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pH in a fish bowl

25 9:09:38

Question
Hi Nori,
In reference to you answer, I only feed the fish a few flakes once a day. When I fed the fish tonight, I watched and it ate all the food. I will check  the website you supplued in your answer. I checked the pH and it was fine. I am at a loss to understand why it is happening. The pet store has suggested that I switch to having a beta fish instead of a gold fish. My daughter is upset that she has lost so many gold fish. We are on goldfish #5 since April. Thanks for your help.
Janet
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Followup To

Question -
My daughter has a 1 gallon fish tank and has only a gold fish in it. She has lost many gold fish doe to pH becoming so high. The tank itself has just the common stones at the bottom, and it has an air tube in the middle with an air stone in it. On the advice of the person at the local pet store, we have gone from tap water to bottled water, and have tested the water almost every other day. The pH was fine on Thursday when I bought the new gold fish. The water was tested yesterday-it was fine. Today, when I tested the water, the strip was pink. Nothing was added to the water yesterday. I have added pH Down today. I also have a twenty gallon tank and don't have any problems with it. What would cause the pH act up like that? The guy at the pet store can't explain it either. Can you help with this?
Thank you,
Janet Kreager

Answer -
Hi Janet,
Thank you for your question. One thing I'm sure you are adding is food. Too much food can cause water pollution and other problems. Smaller tanks are especially vulnerable to the problems from over feeding. Here is my page for easy aquarium care:
http://steamboats.com/aquarium.html
Please read and print out for future reference.
Write back if you want to discuss further.
Nori

Answer
Hi Janet,
If you are feeding it correctly, then the next thing to consider would be the water. Is it tap water? What else did you add to the water?  Aquarium supply shop chemicals of any sort? Before you set up the tank, did you wash the glass with amonia?
What is your light source?
Isn't this the darndest hobby?
Nori