nitrates ARE bad

[bluehairman]

so i went upstairs to check on my fishies. and i figured i should feed my eel, who's been hiding all day. i figure, he's chillin' in the shell because of aggression (temp tank for a lot of fish). i lift up the shell to find my eel shooting out of it spasming and doing twists, to stop rock solid, not breathing, but doing weird twitches (very little movement) and tiny tiny movement of gills.

i do only what i can think of at the moment, i pick him up, and run him through the water, back and forth to put water through his gills. helped.

did water changes, after the 2nd bucket he started to move.

about 5 more he now seems to be ok. nitrite and ammonia 0. so all i can think of is nitrate. i will continue to do more water changes in the morning.
i'm just glad he seems to be doing ok

 

[Austin]

have you been doing weekly water changes? regular testing?

 

[bluehairman]

have you been doing weekly water changes? regular testing?

not for the particular tank... recently gotten very uninterested in the fish, but i moved them out to temp house my fish that were in the 55g.

this is a wake up call that i should stop being lazy and take care of my fish!

 

[no1gcon]

wow

 

[carcrazy]

Wow, I think I better check my eel tank. I do weekly water changes but I haven't tested the water for a while. They seem to be breathing alright, though. I guess I better make sure.

Do you keep your eel in a salt water tank? If so, what kind of protein skimmer do you use?

 

[cichlid2006]

i dont mean this to sound rude but how can you possibly know its the nitrate. you tested for the other chemicals so why not nitrate?

and you are continuing water changes yet you have no mention of testing the tap water (if that is what you use) to establish your base line results or whether you use RO water or a half and half mix.

i would test tap water for all the usual chemicals then test the tank for nitrates them make an informed decision and not just guess.

 

[johnptc]

also maybe add an airstone if you dont have one

 

[sabotage]

not for the particular tank... recently gotten very uninterested in the fish, but i moved them out to temp house my fish that were in the 55g.

this is a wake up call that i should stop being lazy and take care of my fish!

WE ALL AGREE!!!