tiggerthetiger

hello all. i have 2 angels, a platy, & 2 mollies in a 28 gallon tank. i put some of API's "pH Up" in my tank and it has been raising me pH recently . i was wondering if any of the fish listed above are sensitive to changes in pH. i got home from breakfast and found my angel had his dorsal fin split, almost all the way down. Is this normal if they are sensitive? everyone else seems okay, i have put two doses (about 2ml a dose) in my tank in the last 24 hours. Will he be okay? thnx so much!!!!!!

agabr123

ALL fish are sensitive to pH changes, but especially your angels.

why are you trying to change your pH, what is the reading for it?

most fish can acclimate to a very wide range of pH, so i generally say NOT to attempt changing it as the stress of any fluctuations is worse for your fish than a pH that is a little too low or a little too high

tiggerthetiger

too late. its like 4.3. i made it higher. the fin. what about that

agabr123

wow! your tap is 4.3? that's insane....anyways, yeah i completely understand why you're raising it. hmm....i think that a better option than chemicals would be crushed limestone.....and.....darn, i can't remember the other thing that raises it.

i'm not sure about the fin...i dont think that it's the pH but i guess it could be fin rot from stress.....maybe. do you have a picture of it?

mathas

As agabr123 pointed out, all fish are sensitive to pH fluctuations to varying degrees. I've read in several places that if you're going to attempt to alter pH, you should do so by no more than 0.2 degrees at a time. Since the pH scale is logarithmic, an increase from 6.0 to 6.2 is ten times as great as that from 5.8 to 6.0... and ten times as stressful.

Angelfish also do not come from a brackish environment, so the addition of aquarium salt (particularly if too much was added) could be another source of stress.

Under those conditions, a fin tear is not surprising.

tiggerthetiger

yeah sure i can get one.

tiggerthetiger

well i haven't had a fish die for a while. it can't be the salt.

mathas

I'm not following your logic on that one. What does the fact that no fish have died lately have to do with the fact that the presence of salt (particularly if overdosed) can be a stress factor for freshwater fish?

I do think that if the pH change was rapid, such a fluctuation would be a much more likely source of stress, but you can't rule out the salt just because nothing's died.

tiggerthetiger

he is healing. sorry i couldn't get high quality pics. my camera is crappy.

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Shawnie

do not use ph up or salt with angels...they cant handle that...did you say your tap is 4.3? what test kit are you using? I so agree with mathas and im surprised the angels only have a ripped fin which probably was from a platy or mollie nipping at them...28 gals is pushing it for the angels alone...

cerianthus

Curious about pH 4.3. Are you using Digital pH Probe/Monitor? If you are, maybe need recalibrate. I do not know of other simple test kit which will measure that low. I am very surprised that fish are even alivein such low pH wether be it angels and/or livebrearer!

In such event, cant stress enough about the testing for ammonia and nitrite before adding sodium bicarbonate (pH Up). One should make sure that water is free of Ammonia before adding chemicals to alter pH.

From my experiences, when I find myself in similar situation, simple daily small water change took care of pH rise, reducing Ammo, nitrite and nitrate. When tank has restablized w/ no ammo, nitrite present , then used sodium bicarb (pH up) to raise the pH to desired level slowly.
When Ph is up at 7, then you can add product like Neutral Regulator (buffer; help you fight changes in pH be it low/high) or if pH of 6.5 is desired, add Regulator for pH of 6.5 which will help you maintain pH at that level. Remember that nothing last forever. As buffering ability of your water diminshes as time goes by pH will changes, usually towards acidic side. Then can repeat the procedure but before pH is too low.
Usually proper and well scheduled routine water changes will help you stablize the pH w/o additives.

tiggerthetiger

okay it wasn't 4.3 but it was extremly low, the test kit is dark orange at lowest, and the results were yellow. but it was unbelivibly low.

tiggerthetiger

like white actually

my angels handle salt fine. their slime coats are made of steel. my white angel has survived so much and ive had him for a year... with salt levels in the tank.

mathas

What kind of test kit were these results from?

tiggerthetiger

mardel i think

Carolina

I natural product that raises the Kh, GH, and ph is crushed coral. Many put it in the substrate or in a bag put in the bucket of an HOB filter.

I have seen it sold in the bird section of pet store.

Regal

So where did 4.3 come from? I'm quite sure your tap water is not 4.3. You should get an different ph test.

A year? Did you switch your angel from another tank that you had before the one you have listed in your aquarium info.

Angels (including yours) don't need salt. Your angel's slime coat is no different than other angelfish.

Angels and mollies have different ph requirements but either one would be ok as long as the ph is not drastically fluctuating.

tiggerthetiger

yes a year he was switched from a 7

Regal

I was looking at some of your posts because I’m getting confused.
I saw where you said in January that you had two really large angelfish and 6 tiger barbs in a tank together and the tiger barbs died.
In this thread, you said you have not had any fish die lately and that you moved this angel from a 7 gallon tank.
So are we talking about the 28 gallon in your in your aquarium info or do you have two aquariums that both have angels in them?
Here’s what’s bugging me… On Jan 21st you found your tiger barbs dead and on Feb 1st you said you haven’t had any fish die for a while. Fish dying is not a usual occurrence. I can’t remember the last time I lost a fish. So something is definitely wrong in your tank (tanks?) and I’m sure lots of people here would like to help you figure it out but I’m not even sure if we are talking about one tank or two different ones.

tiggerthetiger

i moved the big angel from a seven gallon a while ago sorry i didnt give enough detail. my tank is doing well though.