rileyrk190

I just got home from college and was shocked when i looked at my fish tank. My blue gourami is totally pale, making its spots almost totally invisible, and my angel fishes eyes are white. I tested my water, and my nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia were all 0, but my pH was at 8.0!!! I really dont know how to bring it down safely, so can anyone help me? I really need a quick fix, as it may take a couple day to get any supplies needed if i have to order them online. I then tested my tap water and i was shocked to see that it was at 8.0 as well. The last time i was home, the water was 7.0 on the dot, so i advised my family not to drink it. I put some vitachem in the water and garlic guard. The vitachem has ascorbic acid, so i am hoping that will help with the pH. I also added some prime to the water, just to be safe.
I know that it is dangerous to abruptly bring the pH down, so i really need some help...thanks in advance.

Shawnie

Fish acclimate themselves to different ph's ...im wondering more about zero nitrates? you should have some in the tank...maybe retest if using the API liquid kit, and really bang the nitrate #2 bottle to mix up the crystals...Id give them the nite to haviing the vita chem and garlic guard..those are two that many recommend...goodluck! and welcome to summer break!

rileyrk190

Ok, i will go retest my nitrates right now...thanks for the help!

rileyrk190

I retested my nitrates, shaking the bottle very well, and they still read 0.

Shawnie

whats the tanks size and fish inside it? how old is this set up? very weird there are no nitrates..any plants also?

rileyrk190

The tank is a 55g community tank, and there arent any plants because my silver dollars eat them up. The fish are, one blue gourami, two angel fish, 4 albino cories, a banjo catfish, a twig catfish, a rubber nosed pleco, one colored skirt tetra (purchased before i knew they were dyed, and i cant catch him to put in the smaller tank with his friends), and three silver dollars. The tank is fairly new, since end of december.

Shawnie

last question, what test kit are you using? and how old is the kit?

rileyrk190

It is an api master test kit, and its less than two weeks old

Shawnie

very weird that there are zero nitrates...you seem to have done all possible things to start helping the fishes...im sure someone mite have other suggestions..for now im still shaking my head in wonder!

rileyrk190

ok.. thanks for all your help... its only two fish that seem to be affected

rileyrk190

i bought some sodium biphosphate today at my LFS. Hopefully this will work. I only added a teaspoon, dissolved in water. The directions say a teaspoon for every ten gallons, but it also said start slow, so i only added a fifth of the dose. I have seen increased movement in the two affected fish.

Angela_96

From a healthcare (resp therp) standpoint when we test the ph of fluid out of the lungs if the ph is up there is a bacterial infection, is there a chance your fish have any infection?
Just a hunch.... I don't know if that would be true for fish or not...

rileyrk190

well, my lfs owner did say it sounded like my angel had popeye, which is bacterial... but i also tested a tap water sample, and the pH was at 8.0. My gourami though is what i am particularly concerned for..he has lost almost all color. he is a three spotted blue gourami, and you cant see any spots.

rileyrk190

Also, if it is bacterial, what can i use in a tank with scaleless fish, and a frog?

Angela_96

I have used both melafix and pimafix in the tank w/ my plecos and african dwarf frogs w/ no problems. The melafix has right on the back of the bottle that it treats popeye and its an all natural treatment (antibiotic agent)... I would go w/ the melafix.

Our tapwaters ph fluctuates here .. however w/ african cichlids we have it doesn't matter what the ph is as long as its above 7.6... in my tanks we keep a constant 8.0.. now I will be more of a picky person w/ my betta tank when I get my betta that I am cycling my tank for right now.

rileyrk190

yeah, i believe its only a problem to my angels and my gourami. I know that cories like it slightly alkaline, and they really seem to be happy. But hopefully the pH is the cause of the problems, and the the vitachem will help..

Angela_96

just remember if you do alter the ph do it very slowly.. if they have been in the tank for a while w/ the ph that high or you don't know how long the ph has been at that level they might have adjusted to that ph and a sudden change of .5 or more could seriously stress your fish. I would lower it in a matter of a couple of days.

AggieYen

I wouldn't use melafix or pimafix in your tank with the gourami - gourami are anabantoids and do not do well with those medication - they will react the same way bettas will. Some folk here have lost bettas to mela and pima-fix medications.

I wonder if you have a hospital tank, or a tank that you could use as a hospital tank, i'd isolate your affected fish as soon as possible - if they perk up in the hospital tank, then you'd know it's not the PH, more likely something bacterial. Your nitrate level at 0 sounds like your cycle is broken - before they reacted, have there been any recent changes to the tank environment or major cleaning/maintenance done on the tank?

rileyrk190

No, thats why im not sure what is wrong. I was at college, and my parents dont touch the tank except for feeding and refilling the tank with water. The fact that the pH of my tap water went up ten points in the matter of a month is what concerns me. If the pH went up, who knows what else has been added affecting my fish.
If the cycle is broken, then wouldn't all of my fish be showing signs of stress, and wouldn't my ammonia and nitrite readings be higher?

rileyrk190

Dont worry, i only added a fifth of the recommended dosage, and will check the pH today and add another dose.

Evelyn1919

to tell you the truth i wouldn't really mess with the pH. in my tank the pH also went up from 7.0 to 7.5 and my fish adjusted to it. i've read that fish can adjust to any pH so i just left it alone and it works fine. like some people here said it is very weird that you have 0 nitrates so i'm guessing it had to do with your cycle. it is very weird though that you have no ammonia and no nitrates either.
also someone here once suggested some food that you can give them so that the color brightens up. you weren't home for a while so you didn't know when the fish started becoming pale.

hopefully someone else will come to help.

good luck!

rileyrk190

well, i can see that the angels fins are starting to grow a bit already, but his eyes are still white. My gourami is swimming more, and is slightly less pale. I have the pH at 7.6 now, but will stop if it really isnt an issue. As for the nitates..I tested again and the color is sort of in between 0 and .25. Its not orange, or yellow..so i am at a loss. That time, i shook both bottles a lot, and shook the test tube a lot.

As for foods, i give them a a variety. I made my own veggie rounds, that i dehydrated, i have small algae tablets, sinking pellets (shrimp), blood worms, flake food, and brine shrimp. When i have vegetables available, i give a lot of them too.

Today was a cleaning day so i vaccumed out all of my tanks, and did a 25% water change. I was really surprised at the lack of waste in my 55 gallon tank, which i guess means that my clean up crew is doing its job.

So how concerned should i be of my lack of nitrates?