Very new, having some issues.

[Amartha]

Hi, everyone!

I just got my first tank--five gallons--about a month or so ago, more or less without knowing how much work it would be. I didn't know to do a fishless cycle, so I got two glowlight danios right away, and I have a few plants, too. I learned as I went along, and everything was going great for the first three weeks or so.

In the past week, I've had pH fluctuations from 6.0 to 7.6, which I learned from the LFS was due to my water being too soft. I used Seachem Acid Buffer and Alkaline Buffer together during a water change to fix that and put the pH back where I needed it, and everything seemed fine again. This was yesterday. Today I did another water change during the day, because I hadn't been able to finish vacuuming as much of the gravel as I had wanted to yesterday, and because I had a couple of plants I wanted to add.

Shortly afterward, the fish are hanging out near the top of the tank, they're breathing heavily, and one of them may or may not have a red spot on her head. This is a big "may or may not," it's hard to get a good look 'cause she moves around quite a bit. I just retested the ammonia, and it's either at or very close to 0, judging by the color. The pH is around 6.8-7.0, which is where I usually keep it. I don't have a test kit for nitrite or nitrate yet, because the tests are expensive, but I took a water sample to the LFS just yesterday and they tested it for me and said it was all good.

I'm really at a loss for what could be causing this. I guess I'll do another PWC tonight and hope for the best. If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it.

Glad to be joining this community. Thanks for reading my novel of a post.

Amartha

 

[mfdrookie516]

I've moved your thread to the sick fish forum. I think you'll get more help here.

Welcome to the forum. I think a PWC is going to be the best course of action at this point. Without knowing any real numbers for nitrite, it's really hard to say anything, other than to do a PWC. Clean water is always a good thing. I would urge you to go ahead and get a test for nitrate and nitrite though.

Generally, 'gasping' can be an indication of high nitrite levels. That isn't always the case, but without numbers, it may or may not be. For now, I'd suggest daily 50% water changes.

 

[jcolon]

I've moved your thread to the sick fish forum. I think you'll get more help here.

Welcome to the forum. I think a PWC is going to be the best course of action at this point. Without knowing any real numbers for nitrite, it's really hard to say anything, other than to do a PWC. Clean water is always a good thing. I would urge you to go ahead and get a test for nitrate and nitrite though.

Generally, 'gasping' can be an indication of high nitrite levels. That isn't always the case, but without numbers, it may or may not be. For now, I'd suggest daily 50% water changes.

+1 Get the API test master kit if at all possible ... I'd suggest not even bother with test strips ... they are unreliable. Without parameters we can not give you the best advise other than do PWC's. Keep us updated so we can continue to help.

 

[rain87]

Gasping can also be related to the temp. When you do a water change do you make sure that the water you are adding is the same temp as in your tank?

 

[Amartha]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I've done a 50% water change and the fish don't seem to be acting much differently. The LFS doesn't sell API tests for nitrite, because they have dip strips that they like. The owner's been owning and selling fish for upwards of fifty years, so I'm inclined to trust his judgement. I'll go out and get them tomorrow, and I'll keep doing the water changes.

As for water temperature, I do make sure that it's the same as the temperature in the tank, and I keep a close eye on the thermometer after water changes, just in case. I doubt that's the problem, though it has been hotter in the apartment lately, so the temperature's gone up from around 78 degrees to about 80 or so lately. I keep the tank heater off most of the time now, and it hasn't been going up higher than 80.

I'll keep updating, and hopefully the water changes will help some. Thanks again.

Amartha

 

[rain87]

When we are sick we sleep and drink lots of water when fish are sick PWC's!

 

[Amartha]

Hey guys, updating on the situation.

I was able to go out and get API test kits after all, so here's the current status of my water:

pH 6.5 (it was 7.6 this morning and I brought it down to 6.8 over a couple of hours with acid buffer, but now it's 6.5.)
Ammonia 0 ppm (or very close to it)
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm
Water temperature just over 80 degrees F

The fish aren't hanging out at the top of the tank anymore, but they're still gasping and breathing really fast. My female just kind of sits off in the corner of the tank and my male is swimming around. They didn't eat when I fed them this morning. An employee at the LFS whom I trust said that they might be bothered by the water getting warmer, since it's so hot in the apartment, and he suggested turning on my air pumper, which I did. The temperature in the tank isn't that high, though, so I'm not sure. I figure I'll just keep an eye on the water chemistry and do more frequent PWC's, and hope that helps.

Any thoughts?

Amartha

 

[rain87]

You should check the water temp range your fish should be kept at because for some fish 80 is great for others it's too warm and they have trouble getting oxygen. Also I would be careful about adjusting the ph sometimes it can do more harm than good. A conaistant ph can be better than changing it to make it what you want it to be.

 

[BeavisMom62]

I agree with rain. Messing with the ph ends up with more fluctuations than anything. I have weird ph in my tap water, it comes out at higher than 9 and drops to below 6 in a matter of days. I used to use Neutral Regulator, which helped, but I still did end up with some fluctuation. Did you say what the ph is out of your tap? Your recent reading of 7.6 isn't usually too high, but it depends on what fish you keep. I don't really know about that.

But what I do with my water is to use coral gravel. I keep small mesh bags of it in all of my filters and it keeps my ph around 7.2 in all of my tanks. And you don't have to worry about remembering to add it or measuring it or anything. But I don't think it will help if your tap ph comes out high and stays high.

 

[Amartha]

To clarify, I have two Glo Fish. The LFS told me to keep the water temperature around 78-80 or so, and they don't seem to act any differently when the temperature goes a couple of degrees above that. It's hard to keep the water cool, with how hot it's been lately.

With regards to the pH, out of my tap it's at 7.6. I use acid buffer to bring it down to the pH of the tank water before I add water, though. When I was starting out, the owner of the LFS told me that the pH in their tanks was 6.8, and that I should strive to keep mine around there. Lately, though, I'm having a bigger problem with my pH going down to 6.0 or so. My last reading (about five minutes ago) had the pH at roughly 6.2. I had planned on gradually adding alkaline buffer for the next couple of hours 'till I got it to 6.5 or so, and then doing a PWC with alkaline and acid buffer. I was told my water was too soft, and that that was a good way to fix it.

I'm curious about coral gravel. Does it just stabilize pH, or does it specifically bring it up or down? Might it help in my tank?

My fish aren't gasping anymore, since I started having the air pumper on all the time. They do still hang out on the bottom and in the back of the tank sometimes, but to my knowledge that's less of an issue. So now it's just the pH fluctuations that I'm concerned with.

Amartha

 

[Fishygal]

I did the SAME thing starting out. LFS Told me it was ok to add fish after a 24 hour cycle!! WRONG! I put glo fish and zebra danios in to start. Had the same issues u did. The tank is going to fluctuate ALOT during the first month. I did a pwc every 3 days for 2 weeks and then once a week for the next 3 weeks. My tank finally evened out and now pretty much takes care of itself using all the "additives" doesn't do too much good when ur in this situation. FREQUENT PWC I the best route!!

P.S. Mine were slow and didn't move much at those temps either. The power went out in the winter and the tank dropped to 72 from 78. The fish seemed happier and now I keep the tank at 76 and all the fish I have in there are happy and doing well...