gazz2005uk

My tuxedo platy is floating around at the top of my tank. Its not upside down and its still moving (not much though) so I know its not dead, but not sure if it is unwell. Is this a sign of it being sick or is it just resting?

Lucy

I'm sorry your platy doesn't look well.
When things don't seem right in the tank, the first thing to rule out is the water conditions.
What are your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
Is the RTS still in there? I remember you were having aggression problems with it, any chance he's been harassing the platy?

jdhef

Your profile says that you are not familiar with the nitrogen cycle, soI'm afraid your fish is suffering ammonia poisoning. Please click on the underlined words nitrogen cycle and read up about it. It is probably the most important thing to understand when keeping fish.

If it turns out your tank is not fully cycled, you will need to do daily 50% water changes using a product called Prime as your water conditioner until you have zero ammonia, zero nitrites and some nitrates. Sadly this could take several weeks.

Good luck

gazz2005uk

i have read it, but its a bit difficult to understand, can you get prime in the uk?

Lucy

It would be helpful if you could answer the questions in my post above.

I agree the nitrogen cycle is hard to understand, but you really need to get a good understanding of what might be going on in your tank.

Here's a basic explanation of the nitrogen cycle:
First your ammonia (from fish waste and left over food) will rise.
In a few weeks bacteria will start to develop and you'll see the nitrite levels rise and the ammonia levels start to drop.
After a few more weeks a different kind of bacteria begins to develop and you'll see the nitrate levels rise and the nitrite levels drop.
Ammonia and nitrites are toxic to your fish.
So until your cycle is complete, you need to keep the levels down with 50% daily water changes.
Using Prime as your water conditioner will detox the ammonia for 24 hrs between water changes.
When you having readings of 0 on both ammonia and nitrites with some nitrates showing, your cycle is done.

Cycling a tank with fish in it can take up to a month, so be patient.
Good luck.

gazz2005uk

right well ive just had a look on my LFS website and they dont sell prime by the looks of it, so is there any other make?
If you click on this link it will show you what conditioners they stock:
http://www.petsathome.com/find/categ...+conditioning/

and on this link the list of remedies:
http://www.petsathome.com/find/categ...3g02+remedies/

and in reply to your first post, i dont actually have a water testing kit but im off to buy one today

the fish is moving around a lot more now, i think he was just resting

Lucy

It's not a good idea to start medicating fish when it's probably an issue with your water.
What's your water change routine and when's the last time you changed it?

You might be able to get Amquel+. Often times they have a better selection in the store than what's shown on the website.
When you get your test kit, get a good liquid kit like the API Master kit, avoid the strips.
They can be less accurate and more costly in the long run.

Post your water readings after you test today.

gazz2005uk

the last time i changed water was a week ago today, i changed about 25-30%, i am going to change it today when ive tested the water.

on the website it only shows the strips, i'll have a look at the shop but if they dont do the other kits would the strips be alright?

jdhef

I'm sorry to say that it seems that your lfs doesn't have the best selection for fish. It might be good to try another pet store if possible or better yet a fish only store. I'm very luck to have a great fish only stote 10 -15 minutes from my house.

If there are no places local to you that handle the products you need, you may want to consider buying online.

gazz2005uk

that didnt really answer my question

Lucy

You might not get an accurate reading with the strips, but if that's all you can get for right now.
I'd agree with jdhef, you might want to consider ordering on line.
Is that the only store in your area?
There aren't many stores near me either. Sometimes I have to drive close to an hour to get what I need for my tanks.

jdhef

I guess I was typing when the post with your question asking if the strips would be alright was posted, so I didn't answer because I didn't know you asked it. (We call that being nija'd, but it is usually someone answering a post that wasn't answered only to find that someone was typing an answer the same time you were and hit post first!

Anyway...I guess the strips are better than nothing, but a liquid test kit would be much better. But do note that if you intend to use Amquel+ at some point, that the API brand liquid ammonia test is not compatable with the Amquel+. It will read positive for ammonia even if there is no ammonia. Because of this, I purchased a Kardon (the maker of Amquel+) power test kit. They are pretty hard to find and I ended up ordering it off of Kardon's website.

EDIT: See what I mean...Lucy nija'd me...again!

Lucy

Good to know about the Kardon power test kit and Amquel. I don't think I've ever seen that test kit.

gazz2005uk

ive got the strips, i have a couple lfs round the town, one of them is just fish the other is just pets in general, the fish only store said they use strips (dindnt have any liquid) it doesnt test for ammonia, the ammonia only test kit was as much as the 5in1!

He gave me the readings to look out for..il let you know

gazz2005uk

general hardness - 180
carbonate hardness - 180 - 240
pH 7.5
nitrite 0.5
nitrate - 160 - 200

errrmmmmm? help! lol this means nothing to me

Lucy

It would really help to know the ammonia reading.
Yikes on that nitrate reading, it should be min. of (imo) 10, some say 20 is ok. High nitrates are toxic as are any nitrites.
(If we can trust the strips)

IMO, I'd do a 50% water change now and a 50% later tonight and get those nitrates down.
Continue to do 50% daily changes until your readings are 0 ammonia (Really, you need a test for this) 0 nitrites with 5-10 nitrates.

gazz2005uk

the guy at the shop said if there is ammonia once its gone down it should start appearing on the stick as something else, cant remember if it was nitrate or nitrite, you will know lol.

Ive just changed some of the water, shall i do another test later or just one a day?

Lucy

IMO means in my opinion.
If the ammonia is being processed by the bacteria it converts to nitrites but it's possible to have ammonia and nitrites at the same time in an uncycled tank.

Re-read post #5, it's a basic explanation of the cycle.
Even more basic the cylce goes like this:
Ammonia--->Nitrites--->Nitrates.
It took me forever to understand it. lol

Later tonight, I'd test right before changing the water again.
Then test everyday right before your water change.
Keep a record of the readings.

eiginh

"In my opinion" = IMO

gazz2005uk

dont forget i live in uk so its already 6pm, would there be any point doing a water change in the next few hours when i only did one at 5

Lucy

Personally, I would before you go to bed. Those nitrates would make me super nervous especially since your platy was at the top.
How's he doing?

gazz2005uk

seems alright hes not at the top anymore, i did another test and it came out all the same except nitrates had come down to 40-60 so not too bad

Lucy

Cool, I'm glad he's feeling better.
You still should see a decrease in nitrites since you removed some with the water change. Could be just the way the strips take readings.

gazz2005uk

you dont like the strips do you lol

got another question to ask you about one of my fish gettin bullied, shall i do a new post or just ask on here?

Lucy

What gave it away? lol Liquid tests are much more reliable.

Start a new thread since it's a new topic.

Diggly

Hey Gaz - from the uk here!

To to Pets at home (yeah yeah I know) and get the liquid ammonia and liquid nitrite api test kit. They employees should be able to point it out to you.

You can buy prime on ebay if you really need it.

Now an explanation of the nitrogen cycle as I understand it:

Fish waste and uneaten food turns into ammonia. In a new tank there isnt enough bacteria to cope with ammonia and it will start to poison your fish. The safest way to combat this is 25% water changes every day or to buy tetra safestart and cross your fingers.

Once the bacteria has grown enough to cope with the ammonia, it breaks it down into nitrites which is also poisonous to the fish but the good news is you are into phase 2 of the cycle so keep up with water changes.

When your tank has finished cycling you will have readings of 0 ammonia 0 nitrItes and should have 5-10 nitrAtes. As your nitrAte reading is high, personally I would add 1-2 live plants which will also help by eating the ammonia and nitrite and when the tank is cycled it will help you with nitrates, thats if you want live plants of course .

See if you have a maidenhead aquatics near you. they are brilliant and usually know what they are on about. www.fishkeeper.co.uk is their site .

gazz2005uk

Finally someone from my country lol..Ive already got 3 live plants in there, although one of them has been torn to shreds by the fish (greedy lol)..ive got a maidenhead aquatics about half hour - 40 mins away from where i live so i dont visit very often, i didnt realise about the nitrogen cycle until 2-3 weeks after id put the fish in, but theyre all still alive after over a month

Diggly

dont worry, we have all been misinformed I made the same mistake with my first tank but these guys really helped me out! they also gave me MTS though so be careful.

It is good that you have kept your fish alive that long and I really would recommend the liquid test kits, it will help put your mind at ease and monitor the water properly - plus it makes you feel smart when you finally understand why you are doing the tests!

and yes fish are pigs and my otos ruined about 3 of my plants lol! but it is worth it .

We will have to get more uk people in here