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Question about transfering betta to new tank

2K views 31 replies 7 participants last post by  LittleBlueFishlets 
#1 ·
I want to transfer 1 of my betta fish to a 6.6 gallon tank,i checked the ph in his current tank and it is about 7.2 ,the new tank's ph is 6.3 is there any danger in transferring him over to the new tank with the lower ph .
 
#2 ·
Yes. That is a HUGE change in pH! Why is there such a big difference?

Also that low if pH can kill the BB I believe. Is there a filter in the larger tank?
 
#3 ·
I think the pH level is a little on the low side, but i guess you could always do what you usually do to introduce a new fish. put him in a container with the old tank water then gradually add the new water in. Each time you pour in, wait for about 3 minutes and do so in small amount until you have more new water than old water. Fish store pH is probably different from home water pH anyways
 
#4 ·
Yes but that large of a pH change can be extremely stressful. Even a .2 pH change is a rather large difference. If you do so, I would personally drip acclimate him over a few days just to be safe.
 
#5 ·
It is a new tank i have not put the filter in yet ,i will be transferring the sponge filter from the tank he is now witch is cycled.I don't know why there is such a difference in the ph ,it is the same water from the faucet that i use to do water changes in his current 5.5 cycled tank .
 
#6 ·
Some things like rocks and driftwood can affect the pH... What decorations do you have in there? Are they both conditioned with the same kind of conditioner?
 
#7 · (Edited)
The tank he is in now has 4 small crypts and one anubia nana and one stone the new tank has 4 stones, i transferred 2 of the crypts to the new tank and the stone and the anubia ,The tank he is right now also has a cichlid cave and petco gravel a moss ball and 2 crypt plants ,i cant remember the name of the stones but i did have one in his tank since i have had him i just added 3 more of the same type of stones.I have not added the water conditioner yet maybe that might help, i will let the water sit for a day or to and check it again,i wonder if maybe the new substrate might have something to do with it , i am using fluroite and this stuff was really messy now matter how much i rinsed it it still made the water cloudy for a couple of days.here is a pic of the new tank not finished yet i have to add more water conditoner heater and transfer the filter over from the other tank ,thanks and Happy new year to you and every one here at bettafish.com.
 

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#8 ·
Okay... I'm not sure but I THINK those stones may affect the pH.. Can you test the pH of your tap? Since you moved some of the stones, I'd monitor the pH in both. Also test your plain tap water AND conditioned tap water. I found that the water conditioner I used previously affected my pH.
 
#9 ·
#10 ·
If it drops below 6 the BB cannot colonize. 6-8 is the safe range really, but fluctuations are very stressful. They can adapt to any pH in that range as long as the pH stays stable. They would probably adapt to something lower than 6 but the tank would not be cycleable.
 
#12 ·
Some of them have been able to adapt to a habitat as extreme as a peat swamp. However, with most of our pet bettas being domesticated would not survive. Plant life is sparse in the acidic water and the larger bodies of water are a lot different than the closed systems we keep our pets in.
 
#13 ·
I am talking about BB. Bettas are found in areas like that. Bettas are Bubblenesters the bubblenesters are found in Lower PHs. 6.3 will work.
 
#21 ·
6 is the lowest. I think in my first post I said I wasn't sure if it was too low then in my next post found the thread that said the pH can be between 6 and 9. Also, after looking it up, peat swamp pH can get down to 4.

It's interesting how the wild species can adapt to something like that 0.o I don't believe even plants can really live in that.
 
#23 ·
I really don't understand higher pHs much. I should have paid more attention in science. I do know that an acidic pH like 4 doesn't really sound like a lot of fun. I'm sure a few plants and fish could adapt but not many. It's considered an "extreme" environment, kind of like Antarctica :p
 
#25 · (Edited)
The pH scale is similar to the Richter scale used for earthquakes. :)

It runs from 0-14, where 7 is 'neutral'
--> 0 to 7 is the acidic side.
--> 7-14 is the basic (alkaline) side.

Each number is a ten-fold increase or decrease in acidity. As the numbers get LOWER, the solution is MORE acidic.

So say you have three solutions:
A) pH = 8
B) pH = 7 (neutral)
C) pH = 6

Solution B (pH=7) is 10 times more acidic than solution A (pH=8).

And Solution C (pH=6) is 10 times more acidic than solution B (pH=7). (This also means that solution C is 10x10 times, or 100 times, more acidic than solution A!)

- Pure water (H2O) has a neutral pH (7).
- Household vinegar has a pH of 2.8 (acidic).
- Seawater has an average pH of 7.5 to 8.4 (slightly basic).
- Some bacteria (like Vibrio) can survive a pH of over 10 (very basic/alkaline)!

SOME salts will change the pH of a solution. Others will not. (The explanation for this is chemistry-related, and is based on whether the salt is derived from a strong/weak acid or base.)

So pH is just a measure of how acidic or basic (alkaline) a solution is....

But water hardness and softness is very different from this.....

"Hard water" contains a lot of dissolved minerals (salts), such as calcium and magnesium ions.

"Soft water" has very FEW of these dissolved minerals (salts).

The 'hardness' MAY affect the pH. But it may not -- it depends on what salts are dissolved in the water. For example, adding pure sodium chloride (NaCl) will NOT affect the pH.... But adding SEA salt will raise pH slightly (making it more basic), because it contains different salts that do affect pH.

Clear as mud? :)
 
#31 ·
"Clear as mud" is kind of a joke.... Mud isn't clear. So saying this means that the explanation I gave isn't clear, either. It's like saying that while the explanation is clear to me, it may not be not clear to anyone else. :)

I just don't understand what alkalinity is, lol. I understand that it goes from 0-14 and 7 is neutral and anything under is acidic. I also understand that pH and hardness sometime correlate but they aren't the same thing and there can be hard water with a low pH and soft water with a high pH. Just don't expect me to define alkalinity for you :p
Alkaline (base) is just the higher end of the pH scale.

You can think of the pH scale as divided into three sections:
0 - 6 is acidic
7 is neutral
8 to 14 is basic/alkaline

It has to do with the ions that each produces in water. Acids produce hydrogen ions.... Bases produce hydroxide ions.... When you put a hydrogen ion (acid) together with a hydroxide ion (base), you get water (neutral).

Antacids, such as Tums, are alkaline (basic). They neutralize excess stomach acid. They contain calcium carbonate, which is a base (alkaline).

Corals and limestone also contain calcium carbonate. This is why you can't put them into a freshwater tank. They'd cause the pH to go UP, making the tank alkaline (basic).

I have 7.6 PH and according to an area chart we are mildly alakine. I do keep Guppies. I jus give Carter IAL usually 3 leaves.
Yes! 7.6 is slightly alkaline (basic). :)

(I use oak leaves. Eventually, I may get some IAL for them, though.)

My pH is 8. DaBaDees is like 7.8 because of his Epsom salts.
Both of these are also slightly alkaline (basic).

Interestingly, the pH of human urine can range from 4.6 to 8'ish, and still be considered normal.

(I don't know the range in bettas! But I'd suspect that since they eat lots of protein, their urine may be slightly acidic (low pH.)
 
#27 ·
I just don't understand what alkalinity is, lol. I understand that it goes from 0-14 and 7 is neutral and anything under is acidic. I also understand that pH and hardness sometime correlate but they aren't the same thing and there can be hard water with a low pH and soft water with a high pH. Just don't expect me to define alkalinity for you :p
 
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