Alright folks, way off topic post here, but I have a question for you fish keepers out there. We have a 6-7 year old goldfish (if you're surprised by that age, then you're right there with me). Anyway, this is the fish that will not die. We got him from a friend that moved out of state and couldn't take him with them. I honestly expected him to last 6 months or so and be gone like every other goldfish I've ever known. Well, he hung on and over the years went from a little fish bowl to a 10 gallon tank with a filter.
I never wanted this fish to begin with, but I was overridden by the wife and daughter. Somehow, cleaning his tank has fallen on me. I don't know how to care for fish, so I don't clean the tank likely as often as we should. I do use some water amendments to help keep it clean and supposedly keep him healthy. Up to this point, water changes/tank cleaning has always been uneventful, until this last weekend.
On Sunday I did a pretty intense water change, probably 70% of the tank. I've done that before, but usually try to keep changes to less than 50% based on what I've been told. So I did the change, made sure the water temp of the new water and his tank matched within 1 degree, transferred him to a temp bowl with new treated water while I cleaned his tank, then finished the cleaning, replaced the filter and put him back.
Previously he responded to a clean tank with a lot of swimming around and checking out his cleaner home. This time, he didn't do that. In fact, he settled to the bottom of the tank and pretty much didn't move. Yesterday I called our local pet shop and asked what they might think was wrong. They asked me to bring a water sample and a photo/video of the fish breathing. While they tested the water, I let them view the video of him - they said his scales appeared to be flared out a bit and he was definitely laboring to breath. The water test came back that our pH was 6.0, acidic.
I bought a pH test/correction kit and went home. I tested our tap water - 7.5, right where he needs it to be. I tested his tank myself and got 6.0. So, I moved him into a temp tank with fresh treated water with the proper pH and started adding the drops to raise the pH of the tank. I did one full treatment and waited, then tested again. Still showed 6.0. So, did a 2nd full treatment, waited and tested again, still showing 6.0. Later did a 3rd full treatment and finally got about 6.4. Finally some progress. Did one more partial treatment and bumped to about 7.4, right where it needs to be.
It would appear my tank went very acidic during the cleaning. Likely well below 6.0 since it took so much correction - I don't know how low because the kit only tests to 6.0 The fish started to become more lively again in the temp tank in a proper pH environment. Later today, if the pH has held over night, I'll move him back to his regular tank.
So, here is my question for the fish experts - what in the world could have caused a normally healthy, apparently pH correct tank to suddenly become so acidic with a simple water change - using water that's about 7.5? Nothing else in the tank has changed - no new items, no new rocks, no new plants (currently no plants in the tank), same food, same additives we've always used. The pet store was a bit stumped as am I. Assuming he pulls through on this, I'll be sure to test his pH from now on to make sure it doesn't go acid again. I'm also going to add a little baking soda to the tank at their suggestion to help keep the pH from dropping again.
Any thoughts?
I never wanted this fish to begin with, but I was overridden by the wife and daughter. Somehow, cleaning his tank has fallen on me. I don't know how to care for fish, so I don't clean the tank likely as often as we should. I do use some water amendments to help keep it clean and supposedly keep him healthy. Up to this point, water changes/tank cleaning has always been uneventful, until this last weekend.
On Sunday I did a pretty intense water change, probably 70% of the tank. I've done that before, but usually try to keep changes to less than 50% based on what I've been told. So I did the change, made sure the water temp of the new water and his tank matched within 1 degree, transferred him to a temp bowl with new treated water while I cleaned his tank, then finished the cleaning, replaced the filter and put him back.
Previously he responded to a clean tank with a lot of swimming around and checking out his cleaner home. This time, he didn't do that. In fact, he settled to the bottom of the tank and pretty much didn't move. Yesterday I called our local pet shop and asked what they might think was wrong. They asked me to bring a water sample and a photo/video of the fish breathing. While they tested the water, I let them view the video of him - they said his scales appeared to be flared out a bit and he was definitely laboring to breath. The water test came back that our pH was 6.0, acidic.
I bought a pH test/correction kit and went home. I tested our tap water - 7.5, right where he needs it to be. I tested his tank myself and got 6.0. So, I moved him into a temp tank with fresh treated water with the proper pH and started adding the drops to raise the pH of the tank. I did one full treatment and waited, then tested again. Still showed 6.0. So, did a 2nd full treatment, waited and tested again, still showing 6.0. Later did a 3rd full treatment and finally got about 6.4. Finally some progress. Did one more partial treatment and bumped to about 7.4, right where it needs to be.
It would appear my tank went very acidic during the cleaning. Likely well below 6.0 since it took so much correction - I don't know how low because the kit only tests to 6.0 The fish started to become more lively again in the temp tank in a proper pH environment. Later today, if the pH has held over night, I'll move him back to his regular tank.
So, here is my question for the fish experts - what in the world could have caused a normally healthy, apparently pH correct tank to suddenly become so acidic with a simple water change - using water that's about 7.5? Nothing else in the tank has changed - no new items, no new rocks, no new plants (currently no plants in the tank), same food, same additives we've always used. The pet store was a bit stumped as am I. Assuming he pulls through on this, I'll be sure to test his pH from now on to make sure it doesn't go acid again. I'm also going to add a little baking soda to the tank at their suggestion to help keep the pH from dropping again.
Any thoughts?