Now what? Goldfish turning red all over?

[BettaFishMommy]

Water parameters are Amo:<0.25 (as low as I ever see it), Nitrite 0, Nitrate about 80ppm. I performed about a 30% water change.

i would think that she is showing sensitivity to the ammonia. if the lowest your ammonia has ever been is <0.25 (and i think you actually mean >0.25, right? remember the crocodile eats the bigger number in 'greater than/less than', lol).

you could bump up your water change amount. goldies are incredibly messy and dirty and by looking at your nitrate level, you might not be doing large enough water changes. i'd suggest 60% or so weekly.

 

[geekboy]

I really meant less than 0.25 ppm, which is to say it looks like a toss-up between the "nil" and "0.25" readings on the test kit. I've never seen a higher or lower reading. My theory is that some combination of lighting/test kit/faulty reading makes it impossible for me to recognize a zero reading. There might be trace levels in my tap water, though I would think an established tank would process it back to zero again rather quickly.

I continue a weekly water change, which perhaps slightly larger amounts than before. Things have become a bit more complicated since I introduced aquatic plants. On the upside, the plants help soften nitrate levels. I can't say with certainty how much they have come down (since the high end of most nitrate tests are so vague), but any improvement is welcome.