Fast Alkalinity Adjustment = Gaping Mouth???

[RC Anemone]

Will a sudden change in alkalinity, for example 6.6 dkh to 8 dkh within a few hours using unbaked baking soda, cause fish to develop symptoms?

I noticed the first time I adjusted the alk quickly (1+ dkh within a few hours) one of my clown fish developed negative symptoms. Her mouth was gaping open and the sacks behind her gills became inflamed which made her gills look protruding or puffed up. She also had a small red dot which looked like a blemish near her mouth. I didn't think it was the alkalinity adjustment, so after two days with no change I treated her with Maracyn Two. She got better within 24 hours. Her mouth closed and her gills rested normally against her sides.

Just last evening I made an alkalinity adjustment again using unbaked baking soda. I adjusted the alk from 6.6 to 8 dkh. Now the male clown has the identical symptoms the female had a week and a half ago!

Does anyone have any idea why this is happening? My family really cares about these fish and my daughter is heart broken. Please help.

 

[Aquabucket]

That's a pretty big hike in such a short time.

Its best to adjust your alk at night well after your lights have been off.

Your PH is lowest at night. By bumping up your alk quickly like that your PH most likely shot up a bit. When using baking soda I always mixed it up with some hot RO water in gallon jugs and slowly dripped the solution as a top-off at night after the water has cooled.

There is a calculater somewhere on Randy's forum which describes exactly how much BS to add on a daily basis to achieve the levels you want with regard to the size of your tank.

A heavy PH swing could definately cause some of those symptoms with your fish.

Did you test your PH?

 

[RC Anemone]

Yes, the BS was mixed with RODI and dumped in the sump in the eve. 1/2 of the bottle four hours apart. And the PH dipped about .1 and returned to 8.3. Could what they are getting not be alk related?

 

[Aquabucket]

Quite possibly unrelated and it now sounds like it could be early signs of Brooklynella.

"Brooklynella occurs from a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset fish may scrap up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus."

If the maracyn 2 worked before on the other one lets hope it will do the same with the next. Most sources say anything but a bath or dip in a formalin solution is the most effective treatment along with a QT period to rid the fish of the disease.

How is the other fish doing today?

 

[MJAnderson]

I had asked Randy in the chemistry forum about how fast you can raise Alk and he said almost as much as you need, as long as your mixture is PH neutral. You can mix baking soda with baked baking soda to get a mixture that is PH neutral (check out the stickied articles in the chem forum). My only thought is that if adding the alk caused a 0.1 drop in your whole tank, maybe it dropped much more where you added it or before it was diluted or that it wasn't mixed well and the fish are eating baking soda chunks or sludge. I know my fish will go after most anything floating in the tank.