still no luck

[Rocket Girl]

Recap: original 20 gal setup in summer of 2003. Stocked over time with various livebearers & tetras. Could not sustain any fish. All died, wasted away, after several months generally. Tore down tank in March and reassembled with all new filters, gravel, decor, everything.

Currently: Have one rainbow, one bristlenose pleco and one harlequin rasbora. Tank I assume to be fully cycled, ammonia and nitrite are again at zero. Have tried to reintroduce the rasboras, first was a group of 6, only the 1 survived. This was before tank was cycled so we had decided that was why they died. Last week tried to introduce another 4, all died within a couple days. Water parameters have not changed, in terms of ammonia, nitrites. pH is 8.0 and steady. KH is about 80 mg/dl. I am floating about 1/2 hour and then taking approximately another hour and adding 1/3 cup water every 5-10 minutes before releasing them.

Should I be keeping them in the bag longer? Should I be keeping them in the bag shorter? Should I give up on them? Is it something else?

I just spent $200 on a fancy new tank stand in March. I cannot give up now. I need SOME fish to live.

Thoughts please? Thanks.

 

[Jchillin]

You mentioned everything but your ph level. I cannot think of anything that could be causing the problems with the rasbora.

Oh, you mentioned a piece of mopani driftwood in another thread and that it was leeching tannins. Is this the same tank?

Just grasping at straws.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Have you tried fish that require a high pH? My brother had the same problem until he introduced African Cichlids (their pH is 8.8). Ever since then, he hasn't had a fish death.

 

[Devilishturtles]

pH is 8.0 and steady.

This is a little high for rasboras, who generally need pH around 6.5. This may be your problem. As Fishy said, your water chemistry just may not allow rasboras in your tank. Try finding a fish that requires a higher pH, such as cichlids.

 

[severum mama]

Maybe you could try using peat in your filter? I've never done this before (I am lucky and my pH is 7.0 out of the tap) but I know it lowers pH. If you do this, make sure you add the peat a little at a time to avoid changing the pH too fast, as this will shock the fish. Or, try choosing fish that thrive in your high pH, like FF and Devilishturtles said. A lot of African cichlids really prefer a high pH like yours, but I'm not sure which Africans can live in a 20 gallon tank. :?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

That was one of my concerns also Severum.....trying to find an African that will fit in a 20 gal tank. OR, you could try driftwood. Several pieces of driftwood.

 

[Jchillin]

Wow...the ph was mentioned and I missed it? Thanks for pointing it out Devilish!

 

[mattrox]

Would Julidochromus species live in a 20 Gal ok? I don't know what their max. size is but there are some good looking Julidochromus species.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Mattrox- Is the Julidochromus an African Cichlid? I've never heard of that one before. Maybe I just haven't seen one yet. There are SO many different types of Cichlids.

 

[fishmonger]

You can get a pair of julies for a 20. They are Tang lake cichlids. Better yet, get some Tang shell dwellers . They stay under 3 inches and I hear are very entertaining. Just get them some seashells. Not sure what the availability of these fish are in your area. There are many African dwarf cichlids to choose from. Check out cichlid-forum.com for advice and profiles.

 

[BrianNY]

Something seems very wrong here to me. How far is your lfs from you? Do they have the same water supply? Rasboras are very hardy fish so one thought I have is that something in your water could be poisoning them. This is not as uncommon as one might think. Especially in rural areas where pesticides and fertizers leach into the water supply.

 

[dr_girlfriend]

I've kept "low ph" fish in higher ph before. And my lfs uses their higher ph water for most of their fish too. depending on how hardy the species is, that shouldn't be a huge problem. I agree with brian, something else may be going on. Perhaps a high amount of heavy metals?

 

[mattrox]

Mattrox- Is the Julidochromus an African Cichlid? I've never heard of that one before. Maybe I just haven't seen one yet. There are SO many different types of Cichlids.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...e=n-3785259660_q-xTRxHzPfsFTEb2Aus0UijwABAA@@

My mistake Julidochromis.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The link helped. Thanks mattrox! I've heard of the Dickfeldi Cichlid. just never seen the scientific name.

 

[mattrox]

I am thinking that it is toxic water the more I think about it. Brian is probaly on to something.

 

[Rocket Girl]

My water is not toxic. We've been through this before. Many people keep fish in this city on the same water supply. Sensitive fish even. Plus, I've moved in the past 2 years and my problems followed.

I do not have a large variety of fish to choose from here. I've never seen a tang lake fish. Nor have I seen a dwarf lake malawi cichlid.

 

[Blucat]

dwarf cichlids i think

 

[czcz]

Read one of your previous threads where you say you never use dechlor and rather age the water by letting it sit. Im not sure, but I think Ive read that method works for chlorine, but not chloramine. You would need dechlor that specifically removes chloramine (not all do). Perhaps others in the cities you've lived in used dechlor instead of aging.

* http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_chlorine.htm -- reference "Aerate/Age the tap water"

 

[severum mama]

I use Seachem's Prime, and it removes both chlorine and chloramine. I don't know what's in my water, so best to be safe I guess. :?

 

[Rocket Girl]

I am using dechlorinator now. No diff.