We have been using our tap water and conditioning it as usual. However, during the past month, something has gone wrong with our water, though the water company denies it. Our pH straight out of the tap is upwards of 8, and it's extremely hard to get down. Then after we do get it to a safe level, it only takes a day or two to rise again. Our red betta, Speck, might be dying, and we think it is because of the pH level.
What do you do to get your pH to a safe level for your finned children, and how do you keep it down?
From what I've read and have been told myself, its best to leave the pH at what its at so that it doesn't drastically swing like its doing for you right now, which can stress fish out.
Peat moss can help lower ph,
but i agree with luxavior. what you want is a steady pH, and as long as your pH isnt over 8.2 then I wouldnt be overly worried about it.
Fish can adjust to pH levels if you keep them steady.
Well that's what I'm worried about. We have one of the color wheel style pH meters, and this past water change the pH was reading dark red, which means it is over 8.2. I'm sure the color wheels aren't necessarily the most accurate, but even if it is a little off it can't be good at such a high level can it?
I would say keeping it steady would be better than trying to lower it if its only going to bounce back up, even if the pH is higher than what would be ideal
As other have posted....Betta will adapt to your pH and hardness and by using chemical additives to altar your pH without changing the hardness- your pH will rebound-These swings can be stressful and the stress can compromise the immune response.
My pH is well over 8.8 with Kh/GH over 300-I have really hard water and a high pH and my Bettas do fine and spawn just fine, however, it is hard for me to keep CT rays intact-but they are healthy.
Unless you change the hardness of your water the chemical you use to lower the pH will not do much good-the water will rebound like what it is doing now and this is stressing your Betta.
What I would recommend-stop using the pH chemical and start making some small 10-25% water changes daily for 5 days using your tap water with the proper amount of dechlorinator-Then get on a regular water change schedule for the size tank you have to maintain water quality.
Hopefully he will be able to recover...Can you fill out the sticky info sheet found in the disease/emergency section-complete it and copy/paste it here or start a new thread in that section-the more detailed info the better-along with a pic....
Well you shouldnt be using AQ salt permanently. That could definitely raise your ph, and be causing health problems. For betta's, you can only use AQ salt at 1tsp/gallon for 10 days at a time.
Well that might be where we were going wrong. I'll stop using the salt then, and do a small change today. I didn't know that it couldn't be used indefinitely. I'll post pictures of him in a little bit. Unfortunately I can't post pictures from my phone. He's very very lethargic though, and is spending a lot of time on the bottom. Also, I'll post the parameters when I get home.
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