It’s not about the fishes requiring carbonate hardness, but as you said the buffering capability. If his KH is low his ph, especially in a planted tank, will move throughout the day- and with weak lines of guppies and mollies- good night Irene.
Low alkalinity is that my problem?
- Thread starter Chicohombre39
- Start date
It’s not about the fishes requiring carbonate hardness, but as you said the buffering capability. If his KH is low his ph, especially in a planted tank, will move throughout the day- and with weak lines of guppies and mollies- good night Irene.
Here is the thing- My planted CO2 added tank always had pH fluctuations due to the day night cycle and what effect that has on pH. However, it is the TDS of the water that matter more than the pH. I worried about a pH crash from the CO2, I watched the KH hover in the 1 -2 dg range. But the tank never crashed and it was one of my most healthy tanks for many years. I even gave up using the crushed coral.
pH shifts are natural, they happen in nature all he time. I keep altum angels. I have dropped the pH in their tank by 1 full point in under 5 minutes by adding muriatic acid to the tank and the fish do not miss a beat. Of course this is a softer water situation.
Normally, but nor always, higher pH and higher TDS (conductivity) go together and vice verse. But not always. There are waters in the Sulawesi which are high pH but also relatively soft water- think Sulawesi lakes and the shrimp living in them:
Here is the problem I have with what you are experiencing. The fact that only the females are dying indicates that it is not the general parameters at fault because they would also affect the males. Male and female guppies do not need different parameters. I am not sure what sort of disease affects only females. But I would also assume that it is being transferred to the fry the females carry before they are "born." Further, salt is one of the better ways to deal with fuugus in fresh water systems. Salt contributes to conductivity/TDS but will not show up in either KH or GH tests.
Finally, guppies are some of the most inbred fish around. Unless you are reasonably certain of their origin, you may just have been getting bad quality female fish. Have a read here https://cafishvet.com/fish-health-disease/guppy-inbreeding/
pH shifts are natural, they happen in nature all he time. I keep altum angels. I have dropped the pH in their tank by 1 full point in under 5 minutes by adding muriatic acid to the tank and the fish do not miss a beat. Of course this is a softer water situation.
Normally, but nor always, higher pH and higher TDS (conductivity) go together and vice verse. But not always. There are waters in the Sulawesi which are high pH but also relatively soft water- think Sulawesi lakes and the shrimp living in them:
Here is the problem I have with what you are experiencing. The fact that only the females are dying indicates that it is not the general parameters at fault because they would also affect the males. Male and female guppies do not need different parameters. I am not sure what sort of disease affects only females. But I would also assume that it is being transferred to the fry the females carry before they are "born." Further, salt is one of the better ways to deal with fuugus in fresh water systems. Salt contributes to conductivity/TDS but will not show up in either KH or GH tests.
Finally, guppies are some of the most inbred fish around. Unless you are reasonably certain of their origin, you may just have been getting bad quality female fish. Have a read here https://cafishvet.com/fish-health-disease/guppy-inbreeding/
