Mega High Nitrate And 1 Sick Tetra

Thanks.
Need to get that goldfish out and start climatising it to a lower temp for the pond.
Always best to issolate a sick fish as if they peck on a dead body this is how desease spreads.
Good luck.
 
I've just tested the water in my aquarium (3' x 1'x 1.5') (had this for about 8 weeks now) and the levels are as follows:
PH - 8.0
Nitrite - 0.1mg/l
Nitrate - 75mg/l
Ammonia - 0.8mg/l

Try adding 3-4 live plants if you don't already have any they will help by consuming some of the nitrate.
I can't believe no one else has mentioned this or maybe I just missed it but the problem isn't the nitrates. Nitrate is hardly toxic at 75 ppm. The problem is the .8 ppm of ammonia in water with a pH or 8.0. That is deadly as the toxicity of ammonia rises with the pH. Besides the things already mentioned, you should be doing daily water changes to reduce the ammonia and nitrite levels until they are both 0 for a full week. That will also lower the nitrate which can only be lowered with water changes. Plants will consume some nitrate but not enough to keep them low.
 
She is doing water changes that why I didn't mention it.
The quicker the goldfish is out of the tank the better.
 
I agree about the goldfish and that the tank is overstocked. The goldy definitely needs a new home but she can't be doing WCs very often if the nitrates are at 75. Daily WCs should keep them below 20 easily unless it's in the tap water.

And as already mentioned, the CAE is another problem and will soon (if he hasn't already) begin to try to suck the slime coat off the angels.
 
I was worried that the algae eater would suck on the goldfish slime coat.
It sounds like the filter to me just not keeping up with the waste that why I wanted her to add another filter, till she can add the goldfish to the pond.
I had goldfish in a 40 gallon two fancy and I still had to run two filters.
 
AE likely to get both the angels and the GF. Anything that is slow and big-bodied.
 
Try adding 3-4 live plants if you don't already have any they will help by consuming some of the nitrate.
TBH live plants at this very point of time could just make the situation worse. Shops frequently sell non-aquatic plants or high-light difficult plants and say they will be fine. Plants will only help if they are thriving, if they are dyeing or not growing they will be no help at all. A plant that is dying or going brown will be making the water WORSE.
If you want to keep your plants i suggest posting a picture for ID and post what wattage and type of lighting you have on the tank :good: .
I can't believe no one else has mentioned this or maybe I just missed it but the problem isn't the nitrates. Nitrate is hardly toxic at 75 ppm. The problem is the .8 ppm of ammonia in water with a pH or 8.0. That is deadly as the toxicity of ammonia rises with the pH. Besides the things already mentioned, you should be doing daily water changes to reduce the ammonia and nitrite levels until they are both 0 for a full week. That will also lower the nitrate which can only be lowered with water changes. Plants will consume some nitrate but not enough to keep them low.
Nitrates may not exactly be toxic at 75ppm, but this level can easily be stressing the fish and making the situation much worse. Under 40ppm is generally considered good.
pH 8.0 is too high really, and as stated, it is making the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate more toxic to your fish.

Aside from the fact that nitrogenous waste is more toxic at such a high pH, that pH is not the best for the fish species you keep. The high pH will could have even killed your tetras alone depending on where they came from, and although it probably wouldn't kill the angels, it could do them harm over the long term (once again to what extent depends on their origins). Was the pH always that high in the tank? If so after two years the fish will be used to it (and may have even been originally bred in a similar pH) but it will be doing them no favours, slowly lowering the pH to 6.5-6.8 will make a world of difference to the overall health of the fish.

You need to start thinking about slowly lowering your pH, but don't use chemicals. First we need to know what's causing the high pH, can you test your tap water for pH (testing for nitrate while your at it would help too).
Its also very possible the decoration in your tank is raising the pH, what decoration do you have in your tank (like rocks or shells)?

The 'Chinese algae eater' wiil most likely show aggression towards the angels a some point, after discus (although no-one in their right mind would keep them with discus) angels are their favourite fish to pester.
And IMO if your going to be keeping goldfish in an aquarium over the long term, you will need an oversized external filter :good:.
 
although no-one in their right mind would keep them with discus
Unfortunately, we have people who would fall into that catagory.
 
Wow! Thanks guys, I'm working on it today and will let you know the new PH. ammonia levels etc. I tested our water for nitrate and it was absolutely fine, but haven't tested the PH...

Can't tell you how much I appreciate all of your help!
 
Hi again to everybody who has been helping me on this thread!

Have some updated info... Tested the water again this a.m and these are the results:
PH - 8.0
Ammonia - 0.0 - 0.1 mg/l
Nitrite - 0.0 - 0.1 mg/l
Nitratre - 50 mg/l

So it's better than before, but still not perfect... Goldie is due to come out today to start his de-climatisation (?) and I will do another water change in the next couple of days and re-test. Can i let you know how I'm doing then too? Really appreciate all of your help :flowers:

p.s. the angels have spawned again but a few hundred of their eggs have disappeared already... they're not very good at this!
 
that's definately looking betetr so well done. keep up the water changes every couple of days (or daily if you can manage it) to keep the levels reasonable. it does sound very much like the filter isn't coping with the bio load.

please do let us know how you've got on and what your water tests come out at when the goldies been out a few days.

here's a topic about breeding angelfish for some info
 
Also, do I need to start all over again with the water in the small tank before I put the goldfish in? I have absolutely no idea if dropsy will contaminate the water or not?

Hi. From what I have read about dropsy..it is like cancer that is brought on by stress...generally old fish...etc etc fragile fish will get it. Unless a sick fish with dropsy has died in the tank and contaminated it.. eg; by other fish eating remains etc, then you shouldnt have to treat it. Its just a matter of getting water chemistry right again and stable. If you catch dropsy before it catches your tank then your tank should be ok. Im no expert though...just been doing alot of reading in past couple of months....searching endlessly for answers of what was happening with my guppies. View my posts if interested in the saga...........................................................!!!! lol

Cheers, Hope info helps.
 
Thanks for the posts guys. I took goldy out a couple of days ago because the spare tank became vacant... My tetra got no better after 3 days of medicine... On day 4 he looked very tired from swimming to stay down so my boyfriend did the humane thing... Very sad... :-(

I do have some good news though... The angels are parent raising for the first time! The fry were wriggling on wednesday evening and have survived so far! They're getting bigger and mum and dad are looking after them very well (I think). I'm going to post in the new world cichlids (?spelling) section to check i'm doing the right stuff. Really pleased, it's lovely to watch!

Meant also to say that I will keep you updated re. water levels etc too
 
Well done, the goldie should love his pond.
 
Thanks for the posts guys. I took goldy out a couple of days ago because the spare tank became vacant... My tetra got no better after 3 days of medicine... On day 4 he looked very tired from swimming to stay down so my boyfriend did the humane thing... Very sad... :-(

I do have some good news though... The angels are parent raising for the first time! The fry were wriggling on wednesday evening and have survived so far! They're getting bigger and mum and dad are looking after them very well (I think). I'm going to post in the new world cichlids (?spelling) section to check i'm doing the right stuff. Really pleased, it's lovely to watch!

Meant also to say that I will keep you updated re. water levels etc too

Hi just so you know....if angel fish fry are small you might be best putting them into a breeding net for a few weeks so their mum and dad dont eat them.
 

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