New tank with high ph

[caukema]

Hello - I am a new fish owner. I bought a marbled molly for my daughter and a bue platy for my son. When we brought them home, the platy had fry and so we bought a 10- gallon tank for them (originally had a fish bowl). They have been in the tank for 1.5 weeks. I put them in on a sunday. I changed about 25% of the water the next sunday. The platy is already pregnant again, or she has a tumor or something - the molly is a male so im thinking prego. My real question however is, our levels are nitrate 0, nitrite 0, ph 8.4, and ammonia .5. The water temp is 78. There are the 2 fish and one snail and possibly 1 or 2 babies but I havent seen them since I changed the water. I read in my mardel test kit that at our ph the ammonia level is slowly kiling our fish and the platy looked red gilled tonight. The molly has stopped eating for past 2 days and just kind of hangs out "shaking". I read that lowering ph causes ammonia to be less harmful and I know I need to let the tank cycle, but I hate to kill the fish in the process! I just completed a 50% water change that does not seem to have immediately helped. What can I do? Our water is highly treated/softened well water and its ph is 8.4. I thought keeping ph stable was better than keeping it perfect. Thanks for any thoughts you have to my rambling! Oh, btw there is also a zebra snail in the tank too!

 

[jlk]

Hi! What are you using to test your water parameters? Strips are not reliable- I would recommend investing in a good liquid test kit such as the API freshwater master test kit. You can find them for $10-15 cheaper on amazon vs most lfs stores. Second, do you have a good water conditioner? Prime is highly recommended and will help limit the toxicity of ammonia and nitrite. Until you are able to test your water accurately, I would not be overly concerned with the ph because we do not know what your readings truly are. However, your fish's behavior indicates they are being affected by your water, most likely the ammonia levels. You will need to step up your water changes to bring your toxin levels down and hopefully make your fish more comfortable. Make sure you use temperature matched, properly conditioned water for your water changes. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions! Heres a link with some more info:

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?!

 

[caukema]

Thanks for the response. Yes, it is a strip not the liquid test. I only use aquasafe by tetra (the trial that came with the tank) to condition the water. I actually think they may have internal parasites too. The molly hasn't eaten for 2-3 days and has not really moved around for almost 12 hours. He just sits and shakes. He aso had white stringy poop yesterday and now the platy has that too ( she however has a very hearty appetite). How frequent/ large should the water changes be? Should I add meducine to the whole tank to treat parasites? Thanks again!

 

[jlk]

Lets start by addressing your water quality before considering meds. Parasites are a possible issue though. A 50% water change will halve your ammonia. Wait an hour & do another 50%. If your ammonia is reading .50 now, 2 water changes should drop it to .125pm. You will need to test daily & do water changes as needed to drop toxin levels down to a safer number (below .25ppm) especially with your high ph. In respect to possible parasites, a medicated food is a better option but as your one fish is not eating this will not be feasible. There are quite a few parasite meds available but they generally require that water changes not be performed- right now, healthy water is a bigger issue. Lets increase the water changes to drop toxinlevels first & see how everyone does. High ammonia levels will cause a fish to go off their food. Consider investing in a good water conditioner & proper test kit in the meantime. Keep us posted!

 

[caukema]

Thank you again for the reply. I had done a 50% change last night and I just finished one now. I also took out all accessories and rinsed them. Then I scooped what I could of refuse from the gravel. In the process we found one fry from the first pregnancy! My kids were excited about that the good news is that Molly, the molly, is swimming aroumd now and seems to be hungry. The bad news is that Capt. Jack, the platy, looks like she may be going into labor! She is hiding and breathing fast. Its only been 2.5 weeks since her last group, so I am guessing she may abort if she gives birth now. So, do I change the water again in an hour, or should I wait until I get a better test?

 

[jlk]

Go ahead & test with strips for now- it will atleast give you some idea if your ammonia has come down or not. If it hasn't, go ahead & do another water change. Once you have a decent test kit, remember to test your tap for ammonia, nitrite & nitrate- this may be behind some of your readings. We can then look further into your ph as well.

 

[caukema]

Well, I retested the water and it is still reading .5 ammonia after 2 50% water changes. I am figuring the tests are wronng or there is ammonia in our water. My moly has gone back to shaking in one spot again. Could he have the shimmies? I do not have a heater instaled bc the water has gotten up to 82 without one, but maybe he has gotten a chill at night? Will the heater make the watet too warm on hot days?

 

[emerald76]

Good that you got a tank! You are experiencing a cycle and need lots of water changes to keep your fish healthy

 

[jlk]

A heater will keep the tank temp stable so it doesnt fluctuate. They are set so the heat will kick on if the temp in the tank starts to drop- they dont run 24/7. Basically the same as the thermostats in our houses. Keep us posted!