pale fish...?

[LadyApril83]

Ok so I have 5 black skirt tetra 2 short fin 3 long fin ..I noticed they are pale sometimes but when I go up to the tank they blacken up nicely....I'm reading the directions on the master test kit right now. But the store strip test said everything looks ok. Nothing emergent going on. But I will test shortly..

 

[LadyApril83]

test results...

 

[AngelFishGirl]

Your nitrite should show zero and ammonia should be no higher than .25

Your tank is still cycling. That is most likely the cause of it.

 

[AngelFishGirl]

How long ago did you set up your tank and add the fish?

 

[LadyApril83]

How long ago did you set up your tank and add the fish?

3 weeks now they r better I did a water change

 

[LadyApril83]

Your nitrite should show zero and ammonia should be no higher than .25

Your tank is still cycling. That is most likely the cause of it.

I also found out that my tap water is 4ppm...so water changes are not the best thing right now

 

[Autumnsky]

If the parameters are good...

The blackskirts will become pale while they are sleeping. Then color up as they awake and get active again. They will do this to blend in to their surroundings better as to not be as noticeable to predators while they rest.

But they may do that for stress as well.

Nitrites kill fish!

Did you mean your tap water is 4 for ammonia? That is outrageous!

 

[LadyApril83]

If the parameters are good...

The blackskirts will become pale while they are sleeping. Then color up as they awake and get active again. They will do this to blend in to their surroundings better as to not be as noticeable to predators while they rest.

But they may do that for stress as well.

Nitrites kill fish!

Did you mean your tap water is 4 for ammonia? That is outrageous!

Yeah my tap water tested to 4ppm. No wonder why the mom and pop stores around here said go slower on water changes...even segrest farms (a big big distribution center) who is within walking distance to my house said the water in our area is very hard to work with. And my ghost shrimp had babies that lived so i am going with mostly how the fish are doing. I still test the water and yeah its not done cycling I'm not adding any fish for 3 more weeks so it will be a total of 6 weeks with fish in.
Prototype (what I named the school of tetras) do show more pale at night when I'm up, I work overnights, but they are active and eating and no one is swimming funny. And even the one that had a half eaten fin has his fin growing back.

 

[AngelFishGirl]

Your tap water is 4 ppm for Ammonia? That is unsafe to drink at that point, is it not?

Start using RO water to get rid of that ammonia! There is also Ammonia Remover that Top Fin sells.

 

[AngelFishGirl]

Can you double test and check again just to be sure? 4 ppm of Ammonia seems too much for tap water. I don't think you test wrong. Mistakes always happen to everyone!

 

[LadyApril83]

Can you double test and check again just to be sure? 4 ppm of Ammonia seems too much for tap water. I don't think you test wrong. Mistakes always happen to everyone!

I see this as 4 or inbetween 2-4. The water in Tampa is bad...even has particulates in it. Which look like white sand...or coral. Its gross.


TAP WATER!

 

[Autumnsky]

Yeah my tap water tested to 4ppm. No wonder why the mom and pop stores around here said go slower on water changes...even segrest farms (a big big distribution center) who is within walking distance to my house said the water in our area is very hard to work with. And my ghost shrimp had babies that lived so i am going with mostly how the fish are doing. I still test the water and yeah its not done cycling I'm not adding any fish for 3 more weeks so it will be a total of 6 weeks with fish in.
Prototype (what I named the school of tetras) do show more pale at night when I'm up, I work overnights, but they are active and eating and no one is swimming funny. And even the one that had a half eaten fin has his fin growing back.

I would talk to the water company asap!!!

You can get a trash can or rubbermaid tub and run a fountain pump in it for a few days and treat it with Prime and age it and get the water to break down the ammonia and Chloramines for a few days.

-also make your self a trash can filter water aging container. If you have room to do it, it doesn't cost too much money. It would be essentially a big filter and you could use the water after it processed. Then adding Prime treated tap water back in and allowing it to process again until the water company fixes its problem. This could be disguised as a water fountain/decorative thing by building a wood cover around it, or stones.

Could be a broken something at the water facility over dosing the water or maybe the water is coming from a holding area where there is an extreme algae outbreak, or disease outbreak.

 

[AngelFishGirl]

+1 to the trash can idea. At this point, with ammonia that high, that may be your only option. At least the aging water idea.