Fish Sort Of Floating On The Top

[tauketula]

Hi. I am new to fishkeeping. I have an red/black oranda and a black moor. They are both about 2.5 - 3 inches. My tank is currently cycling. It has been running about five weeks.

Here are my stats:
20 gal tall (I know that I will need a bigger tank since researching this forum)
ammonia = 0
ph = 7.2
nitrite = .25
nitrate = 5.0

Since my nitrite spike, I have been doing water changes about every other day. I dechorinate with Prime. I use the freshwater master test kit to test my water. I have a hob filter (top fin 20).

Anyone know why they are hanging around the top of the water. They started doing this about 3 days ago. The water does look a little bit cloudy. Thanks.

 

[Tolak]

Nitrites affect the fish's hemoglobin in the blood in a way that decreases it's ability to hold & transfer oxygen. The fish may be looking for more O2. Try adding an airstone, or dropping the water level an inch or two so that the hob filter helps with aeration.

Tolak