glowlites flickering...

[ncstater1919]

my glowlites are flickeriing at the bottem of my tank. i had 4 but one of them died a while back and i havnt restocked yet. my water stats are nitrates20 nitries .5 hardness 50 alkalinity 120 and ph 7. i no that i do not have ammonia posted but the test strips that i obught do not test ammonia. it says on the tube that nitrites are ammonia but im pretty sure that they are wrong....


EDIT: oh yea my tank is a 10 gallon with 2 pygmy cories and a platy that someone gave to me as they decided to quit with fishkeeping. also i forgot to ask what is the problem?

 

[WILDER]

Could be flicking as what quality isn't good, i would recommend a water change, are the gills red and inflamed, any sign of salt like spots, or yellow to gold dusting on them, also how long has the tank been set up.

 

[ncstater1919]

well good news is that everyone is alright for now, i did a water cahnge and they seem to be doing better. i noticed the other sday thou that they were at the bottem of the tank and the glow was compltely out of 2 of the 3 tetras

 

[WILDER]

Just keep a close eye on them, and keep testing water till you get a reading in ammonia of 0, plus a reading of nitrite should be 0,good luck.

 

[dwarfgourami]

i no that i do not have ammonia posted but the test strips that i obught do not test ammonia. it says on the tube that nitrites are ammonia but im pretty sure that they are wrong....

[snapback]918171[/snapback]​

Yes, they are. Ammonia (which is in the fish waste) is toxic to fish; eventually bacteria will turn this into nitrites, which is also toxic; then other bacteria will grow which turn it into nitrates, less harmful. The process of bacteria appearing in your tank is know as cycling. There are pinned topics on this which I think you should read straigthaway, as they will explain what is going on in your tank and make you feel more confident.

As ammonia and nitrites are toxic, you need to test regularly for these, particularly in a new tank. The liquid test kits are more reliable than the strips. Regular small water change are the way to keep the ammonia+nitrites under control in a new tank; once it is cycled your bacteria should deal with them, but a weekly water change is still a good idea to get rid of nitrates and keep a healthy balance of minerals etc.