Whats Wrong?

[Toology88]

ive got 29 gallon grow out tank for some south/central american cichlids that will be put into a 6ft 125 gallon tank. in the tank there is 1 jack dempsey, 1 blood parrot, 1 male pink convict, 1 female convict, and one common pleco. all no more than an inch and 1/2 in size. The male pink convict seems to be flashing/itching. not ALL the time but it occurs more than once. The blood parrot's belly seems to be like a silver color and the jack dempsey looks like he may have something similar going on but not too much, very slight, hard to tell. Ive tested the water and results came back perfect. temperature is at about 76 degrees. ive got an airstone in the tank as well as very heavy filtration. Fish are eating fine and acting normal except for the occasional itching of the pink convict. sometimes the regular convict scurrys around rapidly but not constantly, only for short periods of time and then goes and does her regular business. Before i get heckled about my tank size im gunna repeat that they are going into a 125 gallon. the 29 is only temporary until the 125 is set up and cycled. Are these symptoms something to worry about? or am i just jumping the gun? Could the parrot and dempseys bellys look like that from overfeeding? again the dempsey i could be wrong about cause its hard to tell

 

[phoenixgsd]

what exactly were you test results , was it using a liquid based test kit

 

[Toology88]

it is a test strip that u dip in the water and the pads on it change colors. i cant remember the exact results but they were all normal in comparison to the chart that came with the test

 

[alistairw]

Hello

The test strips aren't actually that accurate. Are you able to go out and buy a liquid based test kit such as an API Master test kit? This will provide you with a better accuracy and then you can post your ppm results on here.

I have learned in my short time in fish keeping that most fish problems relate to poor water quality which is why the forst thing you get asked is......what are your water stats??!!!

 

[Toology88]

understood, until i get a chance to get a kit and test and post results are there any possible ideas of what may be wrong?

 

[phoenixgsd]

it would be a stab in the dark answer, but you can almost bet that any fish illness or strange behaviour is down to poor water quality, so untill you get a proper test kit i would do a massive water change and see how they behave after

 

[Toology88]

got the water tested the LFS. the guy said everything was fine except the nitrates were high so i got a bottle of this stuff called "Prime" that he recommended, i did a 25% water change, mediated the water, and changed the filter pads which were filthy so im assuming i was overfeeding them which is why the nitrates were so high and the pads were so dirty. will high nitrates cause something like what i described?

 

[sebn]

I hope you didnt replace all your filter media did you? If so you have basically got rid of all the beneficial bacteria in the filter and will now have started a "fish-in" cycle which is an awful lot of work. There are guides in the beginners section of this forum that will give you some more information on this subject.

Nitrates are the end product of the "Nitrogen Cycle" and the only way to remove them is to do regular water changes, having lots of plants help as these absorb Nitrates to an extent.

It really is best to use chemicals/potions as a very last resort, as others have said, most issues in the fish tank are related to bad water quality and can be sorted by doing regular water changes with dechlorinated water.

 

[phoenixgsd]

got the water tested the LFS. the guy said everything was fine except the nitrates were high so i got a bottle of this stuff called "Prime" that he recommended, i did a 25% water change, mediated the water, and changed the filter pads which were filthy so im assuming i was overfeeding them which is why the nitrates were so high and the pads were so dirty. will high nitrates cause something like what i described?

the filter pads are supposed to be dirty, thats the bacteria that keeps your fish alive, occasionally rinse the dirty sponge in old tank water but never replace untill the pads literally fall apart, unfortunatly you will now have to start all over again and do a fish in cycle, prime is the best dechlorinator on the market and it lasts for ages,