Anyone else have a tank with a PH of 6.0? Mine's always been 6.0. The water out of the the tap is 6.0, so it seems reasonable to assume the tanks at the store have a water level about 6.0. It was suggested that I might want to raise it a tiny bit for the fish in my tank (angels and barbs), as I've lost 7 fish in the past week.

Btw, all other levels are great: ammonia 0, nitrites 0 nitrates 5. They tested my water at the store with a strip and found my water is also on the high side of soft and it's alkaline is on the low side.

Any thoughts?

I'm just trying to figure out why half of my fish have died. What could I be overlooking? What information do I not have that could be saving these poor little fish?

__________________
Fish keeping is like golfing; hopelessly seeking elusive perfection.
_______________
55 gal freshwater
2 Angels
1 Pearl Gourami
2 Tiger Barbs
2 Albino Barbs
2 Green Barbs
6 Gold Barbs
1 Rubber Lipped Pleco

test strips are not good for much . i'd get myself a api master kit cost about 30.00 but works way better then test strips . you can buy buffer to bring your ph up . but you dont want to make a big change all at one time .or you will kill all your fish from shock

__________________
if you loan some one money an never see them Again it was money well spent !!!!!

Yes, I have the API test kit and have been using it every day or two while the fish adjust to their new living environment. I basically brought my water to the store so they could test it so they could know my water conditions as I usually deal with the same staff all the time.

I have PH Up, but I'm a little hesitant to use it, do I really want to have to alter my water on a regular basis? I don't know. However, if that's the best thing to do for the fish, then I will begin doing it. And I read the bottle and would only increase the ph slightly each day or so to lessen the shock/stress on the little fish.

__________________
Fish keeping is like golfing; hopelessly seeking elusive perfection.
_______________
55 gal freshwater
2 Angels
1 Pearl Gourami
2 Tiger Barbs
2 Albino Barbs
2 Green Barbs
6 Gold Barbs
1 Rubber Lipped Pleco

Don't use chemicals to change your pH! It causes more problems than it solves!

If you acclimate your fish slowly (drip acclimation) your fish can get used to your pH level and be fine. I've got Cardinal Tetras who need soft water and they are in super hard water with a pH close to 8! It's all in the acclimation. Here's the Drip link: Drip acclimating fish It's really easy to do! Sometimes fish die weeks or months later from being improperly acclimated. The drip acclimation process tends to stop this from happening.

Also, if you want to raise the pH a bit, you could put some crushed sea shells or crushed coral into the filter. The extra calcium will raise the pH a little. (Crushed cuttle bone - like you would use for a bird/parrot - may work as well, but I'm not positive so you may want to research that one.)

__________________
20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

i dont use stuff at home due the ph out of the tap being 7.4 an my fish deal with it .but i have mosty saltwater tanks an ph stays at 8.2 .any way my friends tap water is 6.2 an we used sea cem buffer to bring it up to 7.2 did this over a few weeks tho an have lost no fish . so its up to you coral will work too

__________________
if you loan some one money an never see them Again it was money well spent !!!!!

Good morning fish...

You're fortunate to have acidic water. Your plants must be growing through the roof! I've never worried about my tap water. I just treat it for the usual toxins like chlorine, chloramine and ammonia and put it into my tanks.

I change out half the water in my tanks every week. Plants and fish are very tolerant of water conditions in general, as long as they remain constant and you don't try to change things.

There must be another reason for your fish loss other than the tap water. Are you acclaimating the fish properly? If so, I'd consider an alternate LFS for your fish.

B

__________________
Low Tech Water Building Keeper

Thanks for your input everyone, it helps me figure things out.

Here's what occurred to me in the middle of the night last night. My test kit will measure ph from 6.0 up. The minimum it will read is 6.0. What if my water is lower? My temp is 78 degrees. I've read that Gold barbs like temps up to 75 degrees.

One of my gold barb has developed bright red around it's mouth. It started as a small spot on the side of it's mouth a couple of days ago that I didn't really notice. Today, it looks like big chapped lips. Poor guy. He's not swimming around too much and won't eat, so I think he won't last much longer.

I tried to find info on what the red is the only fish that has it is the gold barb. Actually I noticed tonight another gold barb is starting this too.

I am doing the quick fix and I gave in last night and added some ph up to the water. Please don't scorn. I'm working a lot of hours right now and there's no way I can get to the pet store; not before work, no lunch break and I worked til after they closed today.

