Hi,
The folks decided to set up a fish tank and it has been running now for about 5 months.
Current temperature of water : 25 degrees Celsius
Nitrite level of water : the liquid test kit colour change shows that its under 0.3 mg/l
One pump giving out oxygen through two tubes with airstones attached is in the tank
I haven't purchased an ammonia test kit or a pH test kit yet but when Honeydew 'Dewey' (my Serpae tetra) became sick I used ammonia remover as an emergency measure as I suspected poisoning. I did a water change (which stressed the neons a bit), added quite a few plants including pondweed because the tank has previously been overcleaned and overfed.
Honeydew first showed signs of shimmy then progressively got weaker (drifting, then headstanding). I should have euthansed her long before she appeared dead yesterday evening.
The fish in the tank include one very large red platy and 5 neon tetras. The neon tetras do not appear sick. The lateral red line is very bright as is the neon green colour to them and they seem to be able to go to the very front of the tank whenever I'm holding food. They appear 'sociable'.
My platy however has for about a few weeks changed from being energetic, confident and kind of 'sociable' (she used to come right up to you and race to the top of the tank the minute food hit the surface), to shy, hiding all the time and darting away whenever people come close to the tank. Its worrying me. She is extremely bloated, her stomach bulges in a way that her belly stretches showing a whitish colour from stretching. She previously did eat ALOT. Her body colouration is as bright red as ever however whenever she does come out she almost appears too heavy to swim very high. She doesnt seem to eat very much but she still frantically 'jumps' at food but just seems to lose interest very quickly and hide.
Shes always in her cave.
One more thing I'd like help about is my water. Water in London is hard and alkaline. Tetras prefer water that is acidic. I purchased aquarium salt as it lowers pH to 7, something a little more tolerable for tetras however I learned that tetras being so delicate are very sensitive to salt. I need a way to maintain ideal pH for both my platy and my neons. Any suggestions?
Thanks
The folks decided to set up a fish tank and it has been running now for about 5 months.
Current temperature of water : 25 degrees Celsius
Nitrite level of water : the liquid test kit colour change shows that its under 0.3 mg/l
One pump giving out oxygen through two tubes with airstones attached is in the tank
I haven't purchased an ammonia test kit or a pH test kit yet but when Honeydew 'Dewey' (my Serpae tetra) became sick I used ammonia remover as an emergency measure as I suspected poisoning. I did a water change (which stressed the neons a bit), added quite a few plants including pondweed because the tank has previously been overcleaned and overfed.
Honeydew first showed signs of shimmy then progressively got weaker (drifting, then headstanding). I should have euthansed her long before she appeared dead yesterday evening.
The fish in the tank include one very large red platy and 5 neon tetras. The neon tetras do not appear sick. The lateral red line is very bright as is the neon green colour to them and they seem to be able to go to the very front of the tank whenever I'm holding food. They appear 'sociable'.
My platy however has for about a few weeks changed from being energetic, confident and kind of 'sociable' (she used to come right up to you and race to the top of the tank the minute food hit the surface), to shy, hiding all the time and darting away whenever people come close to the tank. Its worrying me. She is extremely bloated, her stomach bulges in a way that her belly stretches showing a whitish colour from stretching. She previously did eat ALOT. Her body colouration is as bright red as ever however whenever she does come out she almost appears too heavy to swim very high. She doesnt seem to eat very much but she still frantically 'jumps' at food but just seems to lose interest very quickly and hide.
Shes always in her cave.
One more thing I'd like help about is my water. Water in London is hard and alkaline. Tetras prefer water that is acidic. I purchased aquarium salt as it lowers pH to 7, something a little more tolerable for tetras however I learned that tetras being so delicate are very sensitive to salt. I need a way to maintain ideal pH for both my platy and my neons. Any suggestions?
Thanks
