How to introduce fish when my Ph is 7.8???

[Kellie]

I've been reading alot on the forum about Ph and the overall idea I get is not to worry too much about your PH as long as it's not swinging. I have to be honest that care of my tank has taken a back seat the last few months with moving and having a baby, but I've been gradually cleaning it up and would like to add more inhabitants to it. When I had my water checked before the move, the ph was always 7.2 ish. Now it is 7.8. I tried to add some mystery snails and they were dead within 24 hours. I've added some bog wood as I know that can help to lower PH a bit.

The tank is 47 gal, gravel, not crushed rock or coral, kept around 78 degrees. Tetras and dwarf neon rainbow fish. Water is on the hard side.

Should I worry, and how do I add new tankmates with out them dying??

Thanks!!

 

[Big Vine]

This may sound silly, but are you sure the snails were really dead? A lot of the time they will stay in their shells...more so during the day, I find. Did you tap on their trap-doors to see if they moved? Did you sniff them (kinda gross, I know, but it's the best way to tell) to see if they were dead? (the dead ones stink really really badly!).

I'm just surprised that they would die so quickly when you have other fish in there that are surviving. Your 7.8 pH doesn't seem like it should cause any problems at all for snails.

Big Vine

 

[Pure]

I would not count the PH as a reason your snails died. Is the tank cycled? Adding new fish; all you need to do is find out what PH they are currently in at the shop, then acclimate slowly according to how big of a difference there is.

 

[geekrockgirl85]

generally, higher pH is indicative of harder water, which is actually good for snails (their shells being calcerous and all). So either

1. they're not dead.
2. it's a fluke.. they just didn't acclimate well.
3. they simply died, as living creatures sometimes tend to do.

i'd try again.

 

[Kellie]

The snails moved alot the first few hours and then just went back into their shells. I didn't see them move for the whole next day. Their "trap doors" were hard when I tapped on them. Tank is fully cycled. How long should I allow when introducing them. Hours, days...and by adding a little bit of tank water at a time?? Thanks!!

 

[Kellie]

Also will this high PH affect my plants that I just added??

 

[Lotus]

When you acclimate fish or snails, add a little tankwater (like 1/4 cup) to the bag every 15 minutes or so. If the bag gets full, just dump some out into the sink. An hour is usually good enough for most fish, but very delicate species might benefit from two hours of this.

The plants shouldn't have any problems with your pH.

 

[phishy]

very knowledgeable (moderator) impress question Lotus have u ever consider keeping Frontosa since you are at that level in the hobby

 

[Orion]

I agree and don't think that your PH is to blame for the snails. That water should be excellent for them.

For most fish I just add tank water to the bag, but for anything that I'm unsure of or needs a little extra TLC I use the drip method. Just place the fish in a bucekt in the floor, and setup some airline tubeing to drip water from the tank into the bucket over an hour or so. You may need to tie a knot in the line to help adjust the water flow. This method takes a little more time, but very effective.