Does anyone see the white spots on his head? I'm worried he could have something fungal, idk what it is and any advice would be great, I read it maybe be a cotton fungus?
Look what I found at my LFS!
- Thread starter vinhjamin8302
- Start date
Does anyone see the white spots on his head? I'm worried he could have something fungal, idk what it is and any advice would be great, I read it maybe be a cotton fungus?
Omg I just did a water test and my ph seems to have sky rocketed! Could this be the culprit?! My ph used to be around 7.6-7.8ish but now it seems to be around 8.2 I'm at a loss here and I don't want Julius to die, I guess my first step is to do a water change and than maybe dose with meds?...anything help would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance
When was your last water change? If it was recent check your tap water pH firat before changing. Don't do meds until you know what's going in.
My tap has a high ph of about 8.8, I knew this going in so I did some tap and some Ro to get a reading of 7.6 on my test, this was about three weeks ago, I guess my first attempt to cure the problem is to do a water change with straight Ro, hopefully a 25% water change will get me back to where I need to be. I know chasing ph can be hard, especially to get it perfect but I know arapaimas prefer softer water, I've also read that fish can acclimate to ph levels but 8.8 is pretty high right?
Agreed, it's worse to have a swing than to have a constant higher pH. Dont try to lower it too quickly. Additionally are you adding any thing to keep it low? Low pH doesn't equate to soft water it equates to acidic water, just FYI.
No the only thing I'm adding is ro water, agreed I'll water change slower to gradually bring it down, I want it atleast below 8.0 if possible. I'm just worried, the dudes a dinosaur and I want him happy and healthy as we all do with our fish
Total dissolved solids (TDS) consistency is far more important than ph for most fish. High ph water source water in general tends to be higher TDS but not necessarily. The classic "old tank syndrome" is very high TDS and often acidic ph for example.
I would consider cutting your GH to a level you deem acceptable with a percentage RO and begin doing regular water changes at the rate you can manage with the output of your RO unit. Just don't go for a large change from current TDS but start with small changes and work your way up over 3 or 4 weeks to the full amount you plan on doing.
Ph does have some long term effects for some fish*, but the immediate worry is putting your fish into osmotic shock with to large a TDS change or changing it to fast.
*Cardinal Tetras for example do not have the biochemistry needed to excrete excess calcium, so if they are kept in higher ph water their tissues and organs get calcified over time which reduces their life span.
I would consider cutting your GH to a level you deem acceptable with a percentage RO and begin doing regular water changes at the rate you can manage with the output of your RO unit. Just don't go for a large change from current TDS but start with small changes and work your way up over 3 or 4 weeks to the full amount you plan on doing.
Ph does have some long term effects for some fish*, but the immediate worry is putting your fish into osmotic shock with to large a TDS change or changing it to fast.
*Cardinal Tetras for example do not have the biochemistry needed to excrete excess calcium, so if they are kept in higher ph water their tissues and organs get calcified over time which reduces their life span.
smitty
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I know a guy in Philly that has a fish store called Giant Aquarium that has several of them 4 to 7 feet long. Enjoy him while you can because it will not be for long. In the mean time start looking for a place to place him and if you love the hobby and respect the trade you will do what is right when the time come.
