The local city has overtreated the water and has caused problems with the water I used to do a tank change. Everything else has tested 100 % ok but the nitrates are 40 mg per liter and the water is green. I only leave the light on for 2-3 hours a day. I am scared for my fish I have tryed several things the local pet store has suggested and nothing is working. My fish is beginning to not eat as well and is starting to act like he is gasping.But the tank has adeguete air supply. What on earth do I do??? Help

welcome to the site

Firstly,40 ppm is not dangerously high. It is about as high as you want to go but it's not as if you're putting a nitrate level above 100 ppm in every water change.

Obviously I don't know the circumstances of what they have done to your water so it's difficult to advise. Maybe you should give them a ring, tell them that you keep fish and ask them what they have done. Have you tested the ammonia, nitrite and pH? obviously when fish go off their food, this is a cause for concern, this and the fact that your fish are showing signs of stress, it could be a cause for concern.

I think you've got to find out what the water company have done, try and find out what they put in the water.about 20 years ago,A water company in Cornwall accidentally emptied 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate into the water supply and caused a lot of health problems. Obviously this would probably have an adverse affect on any captive bred aquatic animals I would have thought.

If your ammonia and nitrites are okay and your nitrate is only 40 ppm then it's obviously something else that is causing your fish to act the way they are. Try and increase the amount of oxygen and see what happens. As for the green water,this is normally caused by algae. If your tap water a lot of phosphatesthen this could certainly increase the chances of high algae levels because accompanied by light, algae thrives very well. Try turning your tank lights off for most of the day. It might take a while for the water to clear up, normally water changes can help clear it. However, if it's a problem with the water that is causing the water to turn green, it may only make the problem worse.

just keep an eye on the situation for the next couple of days, see if things start getting better, if they don't, and get worse, we will try and address the problem further

Find out what they put in the water

You need to find out what the water company over treated with. Phone them up and explain you are keeping fish and ask their advise. If the person you speak to doesnt know ask them to put you in touch with someone at the company who does. Water companies have lots of experts working for them and someone should be able to advise you.

Until you do use extra de-chlorinator when you do water changes. I would leave the light off all the time and halve the amount you are feeding.

How big is your tank and can you retest the water and post the actual results please

My tank is 55 gallons and he is the only fish in there and I test my water and everything is normal. I contacted my local fish store expert and she told me that they used triple the amount of everything the problem is we are in a horrible water shortage so they tripled the treatment for less water plus everytime I call them I never get anyone or they put me on hold and keep passing my call around and nobody knows the answer. It is so frustrating. Not only did I test my water for the normal NH4 NO2 NO3 and pH but when I took the water to the fish store they checked for phosphates, salinity, aluminum, and copper and still found no problems.

-Clueless

Opps I forgot to say that the nitrate is testing fine now and I still have a problem with the fish

if he's hanging out near the surface it might be an oxygen problem maybe try adding an airstone to your setup

I have two air stones and double filtration filter

Could you post the actual results. Some fish shops have a much looser definition of fine than what we do on here

I am guessing that the water company have sorted the problem out. So i reckon you best course of action is lots of water changes until you are sure the water coming out of your tap is back to normal and that you have diluted your tank water back to normal. Hopefully once your tank water is back to normal your fish will get better