My water is all messed up.
- Thread starter Persistency
- Start date
I haven't any experience with medications and additives. When I had ich, I just used the heat & vacuum treatment. Are you on city water or a personal well? We have a well so I don't add anything to my water. I would think you would have to be pretty careful with any medications because of you Bamboo Shrimp, but perhaps someone else will give you some better advice. The first year I test my water several times a week. I don't do it that often any more. When I was doing a fish in cycle, I tested daily.
All you really need is a liquid test for ammonia. Don't start buying things to change you pH, etc. Fish will adapt. It is the stress of constantly changing pH that kills them. The frequent partial water changes will deal with your high Nitrates. And until you test for ammonia, we won't know if that is adding to the problem, but again, the water changes will deal with that, too.
You probably should read up on the pros and cons about salt in freshwater aquariums. A lot of us don't use it, but you will have to decide yourself. Coryudoras would be sensitive to it over a period of time - any smooth skin fish is. Fresh water does not have measurable saline in nature. The other thing to consider is it does not evaporate with the water so can build up over time. Here is one source for reading:
Aquaworld Aquarium - Adding Salt to a Freshwater Aquarium
Aquaworld Aquarium - Adding Salt to a Freshwater Aquarium
Thank you for that heads up before I went to the store. Although the salt isn't very expensive, it seems to do more bad than good in the long run. I think I got into this hobby way too young, especially since no one in my family has any idea how to keep a proper aquarium. I've been keeping a tank without knowing what I was doing for so long. I'm in college to become a Marine Biologist and I'm in the dark about the majority of this stuff. I think I need to step it up, huh.
Yup, we all had to start someplace. My kids had an aquarium and we enjoyed it, but I am convinced now, we didn't have a clue. (The kids are now 40 - 50) For a while my son was still interested and had a tank built into his house, but he and wife decided it was too much work so it went by the way side. I now feel with the knowledge I have learned in the last few years they could have managed it nicely. This forum and the information available via computer has really been a big help!
Many of them have a bulb you squeeze to get the water started. Make sure the one end is lower than the one in the tank The other way is to lay the tube in the water until its filled, then put your thumb over one end, (making sure the other end stays submerged) Keeping your thumb tightly over the end, lower it into the bucket - which is lower than your tank and then remove your thumb.