my fish has a gash on his head. I thought it was an abrasion from swimming up against tank decor, but now I'm not sure sure.

I have him in a 55 gallon tank, tempature 78 degrees. I do not know the exact numbers on the


ph 7.2
ak 120 ish

nitrite 1.5
nitrate 40


my test strips are not the best, they use a color chart and don't give exact numbers but


here is some pictures

With what I have read you need to get them Nitrites to zero and keep ur Nitrates under control. If he has an injury it is best to keep the water as clean as you can til it heals bud.
Some of the big guns will be on the forum later and will give you first class advice. Take care.... Jamie

ok to reduce the Nitrate levels..do a frequent water change, like 10% a day or 50% a week.. this will help reduce the Nitrites as well in turn.. I still cant see the head of the fish properly, hence cant identify that gash you spoke about.

Hey there.
You nitrates reading should be 0.
That could be a result of insuffiecient filtercapacity.
What kinda filter do you have and what is it's flowrate?
Could you test for ammonia as well?

Keeping your water in pristine codition should help your O recover in no time.
Judging from the pic, it looks like a cut from some decoration or glass ledge.
My o used to hurt himself on the inner glass ledge, when jumping for food.
Any sharp edged objects in the tank?

When I recently did some water changes I didn't notice any effect on the nitrite or nitrate. In the past week I have done two 15% water changes. I was kinda nervous about changing too much of the water at once, but maybe I should try doing bigger water changes at a time?

Here is some different photos, I couldn't figure out how to post more than one at a time
http://www.haggardshit.com/111.JPGhttp://www.haggardshit.com/fish1.JPG

tyyymyshoe wrote:
[quote]When I recently did some water changes I didn't notice any effect on the nitrite or nitrate. In the past week I have done two 15% water changes. I was kinda nervous about changing too much of the water at once, but maybe I should try doing bigger water changes at a time?

Yes, don't be nervous about that amount of wc.
I do a 50 % waterchange weekly during my gravelvac-session.
The beneficial bacteria will be in your filter and a 50% wc will not hurt your fish and bacteria if you use waterconditioner/ Prime with the new water.

okay and my filter is a charcoal filter that came with the tank

I guess it is a external power filter

tetra whisper 30 - 60

then I've also added a In tank power filter rated at 30-60 gallons

I've heard that charcoal filters are not the best choice on filters, and I've priced other filters and they seemed sort of pricey and I will eventually upgrade but right at this moment I do not have the ends to invest in one.

I change the filter monthly too but I will do a little bit larger water change the next couple days and I hope that helps

I do condition the water at every water change, and I bought some Nitraban Easy Balance water stuff because I was hoping that this would help. This stuff is probably a rip off but I figured what the heck I just want to make sure he is okay and I hate seeing him hurt

tyyymyshoe wrote:

Please explain?
Do you replace all media?

no sir I replace the charcoal filter but the sponge media stuff I just leave as is

Is this correct? I think I have a good grasp on everything he needs but I might not be clear on some stuff

OK, first thing I will tell you is to get a Liquid test kit... The test strips are in accurate...

It does look like a gash from running into decor or something, but you need to get accurate readings for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and PH...

Your Nitrite reading should be 0... And your Nitrate less than 40ppm...
So you need to do a 30% water change per day till you can get us those readings and get your water readings in check.

What filters are you running?

I deleted the second thread!

Looking a little carefully at your pics.. I really feel you should remove the false plants, in most cases those false plants spoil the awesome natural feel of the tank. Now this is just my personal thought.. no pressure..

@ Nickie => I think he is using a HOB.. thats what I can say from the pic