return to main index

  mobile - desktop
follow us on facebook follow us on twitter follow us on YouTube link to us on LinkedIn
 
Click here for LLL Reptile & Supply
Mice, Rats, Rabbits, Chicks, Quail
Available Now at RodentPro.com!
Locate a business by name: click to list your business
search the classifieds. buy an account
events by zip code list an event
Search the forums             Search in:
News & Events: Herp Photo of the Day: Happy Rattlesnake Friday! . . . . . . . . . .  Herp Photo of the Day: Indigo . . . . . . . . . .  Suncoast Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  DFW Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Colorado Herp Society Meeting - Apr 20, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Chicago Herpetological Society Meeting - Apr 21, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Bay Area Herpetological Society Meeting - Apr 26, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Calusa Herp Society Meeting - May 02, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Southwestern Herp Society Meeting - May 04, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Exotic Pets Expo - Manasas - May 05, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  Greater Cincinnati Herp Society Meeting - May 07, 2024 . . . . . . . . . .  St. Louis Herpetological Society - May 12, 2024 . . . . . . . . . . 
Join USARK - Fight for your rights!
full banner - advertise here .50¢/1000 views
click here for Rodent Pro
pool banner - $50 year

RE: HELP! 55 gallon tank, ammonia, low ph

[ Login ] [ User Prefs ] [ Search Forums ] [ Back to Main Page ] [ Back to Fish, Coral, & Aquariums ] [ Reply To This Message ]
[ Register to Post ]

Posted by: phishie at Thu Nov 24 08:15:56 2011  [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by phishie ]  
   

Welcome to the boards.

We've all been where you are, and most of the time it's a learning experience. When adding new fish to an established tank, you should have a quarantine tank to avoid passing disease to your established tank. Also, if you're doing weekly water changes, you only want to do 10% water changes as more than that would damage the bacteria.
I'm sure that the sudden change in pH may have increased your casualty rate because it's not just a little jump from like 6.0 to 6.5 it's a log scale, so that's a big change for healthy fish let alone stressed fish. The salt addition was a good idea though.

The huddling at the top of the tank indicates low oxygen levels, so you'll probably want to add an airstone or two especially since there's low oxygen in water in normal circumstances, and now they're stressed so they're using more oxygen. The milkiness of your tank may be an indicator that your ammonia is going to jump. Are you using an ammonia reducer?

The answers to your questions:
1) Patience is necessary as your water parameters won't return to normal overnight. Water changes (when ammonia is high) and highly oxygenated water will help your fish. If you don't notice the fish rubbing on things, you should be able to treat the ich and recover your fish. Like I said, check your water prior to putting it in the tank. If you're using tap water, you should let it sit for at least 24 hours to let out any toxins. If your pH is low from the water you're using you should adjust it prior to adding it to the tank, but be sure that your water in the tank is similar to avoid a massive jump in pH. However, if you fish were happy then, they shouldn't be sick from the pH. The fish you mentioned are pretty tolerable, and I think it was just the ammonia in the tank from overcrowding and possibly the ich came from one of the new fish. Stress will increase the likelihood of your fish getting sick, and the addition of a new fish starts your cycle over again. That's stressful for fish.
2) The water you are using could be the reason your pH is low. Have you tested the water prior to using it?
3)It seems you are starting all over again, but with frequent water changes (and lots of water being changed) you can upset the bacteria, and will need to start all over again.
4) There are several treatments available for ich, and I can't recommend one with the best recovery because the ones I used didn't work well (I lost all my fish), and usually it's too late to cure your fish. The good news - any of your fish that do make it through ich, will have a resistance to it. Also, your baby guppies may die when adding an ich treatment because they are so small and are more susceptible to illnesses (and therefore any chemical treatments in the tank).


Hopefully this will help, I realize it's been a couple of days, but I hope you can still use the information. Don't give up on your tank, mistakes happen, and that's what we're here for.

Keep us posted on your progress.


   

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]


<< Previous Message:  HELP! 55 gallon tank, ammonia, low ph - lilypad42, Mon Nov 21 19:24:00 2011