Fish Dyeing 1 By1

[Welshpride]

Tank size:
pH: 7.5
ammonia:0
nitrite:0
nitrate:5.0
tank temp:23.8

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
 
​Fish is laying at the bottom of the tank will swim on its side doing flips i have lost 1 guppies 5 tetras this way and can not pin 
point the problem. i now look at losing another guppie  that is showing signs no spots, no fin rot,

Volume and Frequency of water changes: every 2 weeks 25% 

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: 
when i do water change i only use Prime. no carbon in tank is filter is dead 

Tank inhabitants:
4 red eye tetras 
2 glow light tetras
8 guppies
DIY co2 looks okay no leaks in to tank well setup with fluval co2 drop checker  (Green)
 
 
  

 

[the_lock_man]

Is there huge amounts of plants in the tank? THe reason I ask is that a 25% water change every 2 weeks would normally lead to quite high nitrate levels, unless you are chock-full of plants to eat up the nitrate.
 
Alternatively, it could be a false-zero on your nitrate test, and the problem with your fish is high nitrate. Do you use the API test for nitrate?

 

[Welshpride]

Is there huge amounts of plants in the tank? THe reason I ask is that a 25% water change every 2 weeks would normally lead to quite high nitrate levels, unless you are chock-full of plants to eat up the nitrate.
 
Alternatively, it could be a false-zero on your nitrate test, and the problem with your fish is high nitrate. Do you use the API test for nitrate?

 
Yes, use api test for my nitrate tested 3 times this morning for that with api test 5.0 (Forgot input that) tank has loads plants in there

 

[the_lock_man]

The thing with the API kit is that there is a powder reagent in bottle no.2 which can precipitate out of solution, especially if it hasn't been used for a while. If that has happened, the reagent won't show up the correct amount of nitrate, and therefore gives a false zero. You need to shake the living daylights out of that bottle, bang it on a table a few times to ensure the powder is fully dissolved.
 
Give that a try, and see if you get a nitrate reading.
 
The other thing to do is to post a full tank shot photo, so we can see whether your tank is planted enough for the plants to be eating all of the nitrate, so you genuinely have 0ppm nitrate.

 

[Welshpride]

The thing with the API kit is that there is a powder reagent in bottle no.2 which can precipitate out of solution, especially if it hasn't been used for a while. If that has happened, the reagent won't show up the correct amount of nitrate, and therefore gives a false zero. You need to shake the living daylights out of that bottle, bang it on a table a few times to ensure the powder is fully dissolved.
 
Give that a try, and see if you get a nitrate reading.
 
The other thing to do is to post a full tank shot photo, so we can see whether your tank is planted enough for the plants to be eating all of the nitrate, so you genuinely have 0ppm nitrate.

 
i posted a tank shot in my first post will try shaking the bottle well and do another test now

 

[the_lock_man]

Sorry, I didn't see the edit.
 
I wouldn't have thought that planting was heavy enough to eat all the nitrate - I'm erring on the side of nitrate poisoning now.
 
Can I suggest if you have any fishkeeping friends, that you take a sample of water to them and ask them to test the nitrate as well. If not, take a sample to your LFS.

 

[Welshpride]

Sorry, I didn't see the edit.
 
I wouldn't have thought that planting was heavy enough to eat all the nitrate - I'm erring on the side of nitrate poisoning now.
 
Can I suggest if you have any fishkeeping friends, that you take a sample of water to them and ask them to test the nitrate as well. If not, take a sample to your LFS.

 
did as you said. i am shocked the bottle #1 #2 and 160ppm RED so i done a 50% water change will test later do another in 2 days till drop under 20ppm also move my water change to weekly and up 30%
I thought just giving it a normal shake before using would been good to test with but i shake the living life out it and give me a good reading of the problem can not believe i been testing this over 8 months and not picked
up on the false readings. done a water change and she has perk up and swimming around 

 

[W1ngz]

If you've been using that bottle for a while, it would be a good idea to replace it with a new one. You've used much more liquid in it, than the crystal/powder that needs to dissolve, so it's still not accurate.