Keep in mind, I was keeping fish in this tank up until June of this year. The problem I was having then was higher ammonia. I've fixed that. So...what the heck??

__________________
Fish keeping is like golfing; hopelessly seeking elusive perfection.
_______________
55 gal freshwater
2 Angels
1 Pearl Gourami
2 Tiger Barbs
2 Albino Barbs
2 Green Barbs
6 Gold Barbs
1 Rubber Lipped Pleco

Okay, so what is your ph now? Raising ph is easy and there are natural ways to do it.

How did you acclimate the fish?

Like Ben said there are natural ways to raise the PH.I think crushed shells will raise it a little so maybe think of mixing some in with your substrate.

__________________
http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

I have the added benefit of having a lab where I work at. On well water at home and the test kit records it as 6.0. Brought it into the lab and got the official reading of 5.5. I use crushed coral to buffer all my tanks and now keep them steady at 7.4. There are two exceptions as I am currently experimenting with my regular tap and see what happens.

The Angels won't mind the lower pH. The Barbs, I'd be a little concerned with. If you must raise it a bit, do get rid of the pH UP and look to finding some crushed coral.

I added some Ph up yesterday and last night the ph was 6.8. I had added 5 tsps of PH Up, which makes me think it was pretty low. I did a little water change, about 10% as I thought that going from 5. whatever-it-must-have-been to 6.8 might be too much of a shock. This morning it was reading 6.4 which I think is fine for angels the pearl gourami and barbs.

I haven't had time to go the the pet store yet. I've been working very long hours and they're closed when I'm not at work. I'll be able to go hopefully tonight if not, then not until Sunday.

All the other fish appear happy enough today, they're all eating, except for the two gold barbs with the bright red inflamed and peeling faces. They can't close their mouths. They're swimming around, but they're at the bottom of the tank or hiding under the log and they can't eat. I'm pretty sure I'll end up loosing them. Crap! I hate seeing them suffer!

__________________
Fish keeping is like golfing; hopelessly seeking elusive perfection.
_______________
55 gal freshwater
2 Angels
1 Pearl Gourami
2 Tiger Barbs
2 Albino Barbs
2 Green Barbs
6 Gold Barbs
1 Rubber Lipped Pleco

I did what I've always done, floated the bag in the tank for 20-30 minutes then put the fish in the tank. I hadn't heard anything about acclimating their water until the night before last when I was reading through some posts, the drip water method...had never heard of it before.

__________________
Fish keeping is like golfing; hopelessly seeking elusive perfection.
_______________
55 gal freshwater
2 Angels
1 Pearl Gourami
2 Tiger Barbs
2 Albino Barbs
2 Green Barbs
6 Gold Barbs
1 Rubber Lipped Pleco

My plants do grow fast. A little annoying sometimes, it's like a lawn, one plant always seems to need trimming. ;o)

__________________
Fish keeping is like golfing; hopelessly seeking elusive perfection.
_______________
55 gal freshwater
2 Angels
1 Pearl Gourami
2 Tiger Barbs
2 Albino Barbs
2 Green Barbs
6 Gold Barbs
1 Rubber Lipped Pleco

Sorry, right now I'm desperate and I'm working too much to get to the store. It's the only way to keep them from suffering even more. I will get some coral or something, but right now chemical is better than nothing. Trust me, the guilt kills me, I hate to see them suffering.

__________________
Fish keeping is like golfing; hopelessly seeking elusive perfection.
_______________
55 gal freshwater
2 Angels
1 Pearl Gourami
2 Tiger Barbs
2 Albino Barbs
2 Green Barbs
6 Gold Barbs
1 Rubber Lipped Pleco

Found out two of my fish had mouth rot. I'd taken them back to the pet store because I had no clue what was wrong with them. Everything I researched always mentioned fish having 'white' or 'gray', nothing talked about a bright red mouth.

So, that's it. I'll wait a few days and see if any of my other fish show signs.

My ph is fine now its 6.4 and my fish seem happy, buzzing around the tank, zipping to the top when I show up with food. I think, maybe, hopefully, the worst is over and I can start to relax and enjoy my fish.

Boy it's been a stressful couple of weeks.

__________________
Fish keeping is like golfing; hopelessly seeking elusive perfection.
_______________
55 gal freshwater
2 Angels
1 Pearl Gourami
2 Tiger Barbs
2 Albino Barbs
2 Green Barbs
6 Gold Barbs
1 Rubber Lipped Pleco