Help me out please!!!

[Christoplis]

Hello everyone. I’m dealing with clamping fish. I tested my water and I’m at 40ppm on nitrates and it’s cause of my tap and 8.0ph. Also cause of my tap. What do you all think is upsetting them more? The nitrates or high ph? Or you guys think it’s something else? Notice the white molly and the platy

 

[lukeysothworth]

If you have not already I would do a 100% water change

 

[lukeysothworth]

I would also get rid of all that water and restart the cycle

 

[coralbandit]

I would point my finger at nitrates but 40 should not cause problems..
I would just change water anyways..Not 100% though..50% should be fine for one time and then test again in a couple days.
The livebearers in general like high ph 'hard 'water.
8.0 should not be a problem for them.
Sponge in filter looks new did you just clean or change filter media?
Have you tested for ammonia or nitrite?

 

[Christoplis]

I would point my finger at nitrates but 40 should not cause problems..
I would just change water anyways..Not 100% though..50% should be fine for one time and then test again in a couple days.
The livebearers in general like high ph 'hard 'water.
8.0 should not be a problem for them.
Sponge in filter looks new did you just clean or change filter media?
Have you tested for ammonia or nitrite?

Ok here is the story with this tank. The filter is new. This tank is only started oct 10 and the filter was started the 15th .I messed up and bought fish before learning a dang thing. Originally had 14 thrown in a ten gallon. Yes yell at me. I had to buy the 29 gallon. I’ve been battling ammonia since the start. Doing small daily water changes have help keep my ammonia down. My ammonia sits between .25 and .50 ppm . No nitrite yet. I’ve been doing mountain spring and tap mixes cause my nitrates from tap are closer to 60 ppm. My kh and gh are fine so my ph is stable in the tank just the water I add tends to be lower ph than the tank. It always comes back to 8.0 the following day. I check my tank 1-2 times a day and monitor these guys as much as possible. I can’t get them to calm down really. They all eat but they are very upset . Especially lately. And if I do a 50% water change should I use only tap water. And yes I’m conditioning the water. The Black Molly and one platy gave birth a few days ago. I had to go on a rescue mission. It’s a mess but I’m doing all I can to keep them happy

 

[coralbandit]

I would keep mixing on you water changes as 60 is no good to start with ..
Seachem prime [water conditioner] and possibly other brands 'detoxiy' ammonia.Just add the amount for tank every 2 days.It will still register on test but will be in a different more safe to fish form. Doing it every two days will keep it working until the filter grows in properly...
Imo it is the nitrates /ammonia bothering the fish more then the ph.I would not worry about the pH at all with your stock.

 

[Christoplis]

50% water change it is. Off to the store I go. Ok well I shouldn’t worry about the ph crashing when I add my water because of the fact that it always stablzes? My temp is always good but I feel they go into ph shock if I change too much water at once cause it drops the ph from 8.0 way down to 6.8 or lower before coming back up.

 

[mbkemp]

It depends on why your tap is at 6.8. If it is off gassing co2 then there is no ph shock with the change. Set a glass out if you can. Test it when you fill and then 24 hours later.

If the glass does not change then something else is going on

 

[Christoplis]

My ph is 8.0 coming out the tap. The water mix causes the drop before adding to the tank

 

[Christoplis]

I would keep mixing on you water changes as 60 is no good to start with ..
Seachem prime [water conditioner] and possibly other brands 'detoxiy' ammonia.Just add the amount for tank every 2 days.It will still register on test but will be in a different more safe to fish form. Doing it every two days will keep it working until the filter grows in properly...
Imo it is the nitrates /ammonia bothering the fish more then the ph.I would not worry about the pH at all with your stock.

Not sure if u seen my reply. I’m still getting the hang of this. Just did a 50% water change and it cause my ph to crash. I don’t wanna use a ph up or down. Idk what to do at this point. Unless when u say don’t worry about ph u mean all aspects of it.

 

[Christoplis]

Well they were mad at first when I did the water change but about 2 hrs later they are no longer clamping or brushing on decor

 

[coralbandit]

Hopefully your fish will adjust to what you have to do? I think your Kh in your well is pretty high since the water never lands in the middle of your well and store bought water but returns to high[signs of good buffing due to Kh]...I won't say these swings are good but you need to add good water.

 

[Angellove78]

Are you breathing? Slow down hun. They have ammonia tablets and different kinda conditioners. They got different kinda filter pads, or media for your filter. The different pads/media,are for ammonia spikes, and start up tanks. Look them up. The more water changes you do, specially big ones, you will stress your fish out more than you know. Might wanta try a filter pad/media to control the ammonia, and find the other stuff I mentioned to have on hand. Conditioner plays a big part. Need to find a kind that would work best for your type of water condition.

 

[coralbandit]

^^ Large water changes DO NOT stress fish done correctly .Counting on man made chemicals to correct something that should not be happening is stressful IMO.
I change up to 90% on my ram tanks every week and I have been breeding and raising them for years now..They sure don't seem stressed and neither do my 12-16 year old clown loaches...
The name of the game is WATER...Not chemicals and shortcuts...

 

[Angellove78]

OK, the tablets, yes chemicals. BUT, you need conditioner in your water, and you need a filter. And again! YES! Some Fish get stressed out from water changes. Specially new ones... But,They get use to it. Anyways, I'm not here to agree or disagree with people.. people ask for ADVICE!!!! I'm sorry, some people on here are not as nice as they should be. Good luck to you.

 

[Angellove78]

Oh, and if they are brushing up on stuff in the tank, they might have ich. Little white spots. Could be why they are clamping fins too. I forgot to put this in my reply. Just another thought on my behalf is all.