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natural rocks?? good or bad

736 views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  vanderduncanwall 
#1 ·
do natural river rocks really make a big diffrence ?

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#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have all different shapes and sizes. I was just asking because I've had some problems with my Molly's two of my females keep sitting at the bottom of the tank when swimming in place they seem to be shemmie, and there tail is curved to the side. and the one thing I don't have a way to check is ph.

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[emoji17] this is my first time having a tank.

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#6 ·
If anything, a rock is going to raise pH, which will be fine for mollies. Something else is going on. If you don't have a pH test, I'm assuming you have no other tests, which will make remote diagnosis difficult.

How big is the tank?
How long has it been set up?
What kind of filter?
How did you cycle it?
What other fish are in it?
What's your water change schedule?

Also, although I never kept them, I understand mollies do much better in a slightly saline environment. Do you have any salt in the tank? Of course, if you have other fish that don't tolerate salt, you'll just do the same to them.


And get yourself some test kits if you're a beginner in the hobby.
 
#7 ·
Several things will change the answer as to how rocks may effect the water.
One big one that is often missed is that water is not the same all over the world. And then rocks are also not the same.
If you take and alkaline rock like limestone and put it in water that runs in limestone most of the time, you get no change in PH/GH/KH as all that has been done by nature. Put the same rock in soft acidic water and you can expect a much larger change.
So one semi-easy way to look for the answer is to find what the local tap water is . This is often available from the water supplier. Depends on the size of the company/supplier as to how the info is posted, etc. Large companies/cities are often required to post online so look for Consumer Confidence Report (CCR?) but if small like community wells, the report may just be on a bulleting board, etc. so it takes a bit of knowing the local situation. Once found the report will tell you more than you ever wanted to know!
But the basic idea is that if you put the rocks in water that they come out of in nature, there is not nearly as much change, no matter the type rock. Another way to avoid changes you may or may not want is too sort out and look for the rocks which are least likely to change things. Granite, marble, etc are hard rocks that change water very little. Creek gravel is often of this type rock.
 
#8 ·
Fish sitting at the bottom and swimming with a weird full body motion is classic ammonia poisoning.
You need to keep them in a tank or bucket prepared with 1 teaspoon of methylene blue to about 12 gallons, I think it equates to 3PPM if my memory is working ok.
They will start looking better within hours, but need to stay for 3 days.
 
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