Fish Are Dropping Like Flies

[Inchworm]

Hi Kombat

Unless you are specializing in certain delicate fish that have specific pH requirements, you are almost always better off leaving it alone. Your fish will have adapted to your local water while they are at the lfs and the transition to your tank will be easier for them. It's hard to stabilize, once you start changing it, and going from one level to another is dangerous to the fish. I just asked about this to find out if your new fish might have been suffering from pH shock.

What kind of fish do you eventually plan to keep in your tank?

It would probably be a good idea to do a water change and continue the ich medication a few days longer. It's most important to get completely rid of the ich and since it goes through various stages that the medicine can's effect, it's just a matter of taking a bit of time to kill them all. A rule of thumb I heard is to treat the tank twice as long as the medicine calls for, just to be on the safe side.

While your water tests can tell you about the condition of the beneficial bacteria by indicating how well they are doing their job, they can't tell you anything about the level of potential harmful bacteria in there. That's why regular water changes are important. Feed lightly while medicating them too, and this will help.

Now that you have a reliable heater, that's one problem off your mind.

 

[Kombat]

My eventual stocking plan is 3 or 4 corys, 8 Rummy Noses, and a pair of Blue Rams. The White Clouds will be found a home. I just got them because the lfs said they were good cycling fish. I might try a betta again in there. My wife and I talked about it and we think we want to give it another try. I know most betta people don't recommend it, but I know people have done it successfully. Otherwise I will replace the Betta with some other solitary fish, like a Rainbow Shark maybe. The Rams are the reason I am concerned about the pH. If I need to I will just decide on a different fish. I'll talk to a local cichlid supplier and see what his/her advice is.

I'll medicate for a few more days just to be safe like you say.

Thanks,
Karl

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Kombat

I keep a few bettas in my cory tanks with no problem, as long as there is a big bunch of floating plants to give them some relief from the current created by my AquaClear filter. The males, in particular, have a problem with it. The female with her smaller fins seems to do better. Unlike gouramis, I've never seen a betta attack a cory, but I have heard that certain ones might.

The rams might be a problem with the corys though. There is currently another member discussing this in the Corydoras forum. Corys are very peaceful fish and the stress of living with potential danger is hard on them. It's something you might want to think about.