the death of a pet

Gracie Love · 01-19-2005, 12:10 PM

Okay, that is good to know. I am wondering if the fish that died is from something other than What I am doing. It was a feeder and I just keep remembering what you said about them.

exo · 01-19-2005, 12:13 PM

Hrm, after reading your PM, this is a mystery. I actually can't believe that there isn't any Ammonia or Nitrite in the tank. Hrm...

It could be pH fluctuations. I would test your pH in the morning and then again at night. pH can fluctuate wildly sometimes.

Also, what product are you using to dechlorinate the water? Sometimes these can mess up the ammonia/nitrite readings.

Gracie Love · 01-19-2005, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exo

Hrm, after reading your PM, this is a mystery. I actually can't believe that there isn't any Ammonia or Nitrite in the tank. Hrm...

It could be pH fluctuations. I would test your pH in the morning and then again at night. pH can fluctuate wildly sometimes.

Also, what product are you using to dechlorinate the water? Sometimes these can mess up the ammonia/nitrite readings.

Chlor-out. My PH levels are the one thing that I haven't had any problems with but I have only been checking them once a week. If they are above or below 7.0-7.5 I use this drop in tablet that is supposed to even it out. I have only had to do that twice. two weeks apart. I got the safe ph levels from the website. www.goldfish-care.com.

Gracie Love · 01-19-2005, 12:47 PM

By the way current count is 3 fish and a snail. I miscounted yesterday. And at least one other fish looks like it has the fuzzy looking film on it. And the ph owas at 7.0 and the amonia level still at 0 maybe just a tad more not up to the next line. I thought I would go check the levels after what you said.

exo · 01-19-2005, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gracie Love

Chlor-out. My PH levels are the one thing that I haven't had any problems with but I have only been checking them once a week. If they are above or below 7.0-7.5 I use this drop in tablet that is supposed to even it out. I have only had to do that twice. two weeks apart. I got the safe ph levels from the website. www.goldfish-care.com.

Dropping in tablets and using other products to try and maintian pH levels is actually not a good idea. The reason for this is that pH is very difficult to stabilize with these methods. I would recommend that you just live with the pH that the water eventually stabilizes at, and build a fish community around that (most fish can live in quite varying pH levels). Do you know what the pH of your tap water is?

pH levels can rise and fall at alarming rates if your kH is not very high (buffering capacity). This is why I suggest testing it once in the morning and once at night. During the day, the photosynthesis of the plants and other algae will alter the pH levels. There's also other factors that alter the pH level during the day.

Gracie Love · 01-19-2005, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exo

Dropping in tablets and using other products to try and maintian pH levels is actually not a good idea. The reason for this is that pH is very difficult to stabilize with these methods. I would recommend that you just live with the pH that the water eventually stabilizes at, and build a fish community around that (most fish can live in quite varying pH levels). Do you know what the pH of your tap water is?

pH levels can rise and fall at alarming rates if your kH is not very high (buffering capacity). This is why I suggest testing it once in the morning and once at night. During the day, the photosynthesis of the plants and other algae will alter the pH levels. There's also other factors that alter the pH level during the day.

I am not sure I am guess it is really acidy because it is irrating my skin as well as John's. I have extremely sensitive skin. I also know that our water is highly chlorinated. When I take a shower it smells like bleach. I have to filter all my water for cooking and drinkingand used the filtered water for the fish too. I will pick up some more strips and start testing the ph throughout the day.

exo · 01-19-2005, 01:59 PM

Test the tap water pre-filtered as well as filtered. One issue you could deal with is that the filtered water could have very low alkalinity (kH) which would mean that your pH is taking pretty big swings (and stressing out the fish). So, you might want to get an alkalinity test just to check it out. If it is low, then you can buff it up with a buffer (alkalinity is easier to change and maintain than pH).