Water quality and fish behavior questions

[RClarkofNC]

Hello, all. I'm a new member to this forum, though I've been lurking for a while. I'm in the process of cycling my first "real" aquarium (i.e., something larger than a goldfish bowl). I've done a good bit of reading books and web sites, so hopefully my questions won't be too dumb. You'll find my tank specs and "logbook" at the bottom of this post.

1. The pH has been rising from 7.2 (tap water) to its current 8.0. The GH and KH have been rising as well. Is this normal for a new tank? I would have expected pH to drop as waste products began to build up. I'm hesitant to use chemicals to lower it, but I don't want to harm the fish.

2. The Bala Shark I added last night has begun to "twitch" his fins. He's keeping them open, not clamped, but twitches them frequently -- just the fins, not his whole body. Otherwise his behavior and breathing appears normal. Is this normal for a Bala or an indication something is wrong? The danios and betta have been eating since being put in the tank, but the Bala shows no interest. Also, the Bala tends to rest with his head down, not "level". He swims level though so I'm guessing it's not a bladder problem.

3. The Betta I added last night was transplanted from a small Betta bowl (yes, I know better now). In the bowl, he frequently gulped air from the surface, which I understood to be normal and the preferred method for labyrinth fish to breathe. However, in the big tank, he's swimming all over the tank quite happily and hardly ever going to the surface. Again, is that normal? My guess is that there is so much more oxygen in the tank that he doesn't feel the need to gulp air.

4. The sales clerk at my LFS said that the Bala liked worms and shrimp, but not to use them once I added Platies (which I plan on doing later) because they would cause the Platies' stomachs to "explode". Is that for real or just a bunch of hog wash? I can't imagine live or frozen worms and shrimp doing that. Maybe freeze dried ones would, but I'm not so sure about that.

Hope that's not too much for one post. Thanks for any help.

Regards,
Richard

________________________

Tank Specs
55 gallon tropical
Emperor 400 filter
Coated pea gravel substrate
Two 150w heaters set to 76 dF
Artificial plants and decorations
One airstone in middle of tank

Tank History
9/4 Added water and Stress Coat to tank.
9/5 Letting water age and circultate throuh the filters.
9/6 NH3, NO2, NO3 are 0; pH is 7.2-7.4; GH & KH are 3
........Started cycling with two fantail goldfish
........(temporary inhabitants from another tank)
9/7 NH3 is 0
9/8 NH3 is 0; water starts turning milky white
9/9 NH3, NO2 are 0
9/10 NH3 is 0; water reaches maximum cloudiness
9/11 NH3 is 0; cloudiness almost gone
9/12 NH3 is 0
9/13 NH3, NO2, NO3 are 0; pH is 7.6; GH & KH are 5
........Tank has been cycling for 7 days
9/14 NH3 is 0
9/15 (9PM) NH3 is 0
........Removed goldfish
........Added 1 oz. of Bio-Spira and some Stress Coat
........Added 6 Zebra Danios, 1 Bala Shark, 1 Betta
9/16 (7AM) NH3, NO2, NO3 are 0; pH is 8.0; GH is 6; KH is 5
9/16 (9PM) NH3 is <0.5 (barely a trace); NO2 & NO3 are 0; pH is 7.8; GH & KH are 5
9/17 (1AM) Decided to do a 20% water change to see if that
........would help the Bala. Added StressCoat to dechlorinate.
........30 minutes after the change, tests show that NH3 is back
........to 0. pH seemed to have dropped a bit, probably between
........7.6 and 7.8. Not sure exactly. The test I use makes it
........tough to distinguish between 7.6, 7.8, and 8.0.
9/17 (7AM) NH3 is 0

Note: The 1 oz. of Bio-Spira is enough to treat 30 gallons. I thought that would be appropriate since I didn't add a full load of fish. I plan on adding another ounce when I add more fish or if the ammonia starts to spike (whichever occurs first).

(Edited to add 9/16 9PM and later water chemistry readings)

 

[demon_surfer]

the fin twitching on the bala shark should be fine, I see my fish doing similar motions and I am pretty sure its just to keep them where they are in the water current.

however balasharks are schooling fish and for him to feel truely comfortable in your tank you need to get him a couple of buddies.

however mk2! balasharks get a foot long and are very active, making them unsuitable for a 55gallon in the long term. do you plan to upgrade to a 100+gallon soon or trade in the big ones?

for your rising PH. can you tell me what substrate do you have in the tank? do you have any crushed coral in there? any drift wood?
driftwood leaks tanin that will lower your ph slightly thought it may make the water look like tea

the betta is cool, hes just happy to have some new places to swim too!

as to exploding the platies bellies with the shrimp and worms...i too find this hard to believe but cant tell you 100% either way so i...er...wont

oh and dont use stresscoat to condition water for water changes. all it does is make the fish generate more slime for their slime coat. for chlorine get something like Amquel, I dont really use water conditioners so hopefully someone else has some better suggestions.

 

[RClarkofNC]

Thanks for the response. Glad to hear the fin twitch is normal. I had not planned on getting more than one Bala due to tank size constraints. I have a friend who had one for many years in the same size tank with no problems, so I figured it would be okay. I've gotten quite hooked on this hobby now and may very well add a 125g in the future. I'll keep an eye on his size and will find him a suitable home if he outgows the tank before I add a new tank.

The only substate I have is standard size coated aquarium gravel with a few larger coated pebbles scattered on top. There are some artificial plants and plastic decorations as well, all of which are designed for aquarium use. The pH seems to have dropped slightly in the last 24 hours, so maybe it was just a temporary spike. I will continue to monitor it closely.

This morning I noticed the Betta taking a couple gulps of air a minute or two apart. He doesn't seem to have any fear of swimming around the bottom. Guess he's just getting more comfortable with the new environment. He seems quite happy to be able to spread his fins.

I agree with you on the Stress Coat. The slime coat/aloe part of it seems to be overkill for regular water changes. That's what the LFS guy recommended when I was making my initial supply run. I think I'll pick up some straight dechlorinator instead and save the Stress Coat for when I add new fish.

Thanks for your help!

 

[RClarkofNC]

Update...

9/17 (9PM) NH3, NO2, NO3 are 0; pH is 7.6; GH is 5; KH is 4
9/18 (7AM) NH3 is 0

Looks like the Nitrogen cycle is under control and the Bio-Spira is working. pH and GH are back to what they were before I added the fish on 9/15 and KH has dropped slightly.

The Betta is enjoying stretching out his fins. The Zebra Danios act like I put caffine in the water. The Bala Shark has become less timid and is eating a little bit, thought he is still twitching. I think I'll feed some frozen bloodworms tonight to try to entice him a bit.