Brown on my fish?
> Whenever something is wrong, the first thing you should do is a PWC and > gravel vacuum since poor water quality is the leading cause of fish > problems. Next, do a filter cleaning to get rid of any excess detritus (see > my blog article about doing proper filter maintenance and cleaning).
I will do that later today 
I wasn’t sure if the partial watr change could stress them out and cause whatever it is to get worse. My mom’s boyfriend says they look like they are doing exactly what bass do when they have a nest. But these are all live bearers, so I dunno what they are doing.
> I would start by raising the salinity level depending on what the “tiny > algae eater” is. You need to find out the species and see if they are salt > tolerant as many catfish aren’t… if it’s a catfish.
I don’t think it is a catfish, I will have to google algae eaters and try to find pictures to identify it. How much salt would you put in it if it is a 20 gallon tank? Oh, and the big gourami in the little tank is laying on the bottom a lot, too, but he is one of the fish with brown on him, so maybe he just doesn’t feel good? That is the tank that is getting the Jungle Lifeguard stuff, can I still put salt in it? How much for a 5 gallon? I have a box of aquarium salt, so I would be using that. Oh, and the two sick fish in the tiny tank (5 gallon) are getting a bigger tank tomorrow (10 gallon).
> You should also increase the O2 levels in tank by > increasing surface agitation.
Well, I have a long bubble stone and a small round bubble stone in the 20 gallon tank (the one with the fish on the bottom). I can turn the air up, but it makes it look like the water is boiling, almost…because of so many bubbles…if that’s ok, I’ll crank it up.
> This article explains the uses and doses of > salt. http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/salt.shtml
Oops, disregard the above questions about salt, then
> 76-78F is not “hot” for tropical fish. It’s on the low end of the scale for > them. What was the normal temperature of the tank prior to this heat spell?
Mostly it hangs around 74…usually 76….I know that 78 isn’t much of an increase, but it was higher than normal.
> What might you have done that might have thrown your tank back into a cycle?
Well, last time I gravel vacuumed, I used the sprayer on the kitchen sink to wash out the filter (it had brown goo on it, and my water was cloudy, so I rinsed it and it cleared up overnight). Someone told me I probably restarted the cycle because of rinsing the good bacteria out of the filter. Suggested putting two cartridges in the one filter so I could alternate rinsing them. That way I always have good bacteris in one of them, at least.
> You stated that your test results were OK. What were the numbers for > ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and any other tests you have?
Uhm, I threw away the strip, but it was: ph 7.5 nitrite and nitrate I am not 100% sure…it was one of these two combinations: if the nitrite was 0, then the nitrate was about 40. If the nitrate was 0, then the nitrite was about 1.
The two tests are next to each other and I don’t remember which one was pink (meaning more than 0).
I’m thinking it was the nitrate that was pink (meaning 40) because I had read somewhere that is a good level to have the tank at and when I looked at the test, I wasn’t worried.
I don’t have an ammonia test. Need to get that big master kit, but don’t have the money at the moment (should soon, though).
thanks a ton! anndrea
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
