cbhiii
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi,
I've not sought help on the Internet like this before, but I'm not sure where to go next for advice.
I have what I believe to be a calico fantail that is stressed (3 days now). It is sitting on the bottom of the tank and coming up (sometimes grabbing air from the top of the tank) or moving only when approached, or it is time to feed.
There is no ick or other surface defect that I can see on any of the fish in the tank. The only thing I can tell through testing is that the nitrates are high (above 80 ppm). I did a 30% water change a day ago and started adding a natural nitrate reducer (but that will take a while to become effective).
Any advice on if the nitrates are the real cause of the problem (since other 4 out of 5 fish are fine and moving normally), or something else I should be checking.
Answers to the specific questions in the sticky thread:
1~What type of fish is afflicted? Calico fantail (resting on bottom of tank in same spot)
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia <1ppm, nitrites <0.25ppm, nitrates >80ppm, temp 78ºF, pH 7.8)?
3~ How large is the tank? 50 gal How long has the tank been set up? over a year
4~What type of filtration are you using? Two (2) AquaClear power filter 50's (200gph each).
5~How many fish are in the tank? 4 goldfish, 1 Pleco, all about 4-6" range
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? 1 day ago How often do you do this? Not very > 2 months How much water do you remove at a time? 30% change
7~How long have you had the fish? about 2 years
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? No
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? Same standard goldfish flakes and granules for past 2+ years
Thank you all for your help. Your time is greatly appreciated.
Photo of Stevesie:
I've not sought help on the Internet like this before, but I'm not sure where to go next for advice.
I have what I believe to be a calico fantail that is stressed (3 days now). It is sitting on the bottom of the tank and coming up (sometimes grabbing air from the top of the tank) or moving only when approached, or it is time to feed.
There is no ick or other surface defect that I can see on any of the fish in the tank. The only thing I can tell through testing is that the nitrates are high (above 80 ppm). I did a 30% water change a day ago and started adding a natural nitrate reducer (but that will take a while to become effective).
Any advice on if the nitrates are the real cause of the problem (since other 4 out of 5 fish are fine and moving normally), or something else I should be checking.
Answers to the specific questions in the sticky thread:
1~What type of fish is afflicted? Calico fantail (resting on bottom of tank in same spot)
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia <1ppm, nitrites <0.25ppm, nitrates >80ppm, temp 78ºF, pH 7.8)?
3~ How large is the tank? 50 gal How long has the tank been set up? over a year
4~What type of filtration are you using? Two (2) AquaClear power filter 50's (200gph each).
5~How many fish are in the tank? 4 goldfish, 1 Pleco, all about 4-6" range
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? 1 day ago How often do you do this? Not very > 2 months How much water do you remove at a time? 30% change
7~How long have you had the fish? about 2 years
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? No
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently? Same standard goldfish flakes and granules for past 2+ years
Thank you all for your help. Your time is greatly appreciated.
Photo of Stevesie: