[HBB]

we have had a tank set up now for 2 weeks now - our levels have all been fine. we added 9 new fish yesterday and a few more salts jsut to bring the GH up to perfect level.

now all my fishes are hanging around the top of the tank , OR scratching themselves on the sand on the bottom....

please tell me whats going on

my PH is 7.5 and my GH is at 18 drops !!

please tell me what else might be wrong??

 

[GTZ]

Sounds like some sort of shock, pH or hardness, low oxygen.
Post Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, tank size and dimensions and current stock list.
How did you cycle the tank?

 

[DJRansome]

And how many gallons per hour does your filter or filters turn over? You can find this info in the specifications for your filter...I often look it up on Dr. Foster's & Smith website as they consistently have the information for the filters they sell. This could help is oxygen is the problem.

 

[HBB]

hi guys thanks for yuor help,

my ph etc is still the same todya as yesterday - all normal, ammonia is barely there and nitrate is at 0 and nitrtite is also at 0 on the chart.....

there are not right at the top just closer to the top than in the rocks....

my tank size is 500 litres and i have 20 fish of all different species in there

 

[Nina_b]

you say you added 'a few more salts'.

Perhaps being specific about what (exactly) and how much (exactly) you added will help them help you as well

A water change is also not a bad idea (unless there is something mysterious in your source water - worth checking) - never hurts, and often solves the problem.

 

[DJRansome]

It is not normal to have zero nitrate in a cycled tank. Maybe your tank is just starting to cycle now with the small ammonia reading?

If you will post a list of the 20 species we can review and see if maybe there is an aggression problem. Aggression is often not witnessed but an indicator that it is happening is having fish that lurk under the surface instead of hiding inside the rocks.

Sometimes the addition of salts makes them itchy for a couple of hours. There is no need to keep GH at 18 drops (mine is 7 drops) as long as your pH remains stable.