RedForeman,

If these fish were wild caught, what was their water like??? They were
probably 'born' in that water, so lets just guess that your water is
'better' than where they came from.... My first thought would be that
there's something missing in your water, or something added*(not by you)*
that _IS_ irritating them... what it is? Can't begin to answer that....

It always amazes me how crappy the water some of these fish can live in.
Then it was all the more surprising that they didn't like mine (of course,
initially that was before I knew about ammonia, etc.). The green sunfish in
particular are known for being able to live in very murky and polluted
water.

I'm all but convinced there is something in my water that they don't like.
The obvious irritation just after water changes indicates to me this is the
case. Flouride, rust, or something else--I just don't know.

Last but not least.... a tough one though... DOCs Disolved Organic
Compounds... With 125g, I'd lean towards the thought that there isn't much
DOC in the water, but since this is a relatively new tank, setup, etc...
and
not knowing the exact history, you might be spending more time and effort
on
chasing your water chemistry, and worrying that it's the water, when in
fact
it very well could be something that nobody's even touched yet....

You know, when I did my last water change, one of my decorations smelled
exactly like gasoline. The decoration was bought from PetSmart and I'd
certainly expect it to be okay but I took it out just the same. I don't know
if that's the type of thing you had in mind but I seriously doubt that was
the problem. I've had the decoration a while, even in a smaller tank that
didn't seem to bother the fish as much. Still, I'll probably keep it for a
while just in case I can see any signs of improvement.

With that being said, I wish I could help, but I'm probably overextending
my
knowledge as it is... I'm good with the basics, but your problem leaves me
wondering myself...

Yeah, well, it's good to talk about it and get a few ideas flowing. In the
end, I don't think anyone can say for sure what it is without some major
testing of my water. Which makes me wonder what options I may have for a
more thorough test. I'll continue to try some of the ideas discussed here
and see if anything seems to make a difference.

Thanks.

Jonathan