Cuttlefish bone.
Cuttlefish bone.
Can I use this? I live in Toronto, and the options for fish supplies are very limited. I'm not seeing any limestone to purchase. US sites either charge way too much for shipping or don't ship to Canada.
From your other thread you was using ammo lock. Are you still using this?
Ive no first hand experience of ammo lock products, but from what ive read people who do experience pH drops. Presumably thats how it works. Lower pH makes ammonia less toxic.
If you have stopped using it, and have done enough water changes to remove it from your tank, im wondering if that ammonia removing filter media you have is doing the same.
The stuff on your alert patches just looks like biofilm. It will build up in areas of low flow like water trapped between the glass and the patches sucker. I always get that on thermometer suckers. Just remove the patch, clean it off and replace.
When you test items form the tank for pH, do the gravel first and do it without anything else in the bucket. Just gravel, no ornaments. Gravel/ substrate is the most common cause of funny problems in tanks.
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The stuff on the suction cup looks like algae and is nothing to worry about. Just wipe it off under tap water if you don't like it.
Monitor the patch on the angelfish's head. If it gets worse post more pictures from either side as well as the front. But it's most likely a few scales have come off when the fish rubbed on something.
It's a bit hard to tell what's on the neon tetra. The white area is bigger but whether it's mucous or something else I don't know. It might be related to the water issue. You could try adding some salt, (see directions below). If there's no improvement after a week with salt, stop using it. If the fish stops eating, euthanise it.
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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Could it be come some kind of artificial cuttlefish bone? Ive seen some that are gypsum rather than actual cuttlefish bone and is called something like calcium stone. Gypsum wouldnt add any KH and have no impact on pH.
This is what I ordered. There was no ingredient list on the box and it says natural cuttlebone
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B09LS8FSM4?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title