General fish tank questions. Fairly new.

Back in February we bought a, i believe, 12 gallon tank from my best friend. We brought it to my house from across state and did the necessary preparations to set it up. A few weeks later when i went back to college, my older brother bought a gold colored fish, not sure of the name, a white colored fish, i'm assuming normal fish, and a HUGE algae eater. Originally we had two tiny algae eaters, two black mollies and a beta. None have conflicts with each other. Well, the only ones that are left are the beta, the 3 algae eaters and one black molly. The beta always sits on the bottom and hardly moves around. The black molly sits in one place alot. I tested the PH and it's real high, a dark blue color. I'm guessing around 7.7 or higher. I tried lowering it, but it does not change no matter what i do to it. There's a few decorations in it and i'm not sure if they're decaying or not. Any suggestion?

you will not mention that whether your tank is a planted or not.if not then those algae eaters of no use...and i don't understand that 3 algae eaters and one black molly,how it is possible?

The tank is not planted. And the two tiny eaters came with the tank and the big one we bought. Don't ask me, it's my semi retarted brother. The algae eaters don't fight or anything with the black molly. They just sit on the bottom sucking away. The big one hides out in the castle. Besides, this reply is no where of any relation to my original post....

Welcome to our forum. The pH doesn't seem high enough to worry about. Changing it quickly will shock the fish, so you should avoid some of the pH changing chemicals. The natural way to lower pH slowly is by adding Malaysian driftwood or Indian almond (Catappa) leaves. Have you checked for ammonia and nitrite? Those two things, which are caused by fish and food wastes, are toxic to fish. They will not be present if the tank is fully cycled, if you do a 20 or 25 percent partial water change every week, and if you avoid over crowding and over feeding. You also need to check on the compatibility and environmental requirements of the fish you have selected. For example, some fish are very aggressive, and some require different water parameters. What is ideal for one may be marginal for another.

With regard to your 12 gallon aquarium, the biggest problem is the large Chinese algae eater. Only the very young will eat algae; the adults are nocturnal and like to suck the protective slime coats from their sleeping tankmates. Since they operate at night, an aquarist is seldom aware of their bad habits. If you're like most new aquarists, you are probably over feeding, and for sure you started by over crowding the tank. A small water volume like 12 gallons requires careful maintenance, because any toxin will be more concentrated than it would in a large volume of water. The general rule is one gallon for every inch of fish, but there are lots of exceptions, and you need to consider the size of the adult fish. A 12 gallon tank is suitable for the male Betta and maybe a couple of Cory cats, for just the algae eaters, for just a pair of small Gouramis, or for just a half dozen white cloud mountain minnows. Other small fish like Guppies or Platies are also happy in a small tank. Sticking with a single species makes it easier to provide an ideal environment. You may also want to consider some inexpensive live plants. They may bring in snails, but they also help keep the water clean and provide hiding places for the fish. Finally, please make sure that the gravel and all of the decorations are sold specifically for aquarium use. Many products that are not sold specifically for aquariums have toxic additives.

I hope some of these ideas help. Please keep us updated and ask more questions if you need to.

Thank you Mr. John. I was away at college the time my brother and family bought the adult algae eater, so i really didn't have a say in anything. And on the ammonia and nitrite topic, i'll have to go to the store and get some testing kits for them. Hopefully they are inexpensive. Also, should we then get rid of the adult algae eater? Or adapt the tank to best suit him and the other fish? And i'm pretty sure the gravel and decorations are aquarium safe because when my friend had the tank before us, it was running nice and smooth and none of the fish were dying or anything.

If you can buy only one test kit, get the one for ammonia. It should cost six or eight dollars, and dip strips to test other parameters cost about the same. My price estimate may be somewhat low if you shop at a local store. Lots of us fish fanatics shop on line. You will also need a thermometer. If it were my aquarium, I would get rid of all the algae eaters. Of course, that's just an opinion, and it's not my aquarium.

We have a thermometer in there and it's reading currently 72, i think. I'm not too sure. It's hard to read. It has a green area and two yellow areas and it's on the green near the bottom yellow. The labeling is hard to read. I'm not sure if my parents want to get rid of the algae eaters, so i suggested to get plants to help them.

72 deg temp !!!! it's too low..moreover you should use a thermostat rather than thermometer.you should fix a temp in the thermostat,whenever the temp will below that then it will automatically start on..

I'm not rich like most people to afford one like that. Moreover i'd rather you be politer with your replies. Thank you.

Oh wow.