On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:39:09 -0500, wrote:

clouding is usually due to increased slime coat, which thickens due to
toxic water conditions among other things.

it might be she has columnaris in the mouth, a bacterial infection.

continue to do water changes and if you got gravel you will need to
clean that as it could be the source of the high nitrate readings.
here is how to clean the gravel without toxing the fish
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/c...1.htm#REMOVING

then you might consider giving the fish a 30 second salt dip. this
seems to help with columnaris. however, you do need to put some salt
in the tank to stimulate their slime coat turnover.
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/d...rtmnt.htm#salt
start with 1 teaspoon of salt with no additives per 5 gallons,
increase over next couple days to 3 teaspoons per 5 gallons. you can
let the salt levels drop then with water changes.
Ingrid

Hi Ingrid,

Thanks for the info. I've had a Penguin 200 Biowheel filter
installed since I got the fish back in March, and also a medium-sized
Tetra filter. I've always changed them regularly, since I was
concerned about ammonia and nitrites. I've never had a problem with
ammonia or nitrites.
I always vacuum the gravel when I do a water change.

I never thought nitrates could be a serious problem, until now.

I'm going to start removing the gravel (about 1 inch layer at the
bottom)
I've always kept a 1% salt solution, since I had to deal with an
ich problem back in April.

I hope I've got good news this morning. The male appears to be
back to normal, and is eating well. I put a barrier between the two
last night, splitting the tank in half, to give the female a better
chance to get food before the male chases her away.
I gave her some strained peas an hour ago, and now they are gone.
She must have eaten them.

Thanks again for your help, and for the web links.

I'm still learning.

Dave