Anyone Able To Look At My Levels?

Hi! I'm fairly new to setting up tanks, we had a betta who died after having him for a couple years, so I wanted to get my son a 10 gallon to get a few smaller fish. I got everything set up, cycled the tank and just got two platies. The one died within minutes of being put into the new tank. It looked fine and then got suddenly dizzy and couldn't swim straight and died at the bottom. The other one is doing fine. I've checked levels and ph seems high as far as I can tell but I'm not an expert. We have really hard water. Thanks in advance for your help!

Oh and my ammonia levels

 

HI Welcome to Fishlore!

When you said you cycled the tank, what exactly do you mean? Did you do a fishless cycle with ammonia and bottled bacteria? Or did you just set the tank up, turn on the filter, and let it run for a couple of hours?

How did you acclimate the fish? According to your test strips you have very hard water. Which means there is a high mineral content. That directly affects your pH which I read as about 8.0 (it's hard to read). If your water pH is dramatically different than the store water, then you can cause osmotic shock in the fish and they can die. This is my best guess as to why they didn't survive.

For acclimating next time, what you need to do is open the bag of fish, empty out about a half a cup of bag water, replace it with a half a cup of tank water. Wait about 30-45 minutes . Then do it again remove 1/2 cup of bag water, replace it with 1/2 cup of tank water. Wait another 30-45 minutes. I would do this 4 or 5 times total. That way the fish are swimming mostly in tank water. That way they have been slowly acclimated to the change in water quality. I usually acclimate my fish for 2-3 hours depends on how busy I am. Then you net the fish and put them in the tank. Be sure to NOT empty the bag water into the tank.

If you need help with the nitrogen cycle, I can surely help.

The first tip I will give you is. Get rid of those test strips. The API test strips are highly inaccurate. You want the Tetra 6 in 1 test strips. The best testing kit is the API Freshwater Master Test kit (liquid). It is what most of us use, but it is totally up to you if you want to go that way or not.

Good luck!

 

Kinda hard to read...but from the looks of things, you are almost cycled. You are at 0.25 with your ammonia, and if I'm reading it correctly, you do have some Nitrates, and you are at 0 Nitrites.
I suggest that you do another water change, and take another reading.
Another suggestion is that you get the API Master test kit which is a liquid test like you did with the Ammonia. The liquid test will give you a more accurate reading than the test strips.
I'm sure other members will come along and give their opinion.

 

HI Welcome to Fishlore!

When you said you cycled the tank, what exactly do you mean? Did you do a fishless cycle with ammonia and bottled bacteria? Or did you just set the tank up, turn on the filter, and let it run for a couple of hours?

How did you acclimate the fish? According to your test strips you have very hard water. Which means there is a high mineral content. That directly affects your pH which I read as about 8.0 (it's hard to read). If your water pH is dramatically different than the store water, then you can cause osmotic shock in the fish and they can die. This is my best guess as to why they didn't survive.

For acclimating next time, what you need to do is open the bag of fish, empty out about a half a cup of bag water, replace it with a half a cup of tank water. Wait about 30-45 minutes . Then do it again remove 1/2 cup of bag water, replace it with 1/2 cup of tank water. Wait another 30-45 minutes. I would do this 4 or 5 times total. That way the fish are swimming mostly in tank water. That way they have been slowly acclimated to the change in water quality. I usually acclimate my fish for 2-3 hours depends on how busy I am. Then you net the fish and put them in the tank. Be sure to NOT empty the bag water into the tank.

If you need help with the nitrogen cycle, I can surely help.

The first tip I will give you is. Get rid of those test strips. The API test strips are highly inaccurate. You want the Tetra 6 in 1 test strips. The best testing kit is the API Freshwater Master Test kit (liquid). It is what most of us use, but it is totally up to you if you want to go that way or not.

Good luck!

Hi! Yes, I did a fishless cycle w ammonia and bottled bacteria. I think you are right about the shock. I did the bag float, but didn't add tank water gradually and the ph difference did the poor thing in. The other one is doing fine, so hopefully I didn't doom both of them. How do I get ph levels down and 'softer' water. I'm in Phx so the water is seriously hard here.

I'll def get the liquid kit. It's on my list.
Thanks so much for replying and your great tips!

Kinda hard to read...but from the looks of things, you are almost cycled. You are at 0.25 with your ammonia, and if I'm reading it correctly, you do have some Nitrates, and you are at 0 Nitrites.
I suggest that you do another water change, and take another reading.
Another suggestion is that you get the API Master test kit which is a liquid test like you did with the Ammonia. The liquid test will give you a more accurate reading than the test strips.
I'm sure other members will come along and give their opinion.

Thank you! I def need to get the liquid test. It's on my list. I appreciate you taking a look!

 

Ok so you don't need to do anything for your water. It is better to have a stable pH than a perfect one. Most fish will be able to adapt just fine. You will just need to be careful to acclimate your fish slowly over several hours. That should help the most.

So glad you did a fishless cycle! You are one step ahead of a lot of people! Good for you .

Your pH and your water hardness go hand in hand. That is the kH and gH on the test strips. The higher your kH the higher your pH. I wouldn't worry about your pH being at around 8. You should be just fine.

