Cuttlefish bone.
Need help identifying what's happening to my Tetra
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Sorry, I don't understand
Cuttlefish bone is calcium carbonate same as coral. The stuff pet birds chew on. Costs a fraction of a bag of coral substrate to do the same job.
Thanks! I bought 2. I put 1 in 2 days ago but no change in PH
It's still 5.4 or lower. Ammonia is 0.5. I did a water change too on Thursday and it didn't change my PH either, just raised the ammonia from 0 to 0.5.
I have a 29 gallon tank. Should I add the second cuttlebone in?
My angel is producing a lot of mucus and is acting irritated (why I did the initial water change Thursday)
I'm kind of feeling like I will have to give up and go the seachem buffer route and just hope for the best. Nothing is working.
It's still 5.4 or lower. Ammonia is 0.5. I did a water change too on Thursday and it didn't change my PH either, just raised the ammonia from 0 to 0.5.
I have a 29 gallon tank. Should I add the second cuttlebone in?
My angel is producing a lot of mucus and is acting irritated (why I did the initial water change Thursday)
I'm kind of feeling like I will have to give up and go the seachem buffer route and just hope for the best. Nothing is working.
Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yes, you can add more cuttlebone if the pH isn't moving up.
Have you tested the gravel and ornaments in a bucket of tap water?
Your tap water has enough GH and KH to stop the pH dropping rapidly. This means there has to be something in the aquarium that is dropping the pH. If we can find out what that is, we can hopefully fix the pH issue.
I need you to get some buckets of tap water and put some gravel from the tank into one bucket. Put rocks or wood into other buckets, and keep one bucket of water with just water in. Monitor the pH and ammonia of these over a week and then post the results. Something in the aquarium is dropping the pH and could be releasing other stuff that is irritating the fish.
Have you tested the gravel and ornaments in a bucket of tap water?
Your tap water has enough GH and KH to stop the pH dropping rapidly. This means there has to be something in the aquarium that is dropping the pH. If we can find out what that is, we can hopefully fix the pH issue.
I need you to get some buckets of tap water and put some gravel from the tank into one bucket. Put rocks or wood into other buckets, and keep one bucket of water with just water in. Monitor the pH and ammonia of these over a week and then post the results. Something in the aquarium is dropping the pH and could be releasing other stuff that is irritating the fish.
Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yes you can use the CaribSea exotica base rock. It's either crushed limestone or dead coral rubble and will help to neutralise acids in the water and raise the pH. It's very expensive though.
No I haven't. My husband is getting annoyed with all the fuss I'm making with the fish. We live in a small condo so doing all of this takes up a lot of space in our condo and I have clients over for my work so I can't haven't buckets in my living room(which is also my kitchen and dining room lol) sitting there. I currently have 2 buckets but if I do this, I'll need one to use for water changes so I'm going to have to do each test one at a time.
I'll try one with the gravel and an ornament and the other empty with tap water
I'll try one with the gravel and an ornament and the other empty with tap water
On a bit of a different topic. I've attached photos of some concerns I have. One is a pic of the tetra. It's still alive. His fin is growing back but looks like he's gotten a cotton growth and the discoloration is spreading.
I don't know if my angel has always had this and I never noticed until my Tetra got sick but it looks like she's got a shiny spot on her head right in between and just above her eyes. Wondering if this is likely normal or has gotten what the tetra has got.
Lastly wondering if this bacteria on my seachem alert is normal or something to be concerned about. It looks like the bacteria is also starting to grow on the cuttlebone I added.
I've ordered more test strips to do the bucket test. And will keep you posted soon on the results.
Thanks!
I don't know if my angel has always had this and I never noticed until my Tetra got sick but it looks like she's got a shiny spot on her head right in between and just above her eyes. Wondering if this is likely normal or has gotten what the tetra has got.
Lastly wondering if this bacteria on my seachem alert is normal or something to be concerned about. It looks like the bacteria is also starting to grow on the cuttlebone I added.
I've ordered more test strips to do the bucket test. And will keep you posted soon on the results.
Thanks!
Attachments
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.
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.
Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
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.
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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.
----------------------
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.
Thank you! I stopped using ammo lock and removed the filter media as well. I've been using seachem stability daily - says to use for about a week which will end on Monday. I believe that may be what's decreasing the ammonia since nothing else has changed my ammonia readings. I have a suspicion that the pH might be affected by a decoration. I remember taking the decorations out and one smelled a bit funky so I rinsed it. I'm now thinking maybe there's rotten food or maybe a fish died inside of it. I'm going to take it out and put with gravel and run that test to see if it lowers my ph while seeing if my tank's ph begins to raise. We shall see.
So far all fish are eating normally (including the tetra) and acting as normal as they can be under these stressful conditions.
What about a salt dip? Just taking the tetra out into a bucket with the salt for 30.mins? I just am hesitant to add anything to the aquarium that could make the water quality worse right now.
Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
Salt baths/ dips harm the fish. Every time you chase it around to catch it, you stress it out. Every time you lift it out of the water, you can potentially damage the fish and if it's a bacterial or fungal infection, this damage allows it to spread.
If you don't want to add salt to the main tank, don't. If you have a spare tank you could move the fish into that to treat with salt but that would stress it too.
If you don't want to add salt to the main tank, don't. If you have a spare tank you could move the fish into that to treat with salt but that would stress it too.
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
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B09LS8FSM4?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
If you have a link of what you'd recommend, I'll try a different kind. Kind of at a loss with my ph and KH
It says natural cuttlebone, so its real cuttlebone.
Cant really explain why its not dissolving. Its calcium carbonate and your water is acidic so it should disolve. Its a slow thing, its not like it will disolve over night, but you have had it in there for long enough to see some difference.
The crushed coral is the same stuff, but in smaller pieces. More surface area so it will disolve quicker.
If you want more more of an instant hit baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is often used to increase KH and pH. Dolomite will rise KH GH and pH. Never used either personally so cant offer first hand advice on dosing. Or there is the alkalinity buffer you bought which is basically baking soda and some other bicarbonate salts.
If you go down these routes dont try and change things to quickly. Sudden swings are usually more harmful than leaving things alone.
Cant really explain why its not dissolving. Its calcium carbonate and your water is acidic so it should disolve. Its a slow thing, its not like it will disolve over night, but you have had it in there for long enough to see some difference.
The crushed coral is the same stuff, but in smaller pieces. More surface area so it will disolve quicker.
If you want more more of an instant hit baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is often used to increase KH and pH. Dolomite will rise KH GH and pH. Never used either personally so cant offer first hand advice on dosing. Or there is the alkalinity buffer you bought which is basically baking soda and some other bicarbonate salts.
If you go down these routes dont try and change things to quickly. Sudden swings are usually more harmful than leaving things alone.
Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
That is normal cuttlebone and is fine.
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For the tank water pH to drop more than 2.0 points and to use up 80ppm KH in 5 days, there has to be something really acidic in it, and there has to be lots of it because 80ppm of KH is normally enough to stop the pH dropping in most tanks.
Are you adding carbon dioxide (CO2), because that can drop the KH and pH rapidly.
I would still test the gravel and everything else. If it is the gravel dropping the pH, you can add all the limestone and cuttlebone you like, and the pH will still drop. The gravel would need to be replaced.
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