, should you want the peace of mind, by all means. Just be aware that if you move all the fish from the tank, you should move the filter over to the other tank too in order to keep the beneficial bacteria alive.

You should start now with smallish water changes every day and see if that brings the pH back up. Are you sure the pH is the problem? Are all signs of fungus definitely gone? Are the remaining fish showing any signs of distress?

Sorry for all the questions. Just trying to get to the bottom of this.

BTT

I definitely cannot see any signs of fungus and the 3 remaining fish look fine, swimming around and eating normally. Though this was also the case with most of the other fish before they all died suddenly!

No worries with the questions! I would rather get to the bottom of this as well so that I could keep both tanks. But if they keep dying and I cannot find the cause, then my only choice would be to start from scratch again with the main one. If I do this, should I not get rid of the filter media as well in case this is harbouring any disease? I guess I'd have to start the whole biological cycle all over again.

Do you have an undergravel filter? Sometimes fish poo, uneaten food and other gunk can get under the undergravel plates and this will make the water go acid. It can even reduce the pH by up to 1.5 units.

No, I have a fluval 2+ internal filter.