Fish Acting Strange! Help!

[shi24137]

IDK what is going on, I've tested my water and all stats are withing normal range, but to be on the safe side I did a 25% water change. Now I have at least 2 females giving birth so IDK if that is why all of my fish are crowding into the corners of my tank? Usually when I do a water change they love it and come springing to life but not this time, IDK why all of my fish are at the bottom, I did find a stink bug floating in the water and have since removed it and done a 25% water change, as of right now there are only 4 out of 15 fish swimming around the whole tank as usual...someone please tell me what is going on, I really don't want to lose my fish! The tank is 60 gallons and has been set up for quite some time btw

 

[XeroTolerance]

Did you add the chemical that takes out the chlorine and other harmful chemicals in the water? The water change may have stressed the mothers so that is probably why they are both giving birth right now. Maybe the bug released harmful chemicals into the water, but I doubt it. Maybe someone else will have better ideas.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Did the your water source change or something like that, because a change in water parameters might have stresses them out, and for further reference, if you find something that doesn't belong in the tank that might stress your fish you are better off doing a 50% or larger water change

 

[shi24137]

No, water source hasn't changed, the water seems a little cloudy, like the molecules haven't settled or something? Should I turn my filter off for a bit and see if things settle? I've tried turning the filter as slow as I can get it but nothing helps, I've tried that water clear stuff but that didn't help, I did I 50% water change a few days ago, they are seeming a little more active now but my mollies are not, I believe one of them is giving birth bc there are 3 of them hiding in the log, the other fish are crowding in the corners behind the bubble curtains. Maybe I should turn the lights off for half of the day? But I don't want to hurt my plants...IDK what to do...this is frustrating...I miss my happy tank with my fish swimming everywhere...

 

[XeroTolerance]

Don't turn off the filter. It will kill the bacteria colonies that are on it that help keep the water clean.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Don't turn off the filter. It will kill the bacteria colonies that are on it that help keep the water clean.

+1

 

[shi24137]

Ok, so the cloudiness seems a little better since the water change, but fish are still laying around...should i do another water change tomorrow? All my stats are fine, i don't want to do to many in a short time, never had this kind of problem before...Could the mood of my tank have changed bc of the births? Maybe they aren't trying to stress the mothers out anymore? IDK, I'm trying to come up with some kind of explanation here...I'm worried. I've invested a lot of time, money and heart into my tanks

 

[Fishy friend2]

So none of the fish are showing any signs of sickness except for hiding, right. There are no visible signs other than that.... Well TBH it sounds like they are stressed out over something, but who knows what. Maybe something is wrong with the water. What are your exact water parameters

 

[shi24137]

Nitrate 40
Nitrite 0
PH 7
Hardness 75(soft)
Alkalinity 80(Moderate)

 

[XeroTolerance]

It sounds like they are stressed about something. What is the parameters of your tank water. Sorry if the post above me is showing it I wasn't sure if it was for your tap or for your tank because there wasn't an ammonia test.

 

[shi24137]

Sorry, Just went and got the API Liquid Master Test kit, was using dip strips and I just didn't like them at all, testing the water now. Will post results in a min

 

[shi24137]

ph 7.6
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate oppm

How is it that I have no nitrates? Is that even possible??? I thought every tank needed at least a small amount of nitrates to be healthy...Someone help me! This has never happened before, for some reason I've always had tanks that have high everything, lol.

 

[Zikofski]

ph 7.6
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate oppm

How is it that I have no nitrates? Is that even possible??? I thought every tank needed at least a small amount of nitrates to be healthy...Someone help me! This has never happened before, for some reason I've always had tanks that have high everything, lol.

the second bottle for nitrate you need to shake allot when you think you have shaken enough shake more i hade same problem with false nitrate give that ago and see if it changes but ye make sure u shake all the bottles allot and leave for around 5 to 10 mins for the colours to fully develop hope this helps

 

[shi24137]

ty, I will re-test and post the results, hopefully someone can shed some light on this, my fish are acting like they want to die, but as soon as i turn the lights off they pop back to life like nothing is wrong...This is VERY frustrating...

 

[Fishy friend2]

Have you tried a dimmer light than you already have?