Hey everyone. I just finished cycling my tank with 4 rosy barbs. When the ammonia and nitrite was 0, i added in 2 more rosy barbs, then the next day i added 6 oddessa barbs. I know that sounds like a lot, but i really liked these oddessa barbs that i saw! Anyway, this morning, the day after i added my 6 oddessa's, i saw one of my rosy's dead. I got no idea why, so i tested for pH and ammonia. Ammonia was still fine, and the pH was 8. I did a water change, about 35-40% and found the pH to be about 7.4 So my questions are:
1) Could the high pH kill the fish? All the others are swimming around fine, and until i saw the dead little rosy, i was thinking how active they all were.
2) Other than changing the water, how can i keep my pH down? I baught some stuff called pH down, but i havnt added it yet coz i dont know about adding chemicals. It does contain phosphates.
3) What could cause the high pH? i have a couple of yellow/orange rocks that i was told would be okay by the fish store. I scratch them and they look white, which i beleive means they are calcium based, hence increasing the pH. If its not the rocks, what else could it be? What do i do if its the gravel that is causing the high pH?
If taken one of the rocks out and put it in a bucket of tap water, the pH before the rock goes in is 6.8. Im planning on testing the water again tomorrow. Any suggestions/help would appreciated!
Alex
1) Could the high pH kill the fish? All the others are swimming around fine, and until i saw the dead little rosy, i was thinking how active they all were.
2) Other than changing the water, how can i keep my pH down? I baught some stuff called pH down, but i havnt added it yet coz i dont know about adding chemicals. It does contain phosphates.
3) What could cause the high pH? i have a couple of yellow/orange rocks that i was told would be okay by the fish store. I scratch them and they look white, which i beleive means they are calcium based, hence increasing the pH. If its not the rocks, what else could it be? What do i do if its the gravel that is causing the high pH?
If taken one of the rocks out and put it in a bucket of tap water, the pH before the rock goes in is 6.8. Im planning on testing the water again tomorrow. Any suggestions/help would appreciated!
Alex
