Fish acting strange - Please Help

J

jim123

AC Members
May 2, 2009
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I have a 55 gallon tank with 4 fancy goldfish. They have been doing fine up until now.

Today, I noticed that my large fancy and bubble cheek have been hanging around at the top of the tank (other fish are fine). They have never done this before.

I have a air stone pumping a lot of bubbles in to the tank and a Cascade 1000 filter (100 gallon filter).

I just took reading and I have the following:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite .5
Nitrate 20
High PH 7.4

Is my tank too hot?
I checked my thermometer and saw that the water is at 74 to 75 degrees. The room I keep the tank in is kept at a constant 72.

I shut all the lights and lowered the thermostat in the room to 70.

Any ideas?

Thanks
 
Your nitrite level should read 0. Fish hanging out at the surface of the water is one of the main warning signs for nitrite poisoning. You should do a water change to get that level as close to 0 as possible.
Is your tank cycled?
 
No. My tank has not fully cycled yet.

Do you think the temperature is OK? If its not a temperature issue, I'll lower the air conditioner.
 
I agree with the above. My air went out for a few days last summer and even though the goldfish tank was in the high 80's, the goldfish appeared unaffected.
I would do a water change ASP to reduce the nitrites.
 
Thanks for the info. Now I can shut off my AC in the living room. I prepared 20 gallons of water. I will do the change this afternoon. I'll prepare another 20 gallons for tomorrow. Does that sound like a good plan?
 
Here is an update. I did a 20 gallon water change today. I waited about 6 hours and tested the water.

The temp is at about 72. The 2 fish that were acting strange are now back to normal.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
High PH: 7.4

How is that? Did I officially complete the cycle?
 
Snoopy's right, you're looking good!

Keep testing your water frequently, though. You may not be fully cycled yet. You do have nitrates so you have to be close if not there already. However, you tested right after a water change which brought your ammonia and nitrites to 0, so I
would monitor closely to make sure the nitrites don't start to climb again.

When fully cycled the ammonia, nitrites will be 0, and you want to keep nitrates below 40. How long has the tank been set up?
 
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