Ok, I’m really confused now…

March 19, 2008 @ 9:19 pm · Filed under AquaticLife

My fish are not brown…I thought they had brown on them.
My long finned black skirt tetra changes colors. His long white fins (but not his tail) turn black sometimes.
Question#1:Is this normal? Like a camouflage or reaction to stress or something?
I checked all the levels in all three tanks. All the tanks have filters appropriate for their size, air bubbles, heaters, and lights. Here are my levels and the fish in them (so maybe someone can tell me if the pH’s and ammonias and everything are ok).:

The one with the long finned black skirt tetra (10 gallon rectangular) has .50 ammonia, 7.5 pH, 0 nitrite, and 80 nitrate. This tank also has a blue/three spot gourami in it.
My tank that has been battling Ich (20 gallon rectangular) has .50 ammonia, 6.5 pH, 0 nitrite, and 40 nitrate. The one fish that had the worst case of what I believe to be Ich has almost no white left on him. GO SALT AND HIGHER TEMP!!! Going to leave it going like it is for like another week…hope the babies will tolerate it. This tank has 4 adult swordtails, about 20 baby swordtails that are two days old, 2 adult black mollies, 2 juvenile dalmation mollies, 1 sunset mickey mouse platy, 1 regular sunset platy, 2 red wag platys, 1 powder blue dwarf gourami, and one chinese algae eater.
My last tank (10 gallon tall hexagon) has .25 ammonia, 6.5 pH, 0 nitrite, and 80 nitrate. This tank has 1 adult white molly, 1 juvenile dalmation molly, 2 neon tetras, 2 bright orange GLOfish, 2 bright yellow GLOfish, and one chinese algae eater.
I think my mickey mouse platy is the only female platy…and the other 3 platys were chasing it and it was trying to keep them away from it.
Question#2:If it is the only female, is this a mating thing? Am I going to have more babies?
I noticed my two yellow GLOfish are kinda fat compared to how they looked a few days ago.
Question#3:Might they be pregnant by the orange ones?
Question#4:So, are my levels ok?
I don’t know the temp on my 10 gallon rectangular because it has a heater that is not adjustable and I don’t have any kind of thermometer thing on it. The temp on my 10 gallon hexagon is like 76- 78. The temp on my 20 gallon is 84 (we’re fighting Ich, so upped the temp and added salt).
I’m hoping one of our resident experts might have the time to read all this and tell me how I’m doing
The baby swordtails are eating crushed up flake food…was thinking of adding really crushed up freeze dried blood worms.
Question#5:Is that ok? I also have freeze dried shrimp things that look like maggots…can I crush them up and give them to the babies too?
Oh, speaking of which. My friend has a 90 gallon aquarium and a plethera of little freshwater fish in there (mollies, bettas, tetras, swordtails, etc.). She feeds flake food most of the time. Yesterday, she decided to give them some freeze dried blood worms…all seven of her neon tetras and one (the only) juvenile betta died. She is worried they choked on the worms…
Question#6:Could that be right? That is the ONLY thing she has done different lately. And none of the other fish have died or look sick or anything.
Alright, hope that wasn’t TOO awfully long…but I know it was…
Thanks
anndrea