Marigold has been staing at the surface today gasping for air. I did a 30% water change, added stress zyme, check ph and it was high. I redued it to 7.2. Nitrite was 1.6mg this morning so after water change it's at 0.8mg. I do not use tap water as ours is so polluted with chemicals. I buy straight spring water. I have a 10gal. tank with Marigold our fantail and Lilly our lionhead. I am running the filter that came with the tank as well as a whisper 200 for a 20 to 40 gal since I am overstocked. Lilly seems to be ok. What can I do to help Marigold?

Oh, I forgot....I have been doing a 30-50 percent water change every 2-3 days to keep nitrite down as my tank is not yet cycled.

What do you consider high for PH? Goldfish can handle a pretty high ph if it's stable,but ph swings will bother them alot more. You have to really be careful on how you're doing that. What was your method of reducing this,and how fast did you change it?What is the normal tank temps for your tank?
How long has this tank been up,and is it cycled?
As your tank is not cycled,you need to do enough water changes to keep Nitrites down or at around 0.25% as this will definately affect their behavior if they're allowed to stay any higher than that..

My tank is not cycled yet. We have had Marigold since January 5th and Lilly since February 6th. The amonia has not registered in over a week, maybe 2. The Ph was higher than 7.4, however I don't know how high as this is as high as the color went on the tester. She had this problem before I lowered the Ph. I used a teaspoon of ph reducer. My tank is usually between 66 and 68. I did notice the temp is up to 70/72 now. The weather has warmed some here so that has to be why as I don't have a heater in the tank and I used room temp. spring water like always. Should I do another water change? I added 1 T salt to reduce any added stress after the first one. She's still hanging in there. Again, Lilly the lionhead seems to be fine.

Where is your nitrite reading at now?I would do another water change as it needs to be down around 0.25 to be at the least toxic level for the fish while cycling,so change out whatever is needed to get it there.As for the ph,I would leave that alone for now,and avoid trying to alter it,as that can bring on another set of problems for you.Post soon with water readings and an update.Hopefully your fish is feeling better.

I just did a 60% water change. The ph reads 7.4. (this is their usual ph) Nitrite reads just above 0.3mg, which is the second color marking on my chart. I did the water change but did not add the stress zyme. Should I add it? I thought Marigold was dead when I checked on her first thing this morning. She was lying in the gravel behind a plant. After I got my son off to school, I turned the tank light on and she started swimming but her dorsal fin was still "clamped". When I fed them, Marigold went crazy for the food. She came right off the bottom to eat. Now, since the water change, she is swimming but still seems week and her dorsal fin is still clamped somewhat. Does it sound as though she may come out of this?

The longer a fish is kept in poor water params,the longer it sometimes take for a full complete recovery.High Nitirites are really bad forfish though, and can cause long term effects if they deal with it for too long a time period.You started trying to change the situation almost immediately,so all we can do is wait patiently and keep our fins crossed. It is important to now stay on this water change regimen now until the tank is fully cycled.Alot of work I know,but the end results will make you proud and happy.