questions about testing my tank

[sandj]

ok i tested my tank for nitrate,nitrite,hardness,alkalinity and ph i bought a quick dip 5-n-1 test kit from jungle its just the one that they sell at our walmart. but it goes by color and none of the colors are what the box shows. but i dont know if they are to high or to low. i dont want my tank to be all screwed up how do i go about getting my tank in order? i also found out why my jd and oscar would just start swimming sideways and bouncing off the rocks all weird like. i think they got parasites from feeder fish so i am treating them for that now. so no more feeders for them unless its from the ones that i raise. so i need your guys/gals help on getting my tank to the right ph and all of that.

 

[DeChrii]

those testing strips are usually very inaccurate. The best test kid would be the api ones with the drops. They have it for nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, ph etc. Also does your oscar/jd have white salt looking spots? It could be ich which is why they're scratching against the gravel.
Dont feed the live feeder fish that you buy from lfs without quarantining them first. Its best for them to be fed off live food anyways. If you really want to feed live fish, then best suggestion would to breed your own or again just quarantine before feeding.

 

[sandj]

no they dont have ich. from what i read the have some kind of internal parasites i hate that you said they arent good i spent 12 bucks on those stupid things. i have read a lot that feeding them live food isnt good for them.