Fish on side help!!
- Thread starter kattastorphy
- Start date
Joel is absolutely right. I would add that it is very, very important that you understand that ANY amount of nitrites or ammonia sustained over a period of time IS lethal. Its like slowly being poisoned. I would bet any amount of money on that being the culprit of your recent troubles. Imagine if you had a small carbon monoxide leak in your house. Won't kill you today, but might in a year.
As I said before you need to figure out why your tank is not cycling properly. To say that because its brackish it won't show nitrate, is wrong. Even marines show nitrate to some extent, it just must be more closely monitered than fresh.
You have a couple of places to start looking. Your chem. additives, your water changes or your filtration. The tank cycle is basically an inevitable, natural phenomenon. Something has to PREVENT it from happening properly.
As I said before you need to figure out why your tank is not cycling properly. To say that because its brackish it won't show nitrate, is wrong. Even marines show nitrate to some extent, it just must be more closely monitered than fresh.
You have a couple of places to start looking. Your chem. additives, your water changes or your filtration. The tank cycle is basically an inevitable, natural phenomenon. Something has to PREVENT it from happening properly.
Why is a brackish water tank 'supposed' to have zero nitrates? Except when initially set up and prior to completing the nitrogen cycle, I've never had a brackish tank with zero nitrates. Are you using an sump with an algae scrubber in it? If so, you should never see ammonia or nitrite readings at all.
Any nitrite level can be deadly over time. It slowly suffocates the fish as nitrite will cross over the gills more readily than oxygen.
I wonder what 'fine' readings are to the LFS? Actual numbers in ppm would be very helpful.
I've kept puffers for decades (freshwater, brackish, and full marine), and have never had one get a 'bladder infection' from eating a snail.
Any nitrite level can be deadly over time. It slowly suffocates the fish as nitrite will cross over the gills more readily than oxygen.
I wonder what 'fine' readings are to the LFS? Actual numbers in ppm would be very helpful.
I've kept puffers for decades (freshwater, brackish, and full marine), and have never had one get a 'bladder infection' from eating a snail.
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I have stated it many times about the snail. I had four big pond snails I bought from a different lfs and was going to breed them. My son put one in and cheetah attacked it and ate the whole thig almost. It was same size as him! My little one never touched it. He then started acting a little weird the rest of night and in the morning he was spinning like a football and now swims on side and is still eating. I fasted him for two days, tried to feed him a pea and he wouldn't eat it. I have him a blood worm two days ago. He ate it quick! I didn't feed him yesterday though. He still alive and swims to me in his quarintine tank.
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Kat, everyone is trying their best to help by sorting out the info you're giving.
The fact still remains that you need to get your own (quality) water parameter test kit, not test strips, not the LFS.
You still haven't stated what water dechlorinator (if any) you're using, what type of filtration you run, what type of bio media it may have and how you maintain it. These are all crucial things to maintaining proper water params.
The fact still remains that you need to get your own (quality) water parameter test kit, not test strips, not the LFS.
You still haven't stated what water dechlorinator (if any) you're using, what type of filtration you run, what type of bio media it may have and how you maintain it. These are all crucial things to maintaining proper water params.
I don't think that jungle zyme is doing much for you. As far as you can tell is there anything that would be contributing to the ammonia levels or inturrupting the cycle? How often do you change/clean the filter media? As I said earlier it could be over feeding? Or is it possible something is dead in your tank? It will be difficult to analyze your water params accuratly w/o an api liquid test kit.