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Sick Fish Tank


phantomg

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  • 3 weeks later...

pH could be the reason, in itself, or swings in the pH. 

Problems like this are very hard to resolve with very limited information.  It just becomes a guessing game.  Can I suggest that your friend finds a local aquarium shop  (one run be experienced people who know their stuff) and have a chat to them about the issues.  Perhaps take a water sample along and get them to do a check as well.  Its much easier to try to diagnose issues face to face.  It takes lots of questions and answers, back and forth, to gather a picture of what's going on.  That's difficult on a forum, and made more difficult if you are acting as an intermediary for someone else. 

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Ammonia is extra dangerous once pH reaches such high levels, but even fish that come from lower pH waters will not always be killed by higher pH waters. Breed less, yes. Have lower hatch rates, yes. Have sub-optimal colours, yes. But as long as its not swinging around, not usually deadly.

 

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Could be a lot of things....but if pH is 8 then most likely water is hard....

Rams are a soft water fish.... as more south American Cichlids are....

Keep them in Hard water and it eventually overloads their kidneys....death follows

Get a source of soft water and start with 50% tap water, 50% softwater...

Check to see if their is any source in tank that could be adding to total dissolved solids....ornaments or white gravel that could be calcium carbonate

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If it was an environmental problem (ammonia, nitrite, pH, temperature, chlorine, oxygen deprivation etc) it would be more likely to see all fish of same species effected simultaneously. Deaths that happen 1 by 1, are more likely disease or murder. Not saying high pH is not the issue here, just that disease or murder is more likely IMHO.

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I've found that "Soft water" fish....(Rams).... tend to die 1 by 1 when kept in Hard water....their kidneys fail at different rates

It's not an issue of pH....other than hard water tends to be high pH...just as soft water tends to be a low pH...

So pH is a rough indicator of Hardness....

Although you may get a low pH tank with very high TDS if you've put in a lot of pH Down in trying to lower the pH

I've yet to see a soft water tank with a pH of 8???

It maybe disease....BUT....all fish a more susceptible to disease if stressed....ie Keep in inappropriate water chemistry

I've found it useless to treat fish for disease if water isn't correct first....

Sounds like a small tank....too small for Heckelli.....perhaps it is the killer???

A working video would Help....;)

 

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