severely confused

ok, so heres my deal. i have a true percula clown whose been helping my tank cycle... lps wouldnt take him back and i didnt know any better so hes been troopin right along in the cycle. my tank finished a cycle a few days ago where everything but the nitrates dropped to 0. the fish had been kinda stressed but was still eating and i was adding stress coat to calm him down. heres what it looked like
ph 8.3
ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 5.0ppm
the fish was still a lil stressed. but for the past 2 days hes been great and i dont wanna screw with the chemicals while hes doin so good... what i mean by stress is hes constantly swimming really fast like hes tryin to get away but hes not gasping.
yesterday and today i tested the chemicals and this is what ive got
ph7.8-8.0
ammonia 0.25-0.50ppm
nitrite 0.20ppm
nitrate 0ppm
it seems to me its goin through a 2nd cycle now but again the fish is great! so my question is does the lower ph and higher nitrite and ammonia have something to do with his reaction? if i raise the ph with everything else the way it is will it stress him again? i dont know anything about mixing chemicals i just know its supposed to be bad to have ph that low and its bad for everything to be high... plz help.

p.s plz dont reply about the fish... i know its bad and ive already tried bringin him back... hes stuck and so am i.

 

I wouldn't worry about the ph too much unless it drops further. The nitrites and ammonia is the real concern. That is likely his problem.

 

Let's back up here...

How'd you start the tank? (dry rock. live rock, sand, etc)

How are you testing? (strips, kit, brand, etc)

 

im testing using the saltwater master test kit by api... it has drops and test tubes. i started with cured live rock and live sand and crushed coral.

 

If you started with all curved live rock, you probably had a small, short cycle.

Testing method is fine, so I'm willing to bet your ammonia may well be due to overfeeding. How much and how often are you feeding? Did you feed yesterday and then test today?

Don't worry about pH as it's still in a decent range and you can cause more harm trying to chase something down that might not be a problem.

The behavior of the fish might look odd, but clowns can behave quite oddly. Some fish get quite uncomfortable when they're the only fish in the tank, not that I'm suggesting you add anything else just yet.

 

definately not adding anything any time soon. i did have a chiton and deer cowrie but i found homes for them. now its just the nemo and 2 turbo snails. im thinkin nemo might end up aggressive if i cant find him a home.

yes i fed him yesterday... we feed him a very minute amt twice a day since the filter sucks up the food before he gets to it all. hes obsessed with the surface and the currents pretty strong for the small brine shrimp he gets. i did feed him about an hr before i tested the water but assumed that the food hadnt been in there long enough to change anything.

 

If he is contantly at the surface he may not have enough oxygen.

 

You should feed something other than brine shrimp. Unless the brine shrimp is gut loaded it is pretty much nutrient empty. Change to mysis shrimp and other meaty foods. Also buy a good dry food for marine carnivores. I would increase the surface disturbance because the fish may be looking for more oxygen in the water.

 

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

our oxygen level in the tank is good... almost too good. hes not gasping i think he just hosts the overflow in the corner. lol.
hes actually getting brine shrimp plus and i also got a mixed pack of frozen stuff... it has mysis and seaweed and numerous other types of food for him. hes spoiled when it comes to variety.
the question i wanted answered has to do with chemistry of the water.