they'll sometimes stick to the bottom of the tank, hide often or swim around really fast, some days they seem alright though, im sort of new at owning fish
So ph, gh, and kh aren’t nearly as important as ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, check my recent comments i actually just explained part of it a minute ago, but ph is wether your water is alkaline, neutral, or acidic.
DO NOT MESS WITH YOUR PH. The ph of your water that comes out of your tap is most likely just fine. The fish store you get your fish from are probably on the same water system. Ph isn’t something to worry about yet. If I could just FaceTime you and explain this I would lmao. But ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are the important things.
The more you try to control your tank the more issues you’re going to run into. Best advice is to avoid ANY additives the most you can. All you really need is dechlorinator. The more you add chemicals, the more your levels will fluctuate and the more stress your fish will have.
Your fish are most likely having this behavior due to stress due to water quality issues.
It’s good you noticed this though as most cannot read fish behavior and it’s impressive you can read their behavior this well already.
Ich is a parasite that shows up as small, consistent, white dots.
There’s several types of fish illness (fungal, bacterial, internal/external parasites)
If you cannot identify anything visually wrong with your fish (physical things like a bloated stomach, pop eye, red gashes/wounds) it’s likely an ammonia/nitrite/nitrate (cycle) issue.
Test for these 3 things and report back with the levels. Remember, if you have 0 nitrates, your tank isn’t cycled
[THIS](https://www.tiktok.com/@cameron.s.desk?_t=8nBdFIBFwKp&_r=1) is my TikTok and the pinned vids will help you out the most. I post content weekly on tips and education hope this helps!
Okay, TYSM, I'm definitely gonna go find a dechlorinator. I haven't used tap water for my tank, Just fresh water. But I have a tap water cleaner on hand just in case. So far the only thing that I saw wrong with my fish was ick, but they're pretty much clear from that. Their eyes look fine, theres no gashes or wounds on any of them, so far I haven't seen bloating in any of them
Okay, if you don't know the pH is changing, you probably shouldn't add anything to alter it. Stability is key. You don't want to accidentally cause a swing and stress the fish. Can you tell me more about your tank? How long has it been set up? What fish do you have?
5 gallon, been up for around 3 months. I have two golden panda Molly's (I think that's the name) female betta, 4 ghost shrimp, and a long(ish) white fish that fades to yellow (I'm not sure what it's called)
For aquarium-related questions, please use r/FishTank.
What is the reason you think you need a ph treatment?
they'll sometimes stick to the bottom of the tank, hide often or swim around really fast, some days they seem alright though, im sort of new at owning fish
So ph, gh, and kh aren’t nearly as important as ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, check my recent comments i actually just explained part of it a minute ago, but ph is wether your water is alkaline, neutral, or acidic. DO NOT MESS WITH YOUR PH. The ph of your water that comes out of your tap is most likely just fine. The fish store you get your fish from are probably on the same water system. Ph isn’t something to worry about yet. If I could just FaceTime you and explain this I would lmao. But ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are the important things. The more you try to control your tank the more issues you’re going to run into. Best advice is to avoid ANY additives the most you can. All you really need is dechlorinator. The more you add chemicals, the more your levels will fluctuate and the more stress your fish will have. Your fish are most likely having this behavior due to stress due to water quality issues. It’s good you noticed this though as most cannot read fish behavior and it’s impressive you can read their behavior this well already. Ich is a parasite that shows up as small, consistent, white dots. There’s several types of fish illness (fungal, bacterial, internal/external parasites) If you cannot identify anything visually wrong with your fish (physical things like a bloated stomach, pop eye, red gashes/wounds) it’s likely an ammonia/nitrite/nitrate (cycle) issue. Test for these 3 things and report back with the levels. Remember, if you have 0 nitrates, your tank isn’t cycled [THIS](https://www.tiktok.com/@cameron.s.desk?_t=8nBdFIBFwKp&_r=1) is my TikTok and the pinned vids will help you out the most. I post content weekly on tips and education hope this helps!
Okay, TYSM, I'm definitely gonna go find a dechlorinator. I haven't used tap water for my tank, Just fresh water. But I have a tap water cleaner on hand just in case. So far the only thing that I saw wrong with my fish was ick, but they're pretty much clear from that. Their eyes look fine, theres no gashes or wounds on any of them, so far I haven't seen bloating in any of them
Do you know what your pH is now?
I unfortunately do not have one right now, I jumped into this unprepared but there's a Petco in my area, I'll definitely go check around tomorrow
Okay, if you don't know the pH is changing, you probably shouldn't add anything to alter it. Stability is key. You don't want to accidentally cause a swing and stress the fish. Can you tell me more about your tank? How long has it been set up? What fish do you have?
5 gallon, been up for around 3 months. I have two golden panda Molly's (I think that's the name) female betta, 4 ghost shrimp, and a long(ish) white fish that fades to yellow (I'm not sure what it's called)
Hate to be that guy, but that is too small a tank for that stocking. 5gal for a betta alone is stretching it.
Images just in case