Are CPD prone to PH shock?
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As you may have seen I recently brought home my first CPDs but I have had problems with new arrivals dieing. The first ones I blamed on the store as some of them already looked bad by the time I got home with them.
I picked up a new lot yesterday and this time I was REALLY careful. I used a cooler box to transport them and a very slow drip for acclimation (took about 6 hrs). I kept the water at the same temp as the tank with a heater during acclamation.
Today no fish have died but at least a couple of them don’t look right. The only thing I can think of (unless there is disease involved) is that there is too much of a difference in PH. The PH kit I am using is wide range and a bit hard to read as best I could tell the store water was just below 7.5. My PH seems to be just above 7.5 but could be higher. I’ve never had a new fish die on me before and have never been as careful as this but perhaps CPDs are very sensitive to PH change?
Snail, sorry to hear you are having a time with your new fish.
I can’t say that I have moved these fish from one pH to another, but I have kept them in a range from 6.6 up to 8 without any problems.
What was the pH of the water where you purchased them? For years, the general rule of thumb is no more than a .2 change in a 24 hour period, but I’m sure if that still applies or not.
Are the fish new arrivals at the store where you purchased them? Each time I have purchased wild caught fish, well 3 out of 4 times, I have lost fish due to their very poor condition.
Dennis
They had been in the store for a couple of months, not new arrivals. I couldn’t get them right away because I needed to set up a tank for them. The guy in the store said they are farm bred in India.
On the whole they didn’t look terrible but there were a few in the tank that didn’t look good, When I got home with the first lot there were already two with problems and a third very small one, all three of these and one more died, leaving two healthy ones and one that is still struggling. I went back for a second lot and this time was very careful to get healthy active ones but some are still showing the same symptoms, although not as strongly. It’s been two days and none have died yet but I’m not counting my ‘chickens’ yet, I think the next 24hrs will be critical.
Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are perfect so it only leaves me with two theories. It could be disease, that came with the fish or that was passed on from a filter I used from another of my tanks, I have had no problems with my fish but you never know if they could be carrying something the CPD are sensitive to. The guy at the store said not a single one of his had died, but I do find that hard to believe out of about 100 they had.
PH shock seems to fit the symptoms. The guy from the store said they mix with RO water because CPDs must have a PH below 7 or they will die, when I tested their water it was closer to 7.5. Our water seemed only slightly higher but the shades of green the test kit has are hard to read so there could be a bigger difference than I thought, I need to get a better kit. I do know that my water is hard which it seems is more important than PH as it’s really osmotic shock rather than PH shock that kills.
Well unfortunately it’s all but impossible to diagnose fish sight unseen over the internet. With that being said, I tend to agree with you, I would say the fish are not in very good condition when you are receiving them. It’s too bad the guy at the store is obviously clueless about CPD’s.
Will they eat for you? If so, find something they really like and you should be able to nurse some back to heath and start your own colony.
Best of luck!
Dennis
PS: There is an article on the home page called “Home Sweet Home”. It’s about CPD’s in their natural environment, it contains water parameter info taken at the sight where these fish were first discovered.
How old was your newly set up tank before putting the fish in? It could be that the tank was not aged enough?? Just a thought.
Well I didn’t loose any during the night, which I’m happy about.
@AquaGirl wrote:
How old was your newly set up tank before putting the fish in? It could be that the tank was not aged enough?? Just a thought.
The tank had only been set up for about a week but I took everything out of a well established tank, and all levels test well so I don’t think that is the problem.
@ballpc wrote:
Well unfortunately it’s all but impossible to diagnose fish sight unseen over the internet.
Yes, one of the limitations of the internet. I appreciate your input anyway. I don’t count myself as an expert but I think I’d be able to work out any of the more obvious causes, I’ve kept tropicals for almost 10 years and I’m very interested in reading about them on the net. You have to sit and watch them for a few mins to see that there is something not quite right. One has a clamped anal fin, one has a slight swim bladder problem (it wasn’t like that in the store) and one has a back end that droops slightly. They are all pretty lively but those are the same symptoms the ones that died had so I’m paranoid now. Then there is one from the first lot that has been hovering about on her own she has a clamped tail fin and has lost weight. She is the most obviously unwell but actually looks a little better today.
It’s too bad the guy at the store is obviously clueless about CPD’s.
Obviously CPD do fine above PH of 7. He said the breeders from India had given him that information so it is possible they were raised in a low PH which made it harder for them to adjust. Of course that is if he was telling the truth at all.
Will they eat for you?
Yes, all but one are eating like pigs. I’m feeding them Hikari micro pellets. It took a couple of days for them to get into them, they were used to flake food, but they like them better now. I also let a bunch of of cyclops(the tiny type) go in the tank and they enjoy chasing them. The skinny one wasn’t eating for a couple of days, she wasn’t skinny when she got to me. She looked a little more lively this morning so when she didn’t eat the pellets I tried flakes and she ate some. LOL, am I the only CPD owner trying to get my fish off flakes?
PS: There is an article on the home page called “Home Sweet Home”. It’s about CPD’s in their natural environment, it contains water parameter info taken at the sight where these fish were first discovered.
That’s the page that led me to this site in the first place, best info on CPD on the web here!
Again thanks so much for taking the time to help.
On a brighter note a pair were showing spawning behavior this morning. It didn’t last long but no no doubt what they were thinking about.
Sorry to hear about your troubles. They can suffer when moved around and need stable mature tanks. If you have a pair they should reward you with some young fish soon
Thanks Tom. I have 7 left and they have settled in well now. They are much fatter and friendlier now. Perhaps my tank was not mature enough. I hope that will be the end of my troubles, although there is still one with some swim bladder troubles.
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