Sepia Tetra

[JDogg]

i Guess this is the right place to put this.

i have not been having much luck with sepia tetra, they keep dying on me.

i guess it would help if i describe the water conditions in my tank right

temp is 77 F
hardness is about 75
PH is around 7.2-7.8 (i keep trying to lower this, but bedrock is limestone)
nitrate about 20 ppm
nitrite about 1.0 ppm
28 gallon tank
other fish see signature
tank has been up and running about 1 year now

anything else you need to know?

 

[Zagz]

Your nitrite is rather high, that may be the cause of the deaths. Do several small pwc's over the next few days and see if the situation gets any better.
Forgot to ask what your ammonia is?

 

[JDogg]

the test i have does not tell me ammonia :?
maybe i need to get a better tester
nitrite have been steady, partial water change, almost compleat water change. that is the tap water!

 

[Zagz]

What kind of test is it, the liquid one or the strips? I use the liquid ones as I have heard repeatedly that the test strips can be inaccurate.

 

[JDogg]

strip

i will take a sample into my favorite fish store lady and see what says, i need to see if she wants my convict fry anyways

 

[Zagz]

I would do a 25-30% pwc and then do another one in a couple of days.

 

[JDogg]

up date, bought a new test...
ph 8.0
ammonia ~0
Nitrite - .5
nitrate - way high as red and blood on test
temp still around 77

 

[Zagz]

do a water change to get the nitrates and nitrites down. Your nitrates are already down from what they were, it sounds like you are close to the end of your cycle.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Sometimes you just get bad fish!
Are these recently purcahsed fish? How small are they?

If the tetras are new additions and small, they are young and might not handle the stress of being in a new tank as well as maybe an older, hardier fish.
Sometimes the whole batch at the fishstore is bad and that could be the case here.

If they have been in your tank for a year (I couldn't tell if you meant the tank had been up for a year with the tetras, or that the fish had been in the tank for a year)-
Have you done anything different lately? Added any chemicals, decor or have you done anything that might be stressful for the tank/your fish?

 

[JDogg]

do a water change to get the nitrates and nitrites down. Your nitrates are already down from what they were, it sounds like you are close to the end of your cycle.

how long does it usually take to cycle a tank??
this tank has been up and running for about a year

i have not tried to buy any new sepia for like 2 months, but they were rather young ones when i did i would say about 1.5cm long.

 

[JDogg]

Have you done anything different lately? Added any chemicals, decor or have you done anything that might be stressful for the tank/your fish?

anything new??? no not that i can think of

 

[patagonia]

how come you still have nitrites in your tank? you said your tank has been running for a year....thats weird...test your tap water...fill a cup and let it sit overnight and then test it...ive never heard of tap water with nitrites...i could be wrong though...

 

[JDogg]

how come you still have nitrites in your tank? you said your tank has been running for a year....thats weird...test your tap water...fill a cup and let it sit overnight and then test it...ive never heard of tap water with nitrites...i could be wrong though...

i have tested the tap water before....

i found nitrites, phosphates and fecal coliform bacteria!!!! told the city they did not do anything

so all water both for my consumption and used for fish is run there both a on the faucet filter and a brita pitcher filter. obviously that is not getting everything :?

 

[JDogg]

how come you still have nitrites in your tank? you said your tank has been running for a year....thats weird...test your tap water...fill a cup and let it sit overnight and then test it...ive never heard of tap water with nitrites...i could be wrong though...

i have tested the tap water before....

i found nitrites, phosphates and fecal coliform bacteria!!!! told the city they did not do anything

so all water both for my consumption and used for fish is run there both a on the faucet filter and a brita pitcher filter. obviously that is not getting everything :?

plus my tank has plenty of bacteria and plants....

can driftwood add nitrite??? i have a nice sized piece of driftwood in my tank