PH Level is really high!

[ShadowCorpse]

I have 2 Glofish Danios, and a Dwarf Guarami. I put in Ph down, and the next day its back up sky high. It stays at 7.4 and i get it down to 7.0 then its back up again the next day. i have a bubbler wand thing with led lights on in the back. I keep the bubbles going all the time, i only turn on the colorful led lights occasionally. I use to have a fancy guppy also but it died, i'm assuming from the ph levels. Can someone help me?

 

[OrangeCones]

The pH level of 7.4 is fine for the fish you have.

If pH has affected your guppy, it would be the swings in pH caused by the chemials to try to force the pH to an unnatural level.

My advice would be to leave the pH at what it is and just do water changes as a part of your maintenance. Don't bother with 'pH up' or 'pH down' as they can do more harm than good.

What sized aquarium do you have? How long has it been set up? Do you know what the nitrogen cycle is? Had the aquarium finished the nitrogen cycle?

 

[ShadowCorpse]

Its a 5 Gallon tank, I've had it for about a 3 or 4 weeks now. I also have bubbles on the top, very small bubbles that cover the top and they full most of the top of the water and when they hit the other side of the tank they disappear and new ones replace them. My friend worked at the local pet store here and he said that the PH level was too high and i thought that might have been the cause of the bubbles. I can post pictures too if that would help.

 

[ShadowCorpse]

also i would like to add, just today i noticed that one of my Glofish Danios, has little white spots on it that I'm assuming is Ich, I also noticed that it was hiding, still haven't figured out where but instead of swimming around with the other glofish danio like it usually does. Yesterday i didn't see any spot on it at all. I also was wondering if i could take all my fish out and clean out the whole tank, but i also don't wanna stress them out. What should i do?

 

[ShadowCorpse]

also I have the water temperature at 80 to 82 degrees, Only that one fish seems to be affected right not, should I put it in a different tank?

 

[Thyra]

As OC says, it is not your pH level. My personal pH level is over 8.0 and my fish have thrived nicely for almost 2 years. Fish will acclimate, but they don't deal well with sudden changes. Your temp is fine, particularly if you have ich as the most often recommenced treatment is to put the temp between 82 and 85 and vacuum the gravel daily to pick up the spores as they drop off. Your bubble wand could be causing the surface bubbles. Was your tank cycled and what are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels? You will probably stress the fish out more by moving it at this point, IMO. If you don't understand cycling there are some "Stickies" at the beginning of the Beginners Forum. Don't be afraid to as questions - I didn't know about cycling when I started and neither did the people at any of the nearby fish stores. Fish stores are not necessarily a good source of information, but there are exceptions.

 

[ShadowCorpse]

All the other levels are fine I tested them. Should i just vacuum the gravel daily until the ich is gone?

 

[ShadowCorpse]

Just tested the Ammonia, and it seems to be a little high, around 1.0 ppm, or 2.0 ppm.

 

[ShadowCorpse]

Also yesterday my GloFish Danio that has the ich seemed fine, other than the hiding and not being around the other GloFish he is with. Right now he is looking really bad, and i feel soo helpless.

 

[OrangeCones]

All the other levels are fine I tested them.

What are your actual readings for: Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate? What do you use for a dechlorinator? Do you have a filter for this 5 gallon tank? If so, what kind?

You need a larger tank, ShadowCorpse, if you are going to house the fish you have. I would recommend a 20 gallon minimum.

 

[ShadowCorpse]

The sick Glofish, is now upside down, still alive but not doing good, first stages of death i think. The nitrate is at the lowest, the ammonia is around 1.0 ppm, or 2.0 ppm. And yes i was planning on upgrading to a larger tank soon, as soon as i get the money to afford a bigger tank. Hopefully that will be in a couple weeks.

 

[ShadowCorpse]

and yes i have a filter, i have the Lee's Triple-Flow Corner Filter. It is the same kind that my local pet store uses and seems to be working fine.

 

[ShadowCorpse]

Tetra Aqua Safe Plus is what ive been using to dechlorinate my water, should i use something else?

 

[OrangeCones]

the ammonia is around 1.0 ppm, or 2.0 ppm.

You need to do daily water changes to keep the ammonia undetectable. Any reading of ammonia causes damage to your fish. I fear it is too late for the 'upside down' danio.

As far as your dechlorinator choice, it would depend on if your water supply uses chloramine.

Tetra AquaSafe Plus states:

"Works in seconds to neutralize chlorine, chloramines, and heavy metals present in tap water that can be harmful to fish."

I could find nothing that says the product binds ammonia. If your local tap water contains chloramine, then using that dechlorinator will add ammonia to your tank's water.

 

[ShadowCorpse]

Thank you, and that Glofish died, I just flushed him Poor little guy! I just did a water change and i took everything out of the tank and cleaned it, I left about 5 inches of water inside the tank for the fish and I also cleaned the filter. Should i leave the plants out until i know the Ich wont affect my other fish? I have been in a panic all day over this situation. Even though i lost a fish i still feel way better now that changed the water and cleaned. I just washed the plants and i have a Skull, and a tall rock with a hole in the middle. Should i leave everything out and do a water change everyday for a few days and clean the gravel everyday? That's what a website i found on google said to do. I'm also really low on the Aqua safe plus stuff, i also use that stuff to dechlorinate the water i have my turtles in so its very handy.

 

[Thyra]

I am not sure why you cleaned everything and especially your filter because you will now have to start all over with your cycle. The beneficial bacteria are in the filter and the objects in your tank. By turning up your temp and vacuuming the gravel the spores would have died. You will know when your tank is cycled when you have readings of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and there is some nitrate showing - about 10 - 20ppm. (Nitrate considered a good bacteria, but you should keep it in about that range by water changes)

 

[ShadowCorpse]

the reason i cleaned the filter is because i was worried that the Ich was still in there and i want to make sure its not going to come back. I've been keeping the temp in the 80's. So what would you recommend i do next? I still have the decorations out of the tank, should i put them back in? As of right now i have 1 Glofish and 1 Dwarf Guarami.

 

[OrangeCones]

(Nitrate considered a good bacteria, but you should keep it in about that range by water changes)

To clarify, nitrate is not a bacteria but is a biproduct of the good bacteria.

I agree with Thyra, do not clean your filter media. That is where your good bacteria lives. The high temperatures should help to rid your fish of ich. As far as the decorations and plants (real or fake), leave them in. The more hiding places your fish have, the more comfortable they will be until you get the larger tank they need. Once you have the larger tank, you should look to completing your shoal of danio. They should be kept in groups of 5+ to remain healthy.

 

[ShadowCorpse]

yeah i have fake plants, i was thinking about getting real plants to put in. Is that something i should wait to do or does it matter when i put them in? and i also need some recommendation on what kinds of plants i should get? I was thinking about getting other types of danio's to other than the glofish.

 

[PlecoCollector]

Right now the best thing to is step back and let the tank be. Small water changes (a gallon, tops), maybe three times a week are the most you should be doing. Do not change the filter. Do not add any additional fish. Do not worry about plants right now. Do add the decor back to the tank- it will help reduce the stress of your fish.

Basically by cleaning the tank the way you did, you completely wiped out your bacterial colony. Bacteria grows on everything in the tank, but mostly in your filter and your gravel. Fish tanks are not sterile environments, which is very important to keep in mind. It's more stressful for them to be in something 100% clean than for the tank to be a little dirty. The ich that killed your Danio was from stress- not from anything being dirty or infected. Yes, you can help rid the tank of the ich parasite by using heat and vacuuming the gravel, but the most important thing is to target the source of the stress, which in this case is your cycle. So like I said, the best thing to do right now is to help reduce the toxicity of the water with small, frequent water changes and let the tank do its thing.

Plants won't have a whole lot to live on until your tank is cycled- they eat nitrates for nutrients and use light, and at this point in your cycle, you have no nitrates to feed them. The process of plants them and such may stress out your fish more than necessary.
Once everything is settled, try finding some Java fern, Crypto plants, or Anubias. They tend to grow the best under lower light conditions (that most basic tanks offer) and without CO2 injections.

Until you have acquired a larger tank, I don't recommend adding any more Danio. Danio are not only schooling fish, they are incredibly active schooling fish. The confines of a five gallon tank do not give them the appropriate swimming space they need and will cause them even more stress. Your glofish is best left alone until you cycle runs its course and you have a larger space to put him in.

If you keep us updated with the your water's parameters, we can let you know how things are going!