First i want to thank anyone who takes the time to read this and possibly share some knowledge with me. I have low alkalinity in my water. All my tanks are low like 30 or 40. I havent had any problems except guppy females and their young get fungus and finrot and die. Ive noticed that some of the balloon mollies i got a month ago are starting to drop from it also. I have almost the same alkalinity in all my tanks. I have three sets of cichlid parents producing fry constantly. So basically my only problem is my guppy and mollie losses. Will raising the alkalinity in my live bearer tank fix my fungus problem? Will it be a problem in the long run for any of my other fish?
Low alkalinity is that my problem?
- Thread starter Chicohombre39
- Start date
Thanks for the info. Im going to give these fungus tabs their 24 hrs then ill water change i gues ill add just a what like half a teaspoon? To the 50 gal tank. Or should i go lighter? Like a couple pinches a day till i hit the mark i want. Baking soda is strong and i dont wanna f em up lol.
you can experiment with a cup or 2 of tank water and see how much baking soda it takes to raise the ph and kh to desired levels. Then figure the total amount for 50 gallons and spread that total dosage over a week.
this would be easier with a TDS meter, making sure not to raise the TDS more than 50 ppm.
My PH is already on the high side at 7.8-8.1 I dont want to raise that. Everything about my water is awesome except alkalinity. I mean im raising cichlids in it. Only cant keep guppies and mollies from getting fungus. Is that from alkalinity? Thats my question.
Fancy guppies and balloon mollies aren’t noted for being trouble free. You can add oyster shell aragonite or crushed coral which will give you some
More kh but won’t push your ph higher. For fungus and fin rot I’d go with more water changes and I’d add salt before I’d add a “fungus tab” whatever that is
More kh but won’t push your ph higher. For fungus and fin rot I’d go with more water changes and I’d add salt before I’d add a “fungus tab” whatever that is
Alkalinity is the buffering capacity (KH) and prevents the PH from going down. A KH of 4 degrees prevents normal bacterial processes from lowering the PH within 5-7 days. So at most your KH is around 2.25 degrees (40ppm).
High PH doesn't guarantee that you have hard water. Hardware is measured by GH. You can have a high tank PH and still have soft water. Typically areas near agriculture will have high PH and soft water.
Mollies and guppies are hard water fish. You need to measure GH or at the very least measure the total dissolved solids (TDS) from your tap water.
Figure out your GH first before treating the fish with medication. The medication won't help much or only temporarily help if you don't have the correct water parameters
Couple questions.
What is your water change routine? How much and how often.
Is your pH high from the tap and higher in the tank right after a water change?
But what about 2 or 3 days later? Does pH drop?
When you say cichlids,
African rift lake species?
Amazonian S Americans?
North/Central Americans?
I agree with adding baking soda with water changes water to raise alkalinity.
but......this is temporary, and if water changes are not frequent enough, with baking soda added with each one, alkalinity soon drops even after adding baking soda.
I also agree using crushed coral, or oyster shell as a substrate, or in filters, because it tends to slowly stabilize alkalinity, by buffering the acids of fish waste.
Guppies and mollies also appreciate an addition of salt, they are often found in brackish areas in nature, so it could help mediate fungus.
What is your water change routine? How much and how often.
Is your pH high from the tap and higher in the tank right after a water change?
But what about 2 or 3 days later? Does pH drop?
When you say cichlids,
African rift lake species?
Amazonian S Americans?
North/Central Americans?
I agree with adding baking soda with water changes water to raise alkalinity.
but......this is temporary, and if water changes are not frequent enough, with baking soda added with each one, alkalinity soon drops even after adding baking soda.
I also agree using crushed coral, or oyster shell as a substrate, or in filters, because it tends to slowly stabilize alkalinity, by buffering the acids of fish waste.
Guppies and mollies also appreciate an addition of salt, they are often found in brackish areas in nature, so it could help mediate fungus.
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Fish have no KH requirements. However, KH is important for holding pH steady and it is used by the bacteria and some plants. Kh is basically carbonates and bicarbonates. They supply inorganic carbon.
If you use smaller amounts of crushed coral in a bag in the filter it will raise KH some and usually not increase the GH. I am talking about maybe 1/2 cup of coral in 40-50 gals of water.
from https://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin.html
If you use smaller amounts of crushed coral in a bag in the filter it will raise KH some and usually not increase the GH. I am talking about maybe 1/2 cup of coral in 40-50 gals of water.
Well i appreciate all the info everyone. Im looking at getting some crushed coral to add to my mollie tank. I use salt religiously, in all my tanks. And i took the salt levels high during my traetment process. And ive kept them a little higher since the loss of guppies. And remember it was only the female guppies that i lost out of all my fish. The four males out of 31 guppies live in my bedroom tank still. All that said, i think ill stick with the other fish i keep. I dont have any problems at all with any of them except those beautiful lil gups lol.