any aquarists here? I need some help...

[Bolisnide]

Your tap water must be very "hard." It's a term used to describe the mineral content of water. Most prevalent is calcium carbonate and one of it's effects is to raise pH and buffer it there no matter what you do. So the first thing to do is to soften the water a bit until the pH lowers some; at least to neutral territory. For that, you use a product like this one in your tank until the desired pH is reached: Water Softener Pillow. Once you get there, can store the resin pillow in aquarium salt solution and it recharges until next use. There are also test kits where you can monitor the water hardness: Aquarium Water Testing: Aquarium Pharmaceuticals GH/KH Test Kit; but you can monitor indirectly by measuring pH. API is widely available in US so you can get those products locally or order through the net.

Couple more things I forgot, that plant damage could be caused by a hungry Pleco. Have you seen him "vigorously" cleaning leaves in the Amazon plants? Try adding a veggie disk to tank in evening and see if it helps. In reality a full grown Albino is a heavy load for your tank.

And in regards to Nitrates; would take a clean water sample to local pet shop and ask them for a complimentary Nitrate test; because your test kit might be bad. Also, if using test strips, those are very inaccurate. Good luck !

My water is very hard, it's a battle on all fronts, not just with the aquarium. I had the well water tested, and the calcium and magnesium were very high. I was unaware of the water softener pillow, I'm definitely going to try that out, thank you!

The pleco is fed algae/veggie disks regularly, and I have never personally witnessed him on the plants, but he is more active at night so that's not to say he doesn't ever graze on the plants.... he's a big guy for sure (about 4"), but it seems like he's stopped growing. I do like him... so who knows what I'll do. It seems that the fish forum also agrees that he's a big load on the small tank. Maybe I should get a gigger tank?

I was also thinking of getting a complimentary water test done at the fish shop. I do use the API freshwater master test kit, but have read the nitrate readings can be off a lot of the time.

Thanks for your help! I'll keep you all posted.

[deranged chipmunk]

while i agree with carlos that your ph is high, it's not unheard of for tetras to thrive in a hard water environment. tetras can be found throughout the amazon river system, including the semi-brackish and brackish delta systems. think about if for a moment, you have had them in your tank, under the same water chemistry for 2 years. i highly doubt that ph is the reason that you are having issues. i would agree that a ph swing and improper acclimation may have caused tetra b's demise, but if your lfs is in the same town as you, they are most likely using the same tap water supply that you are.

as far as softening the water, thise buffers are bad, bad, BAD for the plants. aquatic plants do not handle excessive chemicals very well. if you truly want to soften your water some, i would recommend adding peat to your filter. i know fluval makes a peat bag for filters, and i amsure eheim and aquaclear also make the same. in all my shrimp tanks where i needed low ph levels (5.0-6.4), i always kept a layer of peat moss under my substrate. and my tap is 6.8.

[Bolisnide]

while i agree with carlos that your ph is high, it's not unheard of for tetras to thrive in a hard water environment. tetras can be found throughout the amazon river system, including the semi-brackish and brackish delta systems. think about if for a moment, you have had them in your tank, under the same water chemistry for 2 years. i highly doubt that ph is the reason that you are having issues. i would agree that a ph swing and improper acclimation may have caused tetra b's demise, but if your lfs is in the same town as you, they are most likely using the same tap water supply that you are.

as far as softening the water, thise buffers are bad, bad, BAD for the plants. aquatic plants do not handle excessive chemicals very well. if you truly want to soften your water some, i would recommend adding peat to your filter. i know fluval makes a peat bag for filters, and i amsure eheim and aquaclear also make the same. in all my shrimp tanks where i needed low ph levels (5.0-6.4), i always kept a layer of peat moss under my substrate. and my tap is 6.8.

Well.... I have read that tetras can adapt to hard and high alkaline water.
And I have had 5 tetras for 2 years....
Maybe the first tetra that died, just died of old age? What is their lifespan typically?
hmmmmmmmm........ so I really want plants in the tank, so.........

But, want to add, that I also want the fish to be happy and healthy. I have read, and heard, and have been told, that tetras like acidic to neutral water.

[deranged chipmunk]

yes, tetras are extremely hardy fish and can and do acclimate to harder water quality. i know guys who keep neons in 8.2 ph levels. one guy actually uses water from a flooded limestone quarry in his tanks because it is pure, clean and free....lol
i have never kept glowlights, but if i recall correctly, they live about 2-5 years. i prefer the smaller tetras (neon, cardinal, von rio) and the largest ones (pirhana).

[Lija]

you know what guys, I've kept fish for n years, but not anymore though as frogs and snakes took all the space lol
the thing is after reading this I'm realizing I had absolutely no idea of what I was doing hm...
thank you!

[deranged chipmunk]

i somehow find that very hard to believe

[Bolisnide]

Okay, this is what I decided:

I'm going to keep all inhabitants, including the pleco...
I'm not going to add a 5th glowlight tetra.
I have fertilized the plants with the API root tabs, and replaced my bulb (because it was 2 yrs old).
I am going to see how it goes for now, and not soften my water.

I also added 3 peacock ferns (thought they were pretty).

I tested my water at the lfs and my nitrates were at 40 ppm, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and pH came in a 7.8.

I'll post pics of the progress with the plants

AND- Thank you so much for all the info Carlos and Bill! You guys rock!