New Tank - Sick Zebra Danio

[zoogy]

I'm trying to cycle my new 30 gal tank with 2 zebra danios. The smaller danio is doing great, but the other one looks pretty sick to me. He hasn't eaten in 3 days and he's not very active anymore. He just hovers still in one spot and only swims every 1-2 seconds to counteract the current. Today he's gone pale and maybe i'm imagining it, but I think he looks red around the gills. How long can a tiny fish go without eating?

I set the tank up 1 week ago, 2 days later got 6 live plants and the 2 danios. The ph in the water prior to fish was a little high - over 8. The lady at the fish store said it was because of the new gravel (rinsed before added to tank) and that it would come down with time. At first they both seemed healthy and happy. But now everyday the bigger danio gets less active and looks more stressed.

Water temp 78, ph still 8+, amonia <.02 ppm (haven't seen it spike yet), don't have a nitrite/nitrate tester yet. Filter seems to be working properly. Did a 10-15% water change 2 days ago.

How do I treat the sick fish? Also any suggestions on what type of water test kit to buy (I know I should have already got one - bad on me). What can I do about the high ph? I'm grateful for any advice you can offer.

 

[Curiosity101]

Not alot you can do about high pH other than to buy an RO unit or buy RO water. RO water is 'pure' water, it has absolutely nothing in it. So if you mix it with your tap water it'll make the water softer and so lower the pH.

This is the only way to get a safe long term lower pH.

As for the danio, are you sure your ammonia is testing at 0.02ppm? It's more likely to be 0.2ppm which is relatively high.
All the symptoms you are describing are symptoms of ammonia poisoning aswell... I can only suggest you do a large water change 50% or more and hope for the best.

 

[zoogy]

Not alot you can do about high pH other than to buy an RO unit or buy RO water. RO water is 'pure' water, it has absolutely nothing in it. So if you mix it with your tap water it'll make the water softer and so lower the pH.what is RO water? could I use bottled water?

This is the only way to get a safe long term lower pH.

As for the danio, are you sure your ammonia is testing at 0.02ppm? just checked it again. it's the lowest reading on the chart <0.02ppm It's more likely to be 0.2ppm which is relatively high.
All the symptoms you are describing are symptoms of ammonia poisoning aswell... I can only suggest you do a large water change 50% or more and hope for the best. will do w/c now. will 50% w/c take away 50% of my bacteria?

 

[Curiosity101]

RO water is what I said it is. You use an RO unit to make it by running your tap water through the unit. What comes out is pure H2O. Tap water is H2O plus lots and lots if dissolved compounds that give it a mineral content and alter it's ph and ability to buffer acid.

Yours can probably buffer alot of acid and has alot of dissolved things in it giving it a high pH value.


Bacteria live in the filter. So long as you dechlorinate the water then you shouldn't affect them at all.
Oh and so long as you don't take too long doing the water change. Cause you don't want the filter to dry out.

 

[zoogy]

Thanks for the good advice, Curiosity. After w/c sick danio looks better and is slighty more active.

Still a little confused about w/c, filters, & bacteria. (plz bear with me, this is my 1st fish ever!) So if the bacteria live in the filter I guess I can be more aggressive than the 10% weekly w/c recommended in the instruction booklet? What's the right amount to change and how often? Also the instruction boolet says to completely replace the filter each month. Will this wipe out the bacteria and make the tank start the cycle over? Many threads on this board say to just rinse filter in old tank water (not tap - I gleened that much) instead of replacing the filter. Is that how you do it?

 

[Curiosity101]

Your weekly water change, once fully stocked and fully cycled, will be whatever keeps your nitrates at a good level. Often this is around a 20-25% change.

Replacing the filter everyone is a money making ploy by the tank manufacturers and you're spot on at the trouble it causes. New pads = new cycle. Eventually (12 months +) you'll actually want to consider changing the pads cause they start getting thin/holey. Even then dont replace them all, do it a pad at a time and keep the old one wet in a container/bag for the following 24 hours if you can just incase you have a bad spike in ammonia or nitrite.

And yes I just rinse the pads and pop them back in.

You might want to read the info on here about cycling. I don't know if you neccessarily 'chose' to do a fish in cycle? ie. did you know that there is such a thing as a fishless cycle? Check out my signature for some useful links. It also might be a good idea to start a fish-in cycle log on here. Either in this thread or in a new one. You basically just post up your results and any problems each day. I people come by to give you advice and such when you need it. It's also a good way of watching your cycle progress. As they often seem endless.

 

[zoogy]

Thank you thank you thank you. I did another w/c early today and the recovering danio actually nibbled a bit of food this morning! I'm going directly to lfs when the weather clears for a better water testing kit. I'm convinced my cheap amonia detector must not work properly. Thanks again for your help - you saved my little fish!

I read the links in your signature, they were very helpful. I had heard of fishless cycling, but didn't have enough info to attempt it. Next time I'll try that instead, sounds much more humane.