I have a 45 gallon community tank and usually when I just get close to the the tank they gather close to the surface in a frenzy thinking it’s lunch time! This morning I went to feed them and all 6 Tiger Barbs are huddled up together under a rock arch in the aquarium. The other species in the tank are swimming around but see the food and turn away or eat slowly, the only exception is my Bala Shark. He gobbled up whatever he could find. I did a GH adjustment last night as I have to do after so many water changes because my tap water GH is 0-25 ppm. I do t know if the change maybe was too extreme to fast or what’s going on...
My fish aren’t acting normal...
- Thread starter DHill33
- Start date
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SaraB
Aquarium Advice Addict
I dont think it was the water change. I would watch to make sure that the bala shark isn't bullying them. You can always move decorations around or add more to make your barbs feel safer.
Do you have a plan for when the bala shark outgrows the tank it's in?
Do you have a plan for when the bala shark outgrows the tank it's in?
I don’t think it’s the water change it’s self... I think maybe the sudden change in my waters hardness has something to do with it! My GH went from about 25ppm to about 250 ppm! That’s about 15 dGH of change within a 12 hour time frame so that’s really all I can think it could be... however I have done this before just not so extreme so quickly. Ammonia is 0 ppm, nitrites are 0 ppm, nitrates are less than 5 ppm, pH is 7.4, KH is 90 pm or 5 dKH, GH is around 250 ppm, temperature is stable around 79*F, so..... idk! Yes I have a plan for when my Bala Shark gets bigger, I have a total of 11 tanks in my fish room, ranging from my 20 gallon long shrimp tank up to my custom 480 gallon tank. One tank is 150 gallons and the rest are 75 gallons or less. The Bala I’m talking about is about 3 1/2 inches right now, and I have 3 more that 8 1/2 inches or larger in my 480 gallon tank. One of them I’ve had about 8 years...
SaraB
Aquarium Advice Addict
Maybe more frequent smaller water changes may be the answer. The change in your GH will be less drastic. The odd thing is the bala is acting normally while the other fish aren't, that's the only reason I suggested bullying as the issue.
I don’t think it’s a bullying issue because they have been tank mates for a while and before, if anything, my tiger barbs would nip at the Bala every once and while... as long as I’ve had him, I’ve never seen him be aggressor...
I only do 25% water change per week and I purposely raise the GH using Magnesium Sulfate(Epsom Salt). However, this time the level went way higher than usually why I am for. I aim for GH between 100-180 ppm as all my fish in this aquarium are comfortable within this range of water hardness...
My 2 Cichlid tanks I aim to keep them between 250-300 ppm GH as cichlids in general do very well in hard water... I have to use magnesium sulfate to manipulate my waters hardness because my tap water is alway 25 ppm or less, most the time it’s 0 ppm.. very soft! Sometimes I have to manipulate my water KH as well because sometimes it has 0 alkalinity( carbonate hardness). So I use sodium bicarbonate(baking soda). Both magnesium sulfate and sodium bicarbonate are safe for fish, intact magnesium sulfate treats air bladder problems and constipation in fish, among other illnesses!
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