Having a problem with stress

[Patricktraini]

Ok I have baby fry Guppies and baby Molly's. I was having very very high stress in the tank. I have an algae eater in there as well. I've never had this much of a problem. I put mystery snails in the tank as well. I took the snails out did a 85% water change. It helped however it still reads in the danger which it dropped alot compared to where it was. My question is does mystery snails screw the water that bad ? Are they a bad thing or are good for the tank. Do they help keep it clean or are they more of a pain. I'm just trying to figure up where my issue is. Open to anything. Plz help

 

[Patricktraini]

Oh it's a 24 gal tank or around that

 

[armymp327]

how long has the tank been set up and what are you ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings? are you aware of the nitrogen cycle?

 

[Patricktraini]

Nitrate (no3) is 0. Nitrite (no2) is 5.0. Alkalinity is 120. And the ph is 7.2.

 

[Patricktraini]

Did 85-90% water change yesterday morning .

 

[Rivercats]

If nitrite is 5 your tank isn't cycled and that is the problem. You need to do immediate WC's to bring levels down to .25ppm or lower. Do a 50% WC now and in an hour do another one and take another nitrite reading. How long has this tank been set up?

 

[Cornstar]

How do you define stress?


Your tank is not cycled considering that you have nitrite which is deadly to fish. I would continue to do 50% water change daily until the tank cycles.

 

[armymp327]

Nitrate (no3) is 0. Nitrite (no2) is 5.0. Alkalinity is 120. And the ph is 7.2.

i would also suggest investing in a API freshwater master test kit as right now it seems you have no way to test ammonia, and those test strips are very inaccurate.

also have a look at this article to better understand what the nitrogen cycle is http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

 

[Patricktraini]

The tank has been setup for about a month month and a half. All my readings were perfect than I added snails which are no longer in that tank. But I'll do a 50% ac again and check in a hr. Ty.

 

[Patricktraini]

Ok so by changing the water isn't gonna hurt anything it's for the better ? I always assumed that you didn't want to change the water account of building up the bacteria in the tank.

 

[armymp327]

Ok so by changing the water isn't gonna hurt anything it's for the better ? I always assumed that you didn't want to change the water account of building up the bacteria in the tank.

that applies to a fishless cycle, you are doing a fish-in cycle so you are going to want to change the water at least every other day to keep those fish as healthy as possible

 

[Rivercats]

There is very little Beneficial Bacteria in tank water. BB adheres to objects and grow best in areas of high water flow that provides alot of oxygen. Doing WC's have no great affect on BB in the tank. Here's a good AA article on fish in cycling... I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

 

[Patricktraini]

Ok so and I don't mean to b stupid but is there ever a point where u don't change the water ?

 

[Rivercats]

You'll always have to do WC's but once your cycled you'll only have to do them once a week unless a problem occurs.

 

[armymp327]

Ok so and I don't mean to b stupid but is there ever a point where u don't change the water ?

once the tank is cycled and established then you can change the water once every week or every other week depending on the fish load. I change the water twice a week myself but that is just personal preference.

 

[Patricktraini]

Ok and at once a week how much of a wc is a good idea.

 

[Patricktraini]

And do u add any additives to ur water.

 

[Rivercats]

Ok and at once a week how much of a wc is a good idea.

It varies. I do a 50% WC on my tanks. If you have a really low bio-load and plants then a 25% WC IMO would be fine. If you do a 50% WC you can be pretty sure you will have clean low nutrient water for your fish as long as you don't over feed.

 

[Patricktraini]

Ty you've been a great help. I've ask and asked but yet you've helped the most. Ty. I thought I knew alot but I guess I didn't know near what I thought. Thank you again.