Thanks jpappy. I'll have to investigate about a local breeder. And now I am wondering if I should get a female guppy to keep a male guppy company. If I only have one pair, and I let nature take its course with regards to the fry, then I probaby won't get overcrowded. Hmmm...
Ph too high - need help!
- Thread starter akg
- Start date
We also have well water, PH from ther tap is 8.4 and I kept Petsmart guppies (males) for 6 months without any problems. I do not add anything to adjust PH, the only chemical I use in that tank is Prime and that is it.
I really think all your problems were because all these products you used to lower your PH. I am sure if you get guppies now they will be fine in your water with high but stable PH
I really think all your problems were because all these products you used to lower your PH. I am sure if you get guppies now they will be fine in your water with high but stable PH
My pH is stable at 8.2 now. I tested the water (with my handy-dandy LIQUID test kit) 2 days after a 40-50% exchange and I just tested again (4 days later - I'll do my weekly exchange tomorrow) and all levels of everything are exactly the same: ammonia zero, nitrite zero, nitrate 5, GH 53.7 and KH 125.3. So maybe we'll try some guppies again. One pet store owner once suggested dripping some of my water into the bag from his tank over an hour period to get the fish acclimated. Does anyone think that makes a difference?
Thanks to all --
akg
Thanks to all --
akg
akg - glad you got all that stuff sorted out. what your store owner told you is the absolutely best and most amazing method out there for acclimation. do a forum search for drip acclimation and you will get a lot of results.
you have a very good/smart shopowner who was recommending that one
you have a very good/smart shopowner who was recommending that one
Here's some info on drip acclimating.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154736
This would probably be a little overboard for LFS guppies. I've only gone this far with shipped fish. But the concept is the same.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154736
This would probably be a little overboard for LFS guppies. I've only gone this far with shipped fish. But the concept is the same.
Thanks for the info on drip acclimation. That was very helpful. I went to the pet store today and got everything I'll need to do it and got some more tips from someone at Petsmart (they had just gotten a delivery and were actually doing this with their new fish - so I got to see it in action. One thing I found interesting - they had placed small containers with the new fish inside large buckets so if the water overflowed it didn't make a mess on the floor.) So maybe after school tomorrow I'll take the kids to the pet store and we'll give it one more try with the guppies. I'll let you know how it goes...
Thanks again for all the help!
akg
Thanks again for all the help!
akg
Hey AKG - this is a late reply - I suggest don't buy anymore fish - dump the water you have now - use your tap water - cycle it for a few days - then re-start adding fish - either quarantine new fish in separate smaller tank with meds or mix in 1/2 your tank water with the bagged fish - let them acclimate for an hour or so. then fish them out & deposit. discard LFS water. this is what I did when I first started my tank. In fact - I broke the major rule - I started my tank on water conditioners & introduced the fish the same day - to my surprise they all survived! only losses were a small rainbow shark being dominated by larger red tail & albino sharks!
Sorry but that's not a good idea since akg still has other fish in the tank. I think it'll be fine the way it is.
Yes - I have 4 tetras that are doing quite nicely. I have no desire to harm them! What I did, on advice from the good folks who read my first post, was to do a series of small exchanges over a number of days to get the tank back to just well water, and doing it slowly ensured that the tetras would handle the change to their environment, which they did just fine.
Today I took the kids to the pet store and we picked out 2 guppies and 2 glow fish - bright red and bright orange and the guppies also happen to be yellow and orange, all very colorful! - and as I write my tank water is dripping into their container at a rate of about 1 1/2 drops/second and so far so good! This was much easier to set up than I feared. I got air tubing, a gang valve, and suction cups to hold the tubing in place. The gang valve is usually for regulating air flow from an air pump, but it works just as well in reverse controlling the drip. So I cut a short piece of tubing, attached it the output side of the valve, and secured it in the tank with a suction cup. Then I cut another piece of tubing, attached it to what would normally be the input side of the valve, got a suction cup ready, started a siphon, closed the valve part way to slow it down to a drip, and secured it with the suction cup in the container with the new fish (which were swimming in enough of the water from the bag to give them some room). The container is sitting in a bucket to prevent the water from overflowing onto the floor. So far the fish seem to be fine. The drip's been dripping for about an hour, and the only problem is that it may not be done before my son's bedtime! (The tank is in his room.)
So I'm really hoping that the guppies are OK and they survive my well water pH. Wish us luck!
Thanks again to everyone for all of your great suggestions!
akg
Today I took the kids to the pet store and we picked out 2 guppies and 2 glow fish - bright red and bright orange and the guppies also happen to be yellow and orange, all very colorful! - and as I write my tank water is dripping into their container at a rate of about 1 1/2 drops/second and so far so good! This was much easier to set up than I feared. I got air tubing, a gang valve, and suction cups to hold the tubing in place. The gang valve is usually for regulating air flow from an air pump, but it works just as well in reverse controlling the drip. So I cut a short piece of tubing, attached it the output side of the valve, and secured it in the tank with a suction cup. Then I cut another piece of tubing, attached it to what would normally be the input side of the valve, got a suction cup ready, started a siphon, closed the valve part way to slow it down to a drip, and secured it with the suction cup in the container with the new fish (which were swimming in enough of the water from the bag to give them some room). The container is sitting in a bucket to prevent the water from overflowing onto the floor. So far the fish seem to be fine. The drip's been dripping for about an hour, and the only problem is that it may not be done before my son's bedtime! (The tank is in his room.)
So I'm really hoping that the guppies are OK and they survive my well water pH. Wish us luck!
Thanks again to everyone for all of your great suggestions!
akg
