Can a high pH kill my flowerhorn?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Hi new to this & wondering your recommend on FH & new tank setup. I've done set up w/ live substrate, AquaSafe start up, little bit of fish food, & has run for 72 hours.
I'm sure I need a new heater: mine is preset on 76-77 F.
Don't have FH yet, need to make sure it's house is right. My Nitrite & Nitrate are 0 on the 5-1 test strip. the ph is 7.8 or 8.0.
Gh ?60
Kh80?
And I'm pretty sure I read it right. Is this good for 3 days? And is it appropriate to get the fish?
I want the FH, but I don't want to rush it & harm my fish.
Thanks for any & all help.
FlowerGal_AL
 
I've used the High
pH test in master kit with result of 8. (should I use this or are strips okay?)Highly alkaline, correct? When should I begin to see the nitrate? Still making sure to get the order of the cycle correct. And do any of you use these "tank starter" solutions that are available (you see them everywhere).
Should I test parameters daily or more than that?
Again
Thanx for your expertise.
 
In a normal cycle at first you see no readings, then as you feed the tank with ammonia (decaying fish food, a dead shrimp, or straight ammonia), you normally see ammonia climb, level off the first 2-3 weeks, it then starts to drop, as the population of ammonia consumers grows..
Then you begin to see a spike (climb) in nitrite, 2-3 weeks. And as nitrite consumers populate it levels off nd eventually drops.
Then as nitrite drops you will see nitrate climb (a byproduct of the ammonia and nitrite consumers..
Cycling is the process of building up enough of a population of bacteria, that consume chemical/invisible products of fish waste
 
  • Like
Reactions: Magnus_Bane
That is the clearest explanation of exactly what happens that I've seen yet--thanks for that. As a newbie, the nitrogen cycle can be daunting, only because you do that to yourself. Just like being intimidated by the Master test kits & only using strips.
I've already felt much better about the whole experience after popping open that mini chem kit & seeing precisely what is happening in my tank. Not to mention about my potential fish's health.
Being a nurse, I understand the need for "good bacteria". The cycle only finishes in it's own time it seems: so here, patience is obviously the key (&nature).Thank you!
 
I highly doubt a high PH could kill a FH just from the PH being high. My PH on average comes out at 8.7-9, it reads so high that the testing kits won't read anything above 9. I've raised and bred FH's in this water for about 5 years now and never had problems with the fish being able to handle the PH. I've even kept and bred angel fish in this water before and currently have 5 angels atm.
Honestly the thing I think that got to your fish the most was the lack of any sort of acclimation process as this is just one major shock to all of the fish's systems. Think of it like this. If you were swimming in a pool that was at, let's say 60°F, and you decided to jump into a hot tub, let's say at 80°F, it would feel like your boiling alive even though your not. Most fish can't handle something like this happening.

Btw you mentioned earlier that your tap water was lower PH then your tank water correct? If so what is it in your tank that is causing the PH to be higher? PH should not change on its own so there must be something in the tank that is raising the PH level. So what "all" is in the tank you put the fish into?
 
Magnus_Bane said:
I highly doubt a high PH could kill a FH just from the PH being high. My PH on average comes out at 8.7-9, it reads so high that the testing kits won't read anything above 9. I've raised and bred FH's in this water for about 5 years now and never had problems with the fish being able to handle the PH. I've even kept and bred angel fish in this water before and currently have 5 angels atm.
Honestly the thing I think that got to your fish the most was the lack of any sort of acclimation process as this is just one major shock to all of the fish's systems. Think of it like this. If you were swimming in a pool that was at, let's say 60°F, and you decided to jump into a hot tub, let's say at 80°F, it would feel like your boiling alive even though your not. Most fish can't handle something like this happening.

Btw you mentioned earlier that your tap water was lower PH then your tank water correct? If so what is it in your tank that is causing the PH to be higher? PH should not change on its own so there must be something in the tank that is raising the PH level. So what "all" is in the tank you put the fish into?
Click to expand...
 
Love that Magnus_Bane ID! So your pH is that high & the FH's still do well? That's good to know. I'm still waiting for tank to cycle & don't have my FH's yet.
Since you have experience in FH, do you believe them to be hardy fish? I'm skeptical about a local pet store's offer to get me 2 FH's for $10 each (just seems iffy). I assume they would need to be quarantined if I had another FH already in tank.
I see much about this segregation, but how long would it need to be?
Thanx for everyone's help!

Feeder Fish quote: "When in doubt, ask your Flowerhorn!"
 
cichlid tank said:
the flowerhorn thrives in a ph of 7.5 to 8 ph. what is yours at? the shock of the ph can make it seem funny if it was in slight acidic water and was switched to alkaline
Click to expand...

It's not ph shock that kills most fish. It's osmotic shock, basically a dramatic decrease in the total dissolved solid (TDS) level in a shortened period of time. People think it's PH differences that causes issue because most of the time there is a direct correlation in a low PH low TDS level or high PH with high TDS level (really an increase in general hardness).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom