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My tank has only been set up for 2 weeks, I started with 5 platies, but a week ago had to rescue my sisters fish which went in the tank. So all the fish listed below I have are inherited except for the 5 platies.

All appeared to be fine amazingly and they settled in. One was damaged in transit and spent a few days standing perpendicular in the tank gasping 100% of the time, until he died yesterday

Yesterday I planted about 20 plants in the tank and changed the heater as I was setting up a new 2 foot tank for the male guppies and my spare 300w was too big for the 2foot.
This spare 300w heater had been used for hydroponic tomato growing. I washed it really well. Although set on 26C when I noticed the fish acting strange I checked the thermometer and the temp was too high - 85F, but put some cold water in gradually til it went down to 82 and turned the heater down as soon as I noticed - it would only have been too high for a couple of hours.

Around the same time (about midday) I noticed that the guppies and some of the platies were at the surface most of the time. The platies seem to alternate with being at the surface or lying on the bottom and are not swimming around the tank like normal.

All the others seemed ok except the cory who was much more active than normal, but he seems better today.

I did a 50% water change and they perked up a bit. By 8pm they were back at the surface so I did another 25% water change and went to bed quite expecting to find dead ones this morning. There were'nt but they are not "right".
They did not feed that well this am when I gave them flake and f/d bloodworms.

ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
Ammonia:0
Nitrite :.25 ( has been .50 but after daily min 20% water changes is .25 today)
Nitrate : 0
pH:7
Temp:82 but has been too high

Tank Information
Tank Size (22uk gal) 92cmx32cmx32cm
Stock List :
1 adult male Betta (ok)
5platies ( sluggish and at surface 50% and on the bottom the rest of the time)
4 pregant female guppies ( at surface most of the time)
2 young female guppies ditto
1 bronze cory (was overactive yesterday, but seems a more normal today)
1 cardinal neon (ok)
1 glowlight neon (ok)

Until yesterday there were also 14 or so male guppies but I have moved them to another tank yesterday.


Filtration: Fluval super 3:
Yesterday I noticed lots of tiny white bits in the water so I put in a fine filter media along with the original coarse one, but today there are lots more of tiny white bits floating at the top of the tank that appear to be coming out of the filter. When I did a water change today I skimmmed/sucked them out.

What do you think it could be? The plants appeared really healthy though a couple of bits of water hyacynth have brownish stems/leaves - should I take them out? I did wash the heater and lead really well in warm water before I put it in.

Do you have an air stone or are you injecting CO2 for the plants? The sluggishness could be a lack of oxygen in the water. An air stone is definitly recommended. I don't think the guppies are problematic by staying up top. All my guppies stay pretty close to the surface in my tanks.

Well I'm sure a big part of the problem is that nitrIte.


Adding fish will cause a small minicyle. Adding that many @once to an establishing tank will cause more problems. Keep doing water changes as you want to keep the nitrItes as low as possible. Do not add any more fish until ammonia and nitrIte are both zero and nitrAtes are present.

If you can add some cycle or biospira that will help as well.

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No I dont have an air stone but have put the attachment on the filter output so that it makes loads more bubbles along the surface and have turned the heater right down and the temp is down to 80F now after gently adding coooler water.

My prob was that although the heater says one temp the thermometer reads several degrees C higher. I have just ordered a digital thermomter so hopefully I can keep the temp more regulated.

I hope the fish will recover ok, they seem a bit better already.

No I dont have a CO2 injector - do I need one? Please advise what to buy? Thanks so much for replying.

Last edited by shiftingsands at 28-Aug-2005 06:57

HI Babelfish, thanks for your reply. The weird thing is that I've had 0 reading for Ammonia and Nitrate since day 1 and I've tested for all 3 every morning since I started the tank . Though the Nitrites seem to be falling aas today its down to .25 from 0.50. Its been .50 for the last 3 days previous.

Thanks for the suggestion - I have now added some cycle.
I have been doing 20% water changes ddaily - should I do them twice daily?

No you don't need one. I was asking becuase with the temp above 80 and no air stone, if you were to put a co2 injection system the fish would be fighting for every breath. I think you are on the right track with the water changes and lowering the tank temp.

...becuase with the temp above 80 and no air stone, if you were to put a co2 injection system the fish would be fighting for every breath.

Funny that, my fish are currently in a tank close to 90F with no airstone, co2 and minimal surface agitation, and they're okay .
But yes, when the temperature increases the waters ability to hold oxygen decreases and with a CO2 injection it's often even harder for the fish to breathe. If they're gasping for air @the surface in a planted tank before you turn the lights on in the morning then there is oxygen depletion and steps should be taken to give the fish the advantage over the plants (reduce co2, increase agitation). If they're gasping @the surface in a non planted or non-co2 tank then increase agitation with airstone, bubble wand, increased splash from the filter ect.

You can't have nitrIte without first having had ammonia. That's where the nitrIte comes from after all! It could have been a problem with the ammonia test itself, it could have been a minimal ammount and wasnt' read by the kit, it could have come and gone with you not having caught it on the test *shrug* in any case you're showing nitrItes which isn't good for the fish.
Keep up on the water changes but only do them as frequently as needed. Water changes do reduce the ammount of nitrIte but they don't reduce the time that the fish are in contact with them. And that can be just as bad. Aquarium salt if you have it can help at this stage. Add it premixed with water to the tank to slowly bring up the levels. In the end it will be a decision you have to make how much you mess with things @this point.
The minicycle has to pass.

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the [link=pain]http://babelfish.qwertydigital.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."