Ph shock

[Guyb93]

Iv been posting about my dying corys lately and I think touch wood the dying has stoped ... sounds bad but I decided to ignore the situation after endless water changes and stuff and beens non of the other fish have died just corys I have up ... but still baffled i messages the person I bought the larger part of my group from and explained what’s happening and asked if he’s having same issues with what he has in his tank . He says no ... that’s what I’d say to lol so ask what his water parameters are obviously I wasn’t expecting full honestly if I had bad water and fish I sold was dying I’m not going to admit it as I expected perfect water but I noticed his Ph was 8 -8.5 ... mine is 6.5-7
Could I have ph shocked them? Sound crazy I know and maybe just an excuse lol but is that a big enough difference from bag to tank to shock the fish ? He only lives 1 hour away so not sure why the water is differnt

 

[itiwhetu]

That is a big pH shift.

 

[Guyb93]

That is a big pH shift.

Where I live it’s on the border of two counties and the water changes from soft middling which I get to fairly hard within a space of 5 miles . This is the first time I have ever thought about this but how can you prevent this is general? I mean I don’t buy fish online but for those who do how can you combat buying fish from a source with a differnt ph and not harm the fish

 

[itiwhetu]

Your pH is fine so don't change anything. I love slightly acid tanks it stops ammonia spikes. So introducing fish from an alkaline system can be a challenge. I am surprised his pH is that high and that these fish were happy in that. Anything over pH 8 in my mind is marine, but that is just how I work. I think your best bet is to find another supplier who can guarantee that the fish have been in water around pH 7

 

[Guyb93]

Your pH is fine so don't change anything. I love slightly acid tanks it stops ammonia spikes. So introducing fish from an alkaline system can be a challenge. I am surprised his pH is that high and that these fish were happy in that. Anything over pH 8 in my mind is marine, but that is just how I work. I think your best bet is to find another supplier who can guarantee that the fish have been in water around pH 7

I had never bought fish from him before , I got suckerd in while in pets at home a large pet store chain here in uk and bought 5 of them because that’s all they had then feeling bad and wanting more I go to my usual breeder who only had 2 babies really small so I had them but they were still shy and hiding so just wanting to boost there numbers fast I bought 7 from somebody who was selling fish online something I don’t normally do because I don’t have a quarantine tank , makes me think he used fresh tap water to transport them as surely without treating a fish tank wouldn’t be sitting at that ph don’t all water turn neutral 7 after 48 hours

 

[itiwhetu]

I had never bought fish from him before , I got suckerd in while in pets at home a large pet store chain here in uk and bought 5 of them because that’s all they had then feeling bad and wanting more I go to my usual breeder who only had 2 babies really small so I had them but they were still shy and hiding so just wanting to boost there numbers fast I bought 7 from somebody who was selling fish online something I don’t normally do because I don’t have a quarantine tank , makes me think he used fresh tap water to transport them as surely without treating a fish tank wouldn’t be sitting at that ph don’t all water turn neutral 7 after 48 hours

Bugger, I am sorry.

 

[Wills]

I would definitely think this could explain the issue a ph that high in the UK would usually suggest they have added something like crushed coral or ocean rock in the tank to get the ph that high. Does he breed a lot of african cichlids too?

If you were to keep getting fish from him you will probably want to shift to doing drip aclimatising.

Wills

 

[Guyb93]

I would definitely think this could explain the issue a ph that high in the UK would usually suggest they have added something like crushed coral or ocean rock in the tank to get the ph that high. Does he breed a lot of african cichlids too?

If you were to keep getting fish from him you will probably want to shift to doing drip aclimatising.

Wills

Looking back at his page he’s selling mainly temperate fish like weather loach and minnows nothing that I’d normally buy and was more than happy to dive an hour to deliver them to me for only £15 for 7 corys .. when I say it like that it sounds stupid lol would of cost him that in fule ahah I can’t see why his tank ph would be so high ... unless like you say he is keeping African , or have I got it wrong and it’s not a ph shock and these corys are used to living at 70f with minnows and loaches and they are just not adjusting to my 80f ... I’m grasping at straws to be honest iv gave up physical trying to sort it but mentally beating myself up looking for an answer lol

 

[itiwhetu]

Temperature would be a less likely cause of death. Stick to the pH.

 

[Essjay]

don’t all water turn neutral 7 after 48 hours

No it doesn't. Unless something is added to the water to change it, the pH of tap water will remain constant after allowing 24 hours for stuff the water company adds to gas off. Tank water can change. For example, nitrate from the nitrogen cycle will lower pH if it is allowed to build up, and coral/limestone will raise pH.

Several years ago I did some tests to see how various things changed water parameters. I used 2 tubs, one with just tap water and one with tap water plus the substance. The pH in the plain water tub was different after 24 hours as CO2 gassed out, but the 7 day test was the same as the 24 hour test in every case. And none of them was pH 7.0.

 

[Guyb93]

No it doesn't. Unless something is added to the water to change it, the pH of tap water will remain constant after allowing 24 hours for stuff the water company adds to gas off. Tank water can change. For example, nitrate from the nitrogen cycle will lower pH if it is allowed to build up, and coral/limestone will raise pH.

Several years ago I did some tests to see how various things changed water parameters. I used 2 tubs, one with just tap water and one with tap water plus the substance. The pH in the plain water tub was different after 24 hours as CO2 gassed out, but the 7 day test was the same as the 24 hour test in every case. And none of them was pH 7.0.

Good info , iv been lead to believe that leaving water to stand for 24-48 neutralises it glad that information never lead me astray , leaving water to sit will get rid of chlorine tho right? Or is tht another bit of bad info

 

[Essjay]

Chlorine does gas out of water in about 24 hours - or quicker if you run an air stone in it. But chloramine does not gas out and some water companies have moved over to that.

Tap water pH can change over the first 24 hours. Where the pH is acidic, water companies often add something to raise the pH temporarily to prevent corrosion of the mains pipes. With hard water they often add something to prevent limescale building up in the pipes. Both of these gas off on standing. This is why when we ask for the pH of tap water we ask for the pH of freshly run water and also of a glass of water that's been allowed to stand for 24 hours.

The other time a period of 24 hours is mentioned in with those water conditioners which detoxify ammonia (and in the case of Seachem Prime, also nitrite). This detoxification only lasts around 24 hours after which the ammonia/nitrite reverts to the toxic form again.