Penguin Tetra Staying In One Place

[Louiseness]

I kept fish for many years in Zimbabwe and never did weekly water changes, never once tested the water or anything. And in over ten years never had any problems. I think all this cleaning and fidgeting makes the fish more agitated and causes them more harm than good. Just my opinion.

Well then why ask for help? Do whatever you want to do, you'll soon see if the fish makes it or doesn't or whatever.

 

[soybean]

You're entitled to your opinion, but right now you have a problem with a fish and you're asking for advice. The advice you're getting - see if you have a problem with the water quality in your overstocked tank, and freshen the tank up with a waterchange - is pretty basic, and may be all you need to do.

Once that has been eliminated, you can look at temperature, oxygenation, water flow, etc.

If you think you have a better idea, go for it. But I presume you haven't, as you're asking for ideas.

 

[Ant_Soton]

Nitrate 0
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0

Will check PH too

 

[soybean]

Nitrate is rarely 0 in a cycled tank.

You might need to redo that. Really shake the bottle and give it a whack on a hard surface to get the reagent really mixed up - it settles, giving inaccurate results.

After doing that, if you still get 0, that suggests a cycling problem.

 

[Ant_Soton]

Nitrate is rarely 0 in a cycled tank.

You might need to redo that. Really shake the bottle and give it a whack on a hard surface to get the reagent really mixed up - it settles, giving inaccurate results.

After doing that, if you still get 0, that suggests a cycling problem.

Well, its very low its between 0 and 5ppm

Using the normal (not the high range)PH tester, my PH is bout 7.6

 

[soybean]

Did you redo the nitrate test then?

I would expect the nitrate levels in a very lightly planted, overstocked tank which doesn't get weekly water changes to be higher than that, which is why I suggest redoing it as described above.

 

[Louiseness]

Did you redo the nitrate test then?

I would expect the nitrate levels in a very lightly planted, overstocked tank which doesn't get weekly water changes to be higher than that, which is why I suggest redoing it as described above.

+1 to this.

Also it would be useful to know when you last changed your water?

 

[Ant_Soton]

So now, do i do a water change or not?

i have redone the nitrate test, shook tube up and all, its still reading the same. I last changed the water mid last week. I do both tanks atleast once a week.
When i say i never used to do regular water changes im talking 20 years ago !!!

 

[soybean]

Yes. You have a fish you think is unwell - you have to make the water the best it can be, whether it's 'due' a change or not.

A waterchange would also bring nitrate down and eliminate it from being a problem. I don't trust that test result.

 

[Louiseness]

So now, do i do a water change or not?

i have redone the nitrate test, shook tube up and all, its still reading the same

Did you shake the bottle or the test tube you put the liquids in? It's the dropper bottles that need REALLY shaking to mix in any sediment before you test.

Your reading wouldn't really suggest a water change, but that low nitrate does suggest the tank isn;t properly cycled. When did you last change your water?

EDITED: water CHANGE not test

 

[Ant_Soton]

So now, do i do a water change or not?

i have redone the nitrate test, shook tube up and all, its still reading the same

Did you shake the bottle or the test tube you put the liquids in? It's the dropper bottles that need REALLY shaking to mix in any sediment before you test.

Your reading wouldn't really suggest a water test, but that low nitrate does suggest the tank isn;t properly cycled. When did you last change your water?

I last changed the water mid last week and am in middle of a change now

 

[soybean]

So after this change I would see if that makes a difference and perks them up a bit by tomorrow.

If not, then you can start looking into other things. Eg we've had a lot of hot weather lately and the tank may have suffered a bit in the conservatory.

 

[Spurry]

Eg we've had a lot of hot weather lately and the tank may have suffered a bit in the conservatory.

hmmm we have not asked the temps the tank gets to in the hot parts of the day in the conservatory it my go up

whats the temp now? have you looked at the temp when it realy hot in there?

 

[soybean]

A waterchange is being done at the mo, Spurry, so hopefully that will address any temperature issues at the same time.

I think it's now a case of wait and see.

 

[Ant_Soton]

Temp can get up to 28 or so and once or twice up to 30. I know its way to high but not a lot i can do. The guy at my old LFS who i ask advise of sometimes told me as long as the temp rises gradually and falls gradually, i should be fine as the fish are not subjected to these high temperatures 24/7. When its not hot like today my tank is at 24 degrees C