 

I def need to get the liquid test

Order it online at Amazon, it will be so much cheaper.

 

Order it online at Amazon, it will be so much cheaper.

Totally agree! I got mine for $19.99 with amazon Prime. And since it didn't ship in the 2 days, I actually got it for free. Lol (it got lost in shipping and got here in 5 days, but they still credited my account lol SCORE!)

 

Order it online at Amazon, it will be so much cheaper.

Awesome, thanks!

Totally agree! I got mine for $19.99 with amazon Prime. And since it didn't ship in the 2 days, I actually got it for free. Lol (it got lost in shipping and got here in 5 days, but they still credited my account lol SCORE!)

Nice! Thank you!
I'm really bumed about the other platy. She was a cool green lantern one w a Mickey Mouse tail. I think you're right I put her in too fast. poor thing. I'll see how the other one does before I get another. Wanted to start slow and small w the new tank. I appreciate your help!

 

Platies and other live bearers like hard water so you are good as long as you stick with those. Things like Platys, Mollys and Guppies. I wouldn't mess with the PH either (it looked like 7.5 on my phone but could be 8). Best to just acclimate them and make sure the PH is stable.

Good luck and can't wait to see pictures!

Nice! Thank you!
I'm really bumed about the other platy. She was a cool green lantern one w a Mickey Mouse tail. I think you're right I put her in too fast. poor thing. I'll see how the other one does before I get another. Wanted to start slow and small w the new tank. I appreciate your help!

I've never seen a green lantern platy in person. What kind is the other one?

 

Platies and other live bearers like hard water so you are good as long as you stick with those. Things like Platys, Mollys and Guppies. I wouldn't mess with the PH either (it looked like 7.5 on my phone but could be 8). Best to just acclimate them and make sure the PH is stable.

Good luck and can't wait to see pictures!

Ok thank you! I'm looking at another platy and guppies. Maybe some corys for the bottom. Would the corys be ok in hard water?

I've never seen a green lantern platy in person. What kind is the other one?

Well here's when I brought them home. Sigh. The other is a sunburst

 

Well here's when I brought them home. Sigh. The other is a sunburst

He was pretty! I like the sunburst too. They're fun. My favorites in my tank are the Pandas and red tailed Dalmatian Platys. My daughter likes the yellow twin bar Platys because she says they look like Picachu. Haha!

Ok thank you! I'm looking at another platy and guppies. Maybe some corys for the bottom. Would the corys be ok in hard water?

I don't have any experience with Coridoras. Some people say they like softer water but many have success keeping them in hard water. Maybe someone with experience will pop by.

 

You would need a bigger tank for cories. At least a 20 gallon. They prefer schools of 6 or more.

You could do some shrimp and snails though. Those are always fun. Snails would do well in hard water. It keeps their shells nice and healthy.

 

He was pretty! I like the sunburst too. Their fun. My favorites in my tank are the Pandas and red tailed Dalmatian Platys. My daughters like the yellow twin bar Platys because she says they look like Picachu. Haha!



I don't have any experience with Coridoras. Some people say they like softer water but many have success keeping them in hard water. Maybe someone with experience will pop by.

Haha! That's cute yeah the sunburst is really pretty. I'm excited to add some more color. Thanks again for your help and advice!

You would need a bigger tank for cories. At least a 20 gallon. They prefer schools of 6 or more.

You could do some shrimp and snails though. Those are always fun. Snails would do well in hard water. It keeps their shells nice and healthy.

Ah ok thanks. My only concern w shrimp and snails is breeding. Haha. I think my husband would die if we needed up with another tank of all shrimp babies Have you kept shrimp multiples or snail multiples?

 

I am a new shrimp owner. Just bought 3 ghost shrimp but 2 died right away. So no chance of babies lol. I do have snails. Nerite snails cannot breed in Freshwater. They will lay eggs, but they won't hatch unless they are in brackish water. So you would be safe from that. Mystery snails do breed quite a bit. But they lay their big egg sack/clutch above the water line, so can remove it and throw it away. That way you won't have any babies. So that is an option.

 

I am a new shrimp owner. Just bought 3 ghost shrimp but 2 died right away. So no chance of babies lol. I do have snails. Nerite snails cannot breed in Freshwater. They will lay eggs, but they won't hatch unless they are in brackish water. So you would be safe from that. Mystery snails do breed quite a bit. But they lay their big egg sack/clutch above the water line, so can remove it and throw it away. That way you won't have any babies. So that is an option.

Oh excellent. That def curbs my fear of a tank exploding w babies. Much appreciated! I do like the snails. They seems fun. Do the shrimp need buddies or would one shrimp with a couple snails be happy?

 

Snails won't take over if you watch you feeding and don't overfeed. I used to have that issue but have learned to feed lighter to control them. This is great because I love snails and plants.

 

Snails won't take over if you watch you feeding and don't overfeed. I used to have that issue but have learned to feed lighter to control them. This is great because I love snails and plants.

Cool! Thank you! Yeah, I think I'm gonna go with some snails. Much appreciated!