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Put a 4 inch or so bristlenose in my 20 last sunday, he did alright, thought he was a little lazy, laid around all the time. I did a water change this past saturday and he would not get out of the way of the python, had to nudge him around, about an hour later he was dead. I got another one that afternoon about 2 inches, today (thursday) he is now laying around on his back and on his way out I think.

I've got 5 phantom tetras in there and 3 cories. I lost one tetra on sunday, no obvious symptoms and now one has swollen gills and is breathing heavy. The only thing I did different was to add a piece of driftwood I got at the lfs after the water change on saturday. I had soaked it for about 3 days prior. The first bn was in there for a week before I added it.

Water parameters are, 0 ppm ammonia 0 ppm nitrite, ph 7.3, 20 ppm nitrate.

Any ideas or advice would be a big help,

Thanks,

Mike

I don't have an answer, but a similar experience. The first few times I got BNs, they didn't last long. Finally, I got an albino in May of 03, and she's fine. She even survived a pH crash in my tank in the spring. I've since gotten a male, and he seems hardy too. You may want to check the water of the LFS where the BNs are coming from. If the pH and temp are different, you could adjust yours (temporarily, at least) to match. This would help minimize any stress. Also, see what they are feeding the BNs, and use the same food when you first acquire it. Best wishes for your fishes!

What is your acclimization process fish479, even if the ph is similar, your water may be different enough from the LFS water that you'll still want more than just temp acclimation. Other ideas are to leave the lights off when you acclimate and make sure they've got enough to eat and have proper accomidations.

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Thanks for the replies. When I acclimate a new fish, I put the bag in the water for about 10 minutes to equalize the temp, then I put in a small cupful of water every few minutes for twenty minutes or so, net the fish and discard the lfs water. This has been working for me all along.

What I did discover was I had a spike in my ph. I have gotten a system down of adding acid buffer to my tanks when I do water changes and it has done a good job in keeping the ph around 7.3. I got lazy and didn't bother to check it for a while. After the two BN's died, my local lfs asked me to bring some water in, nitrites and ammonia were 0 but the ph was around 8.2, which is a long way from his ph of 7.0. So I think that might explain the death of my BN's.

I checked the ph of my tap water, and it is almost 9.0!! Is it possible for tap water ph to jump around? My town has it's own wells and treatment plant. Seems in the summer it was around 7.8 which would explain why my regular dose of acid buffer would keep it in check. So now I guess I need to be more diligent in keeping track of my ph, I'm trying to slowly get the ph in both my tanks back down into the <7.5 range.

I know most of you more experienced fishkeepers don't reccomend using chemicals to lower the ph, but I don't know what else to do with my tap ph so high.

thanks

Mike

Last edited by fish479 at 18-Dec-2004 14:22

This really becomes an issue of what your gH and kH are.

I would make a seperate post in either the General Forum or the Water Quality forum to get help in that area. There are ways to soften if it is too hard, like with distilled water. However, the entire package needs to be taken into consideration or your pH could become unstable.

Here is a test for you to try for comparison. Take a few samples in different ways and document.

First thing you should do is to check one sample of the water straight out of the cold tap and see what it is. Now, take more cold water out of the tap and set it in an open jar for a couple days. Everynow and then, put the lid on and give it a good shake. Don't use your hand as it can alter pH. At the end of a couple days, check it again. This gives gases a chance to escape and get to equilibrium with the co2 in your atmosphere. co2 makes water more acidic.

When you fill the container with cold tap water, fill another container with water from the hot tap after letting it run. Let it sit for the same amount of time, shaking it whenever you shake the cold water container.

Compare the two numbers and see if one is higher than the other.

What I'm looking for is whether there are currently any gases in your tap water from the onset. My water comes out of the cold tap at 7.0. If I use a bubbler in a bucket of water overnight, or let it sit several days, it rises to 8.0. My tanks average 7.7 due to aging, fish and plant respiration.

I'm also looking to see if your hot water tank is giving off too much calcium. Many hot water tanks have cal-rods in them (made of, you guessed, calcium). If your water changes involve some hot and cold water, it may be making the tank water too hard. Afterall, the minerals do not dissipate with evaporation so they could be building with time.

Use a high end tester, but you may need a neutral tester or one that has a broader range. If your cold water comes out at 7 and you are using a tester that only goes down to 7.4, it could be misleading.

I would not put any other fish in this tank until you fully comprehend what the gH, kH are and what is going on with your replacement water.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 19-Dec-2004 16:42

Cori Di,

Thanks for the info. I'll do the tests you suggest. I know the cold water comes out of the tap at a PH in the mid to high eights. I'm using a wide range test kit. I have tested my gallon jugs after a couple of days, and they are also in the mid to high eights, I'll check that again though.

I just tested the water with a test strip, which I know aren't the most accurate, but the gh is around 25ppm and the kh is about 120ppm. I do have a water softener in the house.

Mike

Last edited by fish479 at 19-Dec-2004 19:44

I'm not the best expert at interpreting gH and kH. Those would be good numbers to post, along with your pH, in the General Freshwater section where many can give you some great insight.

Filtering with peat moss can also help to soften the water, and eventually lower the pH. Distilled water is a quicker method, but be sure to mix it with some regular water, so as not to make too large of an adjustment the other way. Driftwood and plant matter, over time, will also help to soften the water. Some plants (Anacharis is one) will actually use the minerals in hard water, but I'm not sure how much of an impact this will make.