Bad fish tank water?

Question

I have a 55 gallon fish tank. it was setup with fish about like 2 and a half- 3 weeks ago. Theres 2 clown loaches, one gourami, one tricolor shark, and one featherfin catfish. I did some tests: the water is soft, the pH is a little low, and there is a little nitrite. what do i do

i waited like 2 or 3 days to add fish

Answer 1

If you don't understand about cycling your tank try reading this:http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php
I would strongly suggest you not try to alter your pH with any chemicals,most fish can adapt to what ever your pH is and trying to adjust it will just make it constantly fluctuate which is much worse for your fish than just leaving it where it is.You should be doing weekly water changes of 20% using a gravel vacuum to keep waste from building up in your tank.

Answer 2

Well, your pH is fine, but to lower the nitrate (small amounts are fine), vacuum the gravel and remove 20% of the water in the process... I would worry that your fish will get too big for your tank though. The Clown Loaches get about a foot long, but they get very stressed when they are not kept in the proper shoal. Keep 5 together in a 100 gallon tank, or none at all. Check out Yo-yo Loaches though, they look fairly similar, but they are more active and stay around 4-5 inches and stay much more playful than the Clowns. The Tricolor Shark (Bala Shark) will get about a foot long and also requires a shoal of about 5 to alleviate stress. The Shark has the same needs as the Clown, so get rid of them both. I would suggest that you stock your tank like this:

5 Yo-yo Loaches
1 Gourami
1 Rainbow Shark
1 Featherfin Squeaker Catfish
7 Schooling fish of your choice (all of the same species) (Tetras, Barbs, Rasboras, Danios, Minnows, or Rainbow Fish).

It is very likely that your tank has not cycled yet, so check out Jackp1ne's link.

Soop Nazi

Answer 3

Are you using water conditioner and bacteria supplement? They have things at the pet store to balance out the ph levels. Also, did you wait a week to add fish? You need to let your tank cycle and check the water levels before adding any fish.

Answer 4

Your tank has probably not cycled yet and as such, you can expect some of your fish to die when it does.