Need info

[TNOx16]

I have a pair of mocha clown fish and a royal gramma today when I fed them one of my clown fish wouldn’t eat should I be concerned? How long should I go before taking action? I tested my water and every thing was fine hight nitrates at 40ppm, ammonia .25ppm, ph 8.0, nitrite 0ppm

 

[CoralB]

I have a pair of mocha clown fish and a royal gramma today when I fed them one of my clown fish wouldn’t eat should I be concerned? How long should I go before taking action? I tested my water and every thing was fine hight nitrates at 40ppm, ammonia .25ppm, ph 8.0, nitrite 0ppm

That is not fine!!! Nitrates are too high and your ammonia needs to be at zero . How long has your tank been up , has it cycled ?, what are your other parameters???

 

[TNOx16]

It’s been up for about 4 month I did a 25% water change. What’s the best way to lower these concerns?

 

[Soren]

It’s been up for about 4 month I did a 25% water change. What’s the best way to lower these concerns?

What test kit are you using for ammonia? Many of the color tests with reagents tend to always read some rather than true zero even if there is no ammonia.

How long have you had fish in the tank? Do you have any more fish than what you listed above? Are there invertebrates/corals in the tank as well? What is the size of the tank?

Nitrates at 40ppm are not high enough to cause significant problems for the fish, from what I know through reading and my own experiences. Fish can tolerate much higher nitrates if they are used to it through gradual transition. The main issue comes from what will grow from the high nutrients, likely hair algae and/or cyanobacteria.

 

[TNOx16]

Fish since January, no other fish then the 3 there are inverts About 8 total and 9 corals. Fluval evo 13.5g I’m currently using API saltwater master test kit

 

[TNOx16]

Update i did two ammonia test and we believe it’s between 0ppm and 0.25ppm

 

[Sharkbait19]

Api often will give positive ammonia readings where there is none.
Any aggression with the other clown?

 

[TNOx16]

Nope he is a smaller then the other clown fish but he doesn’t show signs of not eating he comes up to the feeding hole when I’m around the tank but the other one doesn’t seem interested in eating

 

[TNOx16]

Today was the only day I’ve noticed him not wanting to eat as well

 

[CoralB]

Update i did two ammonia test and we believe it’s between 0ppm and 0.25ppm

I personally dislike any test kit that you can never be sure if it’s accurate or not . That being said to be on the safe side you can add a water conditioner like prime to neutralize and ammonia. Just if you use it don’t test for ammonia as it will throw off most test kits for ammonia . I would also add bacteria , I like the brightwell microbactor 7 . I would do another water change and while doing it suck out any detritus material like uneaten food , poop, etc. . Make sure your filter isn’t hiding waste material as well . If you can invest in a more accurate ammonia tester or take a sample to your lfs and pay them (shouldn’t cost much if they even charge you ) to test or a friend that has one . What kind of filter are you using and how much rock and or substrate do you have in your tank ? . Were you able to get the other parameters tested ??? If so please post .