curling tail?

Thomas's rays are starting to curl I heard that this is due to hard water and less than pristine water conditions.

Well I have finally gotten his filter working so I think that will help the water quality, but what do I do about the hard water? How do I lower the ph (without using those leaves)

 

Bottled Spring Water....that is the only answer that I know as the hardness is generally determined by the city's water supply.

Rose

 

hmm I don't know if I can get bottles spring water...would filtered be ok?

 

Filtered how? Distilled water is not okay because it removes all the things that are in the water (some of them are needed), R/O water or Drinking water is okay, Spring water like you buy in the gallon jugs at the store (sealed) is the best as it keeps some of the minerals but does not have the hardness of the city water.

I would think that anything but water that has gone through a water softener (has salt in it) and distilled water would be okay. The gallon jugs of spring water is cheaper than a lot of water that is purchased. Just read and make sure it is not distilled that is not acceptable as it strips too much out of the water. You should probably not use more than 50% of the water as this type anyway.

Do I have you confused enough?

Rose

 

well I'm not sure exactly how it is filtered I will have to check with my dad. He installed a filtration system in our kitchen sink, but I wasn't there when he did it.

 

I also know curling can be due to low temps. What temp is the tank at?

Curling doesn't look great but it won't hurt him at all. My fish (including Bettas) have always been just fine in my off-the-charts-hard water, so unless you really dislike the curling you may be just fine leaving the water alone.

Oh and another thought is, if you just got the filter it will take a while for it to cycle and for the water conditions to become optimal. It could be that the curling is caused only by less-than-optimal water quality, and will go away once the filter has matured. Actually I have heard of curling due to water quality and temp, but not due to hardness, so not that I'm saying you're wrong but it could be that the hardness is not the culprit. So, maybe you want to wait a bit before bothering with spring water, and see if it goes away as the filter matures-?

Well, that's just my two cents

 

I hope your right, I want my pretty boy back