abnormal behavior

[Dove]

HELP!
My violet gobi has suddenly started poking his head out of the water in a vertical fashion, and stays there....
checked water tests, did a 1/2 water change because readings were on the high side...
is this normal behavior for a gobi?

 

[BHead707]

what do you mean by readings were on the high side? we need some numbers..also how big is the tank, other fish in the tank with it?

 

[Dove]

sorry took so long to get back...been trying to get Nitrites and Nitrates balanced... sigh.
High side as in Nitrites are between 1.0 and 2.0 ppm and Nitrates are 40ppm as of 3:45 this afternoon. I added Nitraban this morning and they came down to these current numbers, but I didn't have enough to do the whole tank, so I am off to the store for more. And yes I have done 1/2 water change, and replaced filters.

 

[davePM]

please explain "replaced filters" in detail!

no need to go adding chemicals, simple PWC's will lower the nitrites.

 

[CleverBs]

if you replaced the filters you may through your tank into a mini cycle. I hope you didnt change your filters all at the same time because that would cause you to lose majority of your BB. If using a HOB filter they say to replace the pads every month well this is a load of junk in order for them to make more money because the filters are perectly fine till they are falling apart. if using a canister the filter media should last a few years. never replace all the media at the same time and if you need to because you only have 1 filter pad put a new one in and the old one behind the new one that way the BB will still clean the water while you build a colony on the new Filter pad.

 

[librarygirl]

Good advice above. Filter media shouldn't need to be changed out unless it's literally falling apart and even then only replace small portions at a time. How long has this tank been set up? The majority of the good bacteria your tank needs is on the filter media; if you throw it out, you basically uncycle the tank.

Also adding chemicals and additives can be dangerous. Water changes can get those levels down. Unfortunately with levels that high one 50% water change won't cut it. You'd need to do several 50-70% water changes back-to-back to get those levels down (ammonia and nitrite <.25, nitrate <20). Then test the water twice daily and do water change(s) any time those levels rise.

Is this a new tank, how long have you had it set up? I'm wondering if it's in the middle of it's first cycle or if something happened to disturb the tank if it was already cycled (like replacing filter media).

 

[Dove]

by replaced filters i mean the cartridges because they were so clogged with waste, hardly any water was coming out of the flow vents.
The tank has been set up as "brackish" for about 3 months now, this change I did gradually...until I was satisfied with the salinity reading.

 

[davePM]

by replaced filters i mean the cartridges because they were so clogged with waste, hardly any water was coming out of the flow vents.
The tank has been set up as "brackish" for about 3 months now, this change I did gradually...until I was satisfied with the salinity reading.

That was a bad idea! You have removed the majority of your beneficial bacteria. You now need to test twice a day and do a large (50%) PWC whenever your ammonia or nitrite are above .25.
All you need to do in future is clean the filters in tank water. If they are failing apart and need replacing, then you replace some at a time, and if possible cram some of the old filter media in as well for a time to seed the new media.

 

[Dove]

Okay, I am not trying to be difficult here, but here it is
I have an Aqua-Tech dual external filtration system, it has the Black frame with foam in addition to filter cartridges in each side. It was my understanding that the black foam thingy is what builds up the healthy bacteria, not that actual filter cartridges that have the charcoal in them.
I think I know what happened, a week or so ago I had bought one new cartridge that turned out to be the wrong size, and there was a lot of flow through....
If I am mistaken about the bio-bacteria frame in front of the actual filter cartridge please let me know.