crystalclear

Hi Everyone,

My tank is 2 years old. I have 2 platys, 3 blue neons, and 2 green corys.

I've been out of the country for 6 months and left my tank in the care of my mother. I came home and my water parameters (ammonia, nitrate) were fine, but my pH was off the scale. I've put API proper PH 7.0 in for 3 days.

I have 3 blue neons in all, and two of them only have one eye. (The eyes were gone when I came home, probably from the high PH and/or testiness.) The other two are eating and swimming fine, but one has a bloated stomach and is only staying in one place.

My platys are also looking kind of lethargic, kind of floating near the top. One has his tail bent up.

What can I do?

iloveengl

I'm sorry about your poor fishies!

Do you know the nitrite readings?

Maybe they weren't getting a varied diet while you were gone and that's why they picked at each other? He may be constipated now. Have you seen him poo? Thawing a frozen skinless pea and feeding them tiny pieces of that (only pea, no other foood) for a few days should relieve the constipation. It won't hurt the others to go all pea, but you may want to put him in QT so he's not picked on.

I've read that adjusting the pH chemically can often cause more damage than good because of the drastic shifts it creates. Fish, especially the kinds you have, usually acclimate to the pH they're in. Shifting from high to low is dangerous for fish, and I'm wondering if that's what's affecting them now. I don't know for certain, though.

I'm worried about if you remove the pH chemical thingy, then it will cause another shift. Maybe PWC to slowly take it out. Non-chemical ways to affect the pH is using crushed coral/shell to go up or driftwood to go down, which you might find at a pet store or sometimes the craft section of a lot of stores.

Gosh! I'm sorry for your fishies. Best wishes to them!

Tony G.

Sorry for your troubles. The bloating could be caused by over feeding. pH.... do you know if there is any crushed coral/sea shells in the tank? that raises the pH dramatically. Also, instead of using medications to lower pH, you could try to DW. This lowers the pH slowly.

I am worried about your platty. Bent spines can be a sign of fish tuberculosis.

crystalclear

Thank you for the pea suggestion. I fed them peas twice and did a water change. Everyone looks much healthier and livelier. The three neons are shoaling again and the two platies look much better.

I don't have any shells in the aquarium. I do have one small clay pot. Would that effect anything?

What would cause tuberculosis? Is it contagious? I've raised this fish since birth and no one else has it, that I can see..