hi all, please help as very worried at the mo. weve had our juwel rekord 800 (110Litre) set up for about 12 days now (heres a link to the aquarium in case u need to see what it has - http/www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/gift-ideas/juwel-complete-starter-aquariums/juwel-rekord-800-aquarium-p-2524.html). didnt know about fishless cycling so put 5 platys in the day after setting up as advised by the LFS. the platys have all been fine and 1 had about 40 fry which seem to be doing well. this morning i noticed red around the gills of the platys and after reading about the forums a bit looks like its to do with the water nitite/ammonia and red blood cell damage to the fish. i had ben using the test strips but today got a api frshwater master test kit. here are the readings for my tap water and also the tank water:
TAP WATER - PH 7.8 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 40
TANK WATER - PH 7.6 Ammonia 0.25 Nitrite 5 Nitrate 80
Ive been reading a lot of previous posts but still a bit unclear as to what I need to do to try and help my fish and get the water better for them. Ive done a big water change the last 2 days and syphoned the gravel which got a lot of stuff up (about 40% water change). Now think it was unwise to do so.
Should I do a water change now? If so how much? Do I need to treat the tap water with something 1st or just make sure its the same temp as the tank water?
Should I clean the filter in the tank water I take out in case its blocked?
Please help as im so confused and dont want my fish to die or suffer due to my mistakes.
TAP WATER - PH 7.8 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 40
TANK WATER - PH 7.6 Ammonia 0.25 Nitrite 5 Nitrate 80
Ive been reading a lot of previous posts but still a bit unclear as to what I need to do to try and help my fish and get the water better for them. Ive done a big water change the last 2 days and syphoned the gravel which got a lot of stuff up (about 40% water change). Now think it was unwise to do so.
Should I do a water change now? If so how much? Do I need to treat the tap water with something 1st or just make sure its the same temp as the tank water?
Should I clean the filter in the tank water I take out in case its blocked?
Please help as im so confused and dont want my fish to die or suffer due to my mistakes.