Alot Of Questions! Amonia, Goldennugget Pleco, Plants!

[Goldylocspleco]

Hi everybody,

The tank is a 240l tank, and at the moment it is the home to the following

3 red rainbow fish, 4 dwarf cichlids, 6 neon tetras, 1 Adonis pleco (dont worry i will get a bigger tank when required), 2 synodontis catfish, 3 ghost catfish which I inherited and are 3 years old. And finally 1 Golden Nugget Pleco....

I have had my tank for about 10 weeks now and it was going well until the last week or so, I decided to gravel vac my tank... I had always had amonia levels of about 0.25 and just could not get rid of it so i was water changing every 2 days and adding nutrafin cycle to my tank. But i think i must have taken all the good bacteria out of my gravel as now my amonia level has vaired from 2.5 back down to 1 and now 3 again when i tested today. Anybody have any suggestions of how i can reduce this quikly? And also why I could never get rid of that 0.25 amonia level.... The steps i have taken so far is to add 10ml of filter starter, add more plants and finally continue with my water changes 2 - 3 times a week and adding about 10-15ml of Nutrafin cycle each time. This is my main problem.... Any help would be very much appreciated.

And now my next problem. As i said above i have the Goldennugget Pleco (AKA goldylocs). I brought him about 3 weeks ago now, on the same day as i brought my Adonis pleco. At first he was the more lively of the 2 and i would sometimes catch him out at night when i turned the room light on, although he would soon hide when i did this. But now i must have not have seen him out for at least 1 week. Whereas the Adonis pleco is becoming more confident and coming out to feed in the light. They both hide in a large helicopter with the catfish and are very hard to view. So anyway my worries are; could my goldennugget pleco be sick from the increase in amonia? Is it possible he just doesnt want to come out now because i kept turning my room light on so i could get a sneak peak at him? Does he not like the food i feed my tank ( for him catfish sinking pellets, and algae wafers )? Or any other?

And fianlly some of the plants in my tank with large leaves are starting to brown at the tips, could this relate to my amonia problem? The plants get 8 hours of aqaurium light a day, however i think i maybe had over oxygenated my tank so i have reduced this now..

Sorry for the long post, and sorry if it is in the wrong place.It is my first post here. I have read this forum throughout my aqaurium life and you have all been very helpful so thankyou!

Goldylocs x

 

[indigoj]

You need to water change at least 50% daily as a minimum if you have ammonia present.

You need to take the adonis back - they reach close to 4ft.

Gold Nuggets are very shy but yes he and the other fish are probably suffering ammonia poisoning.

How (exactly) did you cycle your tank? It sounds very much like it has never fully cycled.

What filtration do you have?

Filter start and cycle are a waste of money - what dechlorinator do you use?

Have you tested your tap water?

 

[Haych]

i just found out golden nugget plecs like to eat meat too, i did the same lol but he doesnt like algaoe wafers

 

[Goldylocspleco]

Hi, thankyou for your replys,

Indigoj, I was under the impression that I should not water change more than 20% at a time because it will stress my fish, is this a load of rubbish? I was planning on buying about a 600l tank in 2 years or so when i move house, will this be big enough for my adonis? When i cycled my tank i ofcourse filled it and was told to add 0 chemicles at this point ant to just let it happen, after 3 days i added like 3 plants to add bacteria, and then about 1 week later i aqdded 3 rainbow fish as i was told that these were especially hardy fish. Then after about 3 weeks i added the 2 plecos...

I think the filter i use is a 'box filter' the filter is built into the side of the tank and consists of a large sponge, then a box of white stones, then 3 other sponges and a cotton wool type material at the top. Dechlorinator? Im not sure i know what this i? i do also add some Re-mineral tropic to my tap water before adding it to my tank, this was only however to raise the PH from 6 up to 7ish, is this dechlorinator? And yes i have tested the tap water and it seems fine.

Haych, how did you manage to get the live foods to the bottom of the tank without it being eaten by everything else but the pleco? I have frozen foods before but they never make it to the bottom of the tank.

I get all my fish from the same place, and the guy knows all about my tank, problems, fish , size, etc etc. However he tells me such things as ' yeh sure the adonis will be fine' and he tests my water and finds an amonia level and still sells me the fish. It is a proper shop dedicated to fish, but is this guy just leading me on and taking my money? 'Yeh you need nutrafin cycle, you need this, this and this' , none of which apparently work.

Any input from anybody else would ofcourse be appreciated. Thankyou indigoj and haych, goldylocs and my other fish are happy for your help!

Goldylocs x

 

[indigoj]

OK, go to the beginners section and read about cycling - your tank has never been properly cycled so that is why you have ammonia. Unfortunately you are now cycling with fish which is bad for them but most of us started this way due to LFS (local fish shop) bad advice. Remember they want your money, we want to help you have healthy fish.

You need a liquid test kit like the API and to test your water yourself. Believe me you'll need it.

Dechlorinator removes chlorine etc from tap water to make it safe for fish - I use seachem prime but there are lots of other brands.

While you have ammonia you need to do 50% water change every day - more if the ammonia reading is at 0.5 or more - you can do for example 2x50% changes. The ammonia is worse for the fish than the water changes. Expect this to be for about 2-6 weeks - you need to keep it up until you have zero ammonia and zero nitrIte.

An adonis plec is going to need a 10ftx4ft tank as an adult. To be honest I really would return it. If you like spotty plecs there are smaller black plecs with white spots you can get in the future. Maybe swap him for the test kit?

Right now, don't add ANY fish, concentrate on water changes, read the excellent 'fish-in' cycle articles on here and ask as many questions as you need.

Oh, be aware your Gold Nugget may not survive the exposure to ammonia - they can be very sensitive and are not good fish for a fish in cycle. He might make it - but you really need to keep on top of the water.

Oh and don't mess with your ph - you don't need to.

 

[River Dog]

I concur 100% with Indigo, your tank sounds as though it has never completed its cycle. The Adonis is far too large at adult size. Gold Nuggets are very sensitive to ammonia, nitrite and high nitrate levels, and are a naturally shy fish, that souldn't be kept in an unestablished tank. The advice from indigo is spot on, take that advice and good luck with your tank.

 

[Goldylocspleco]

Thankyou again for the help,

Today I did 2x 40% water changes, and when i last checked my amonia levels it has come down to 0.5. I tested this about 2hours after my change i don't know if that is to soon to check however? That is the longest i could leave it to check due to work, I will return on Tuesday and do the same water change again. I will also invest in some dechlorinator as soon as possible. And again i will take your advice and i guess i will have to return Mr. Big Dogs ( my Adonis pleco ). I have got a liquid test kit already so all my results are more or less accurate readings.

Hope you don't all think i have been irressponsible with my tank, i just did what the LFS told me was ok and i presumed they followed the book of how to keep healthy fish. But now it seems the only book they followed is the book of how to sell as much as possible in the shortist amount of time to a customer.

Please all pray for Goldylocs ( My goldennugget pleco ), and i will keep you posted as to the progress i hopefully make, and if my fishies make it out alive.

Indigoj you have been a great help and could be responsible for saving the life of my fish, I hope you are!!! So a huge thankyou to you, regardless of the eventual outcome. Although everything is going to be just fine!!!

Goldylocs x

 

[indigoj]

Don't think you've been irresponsible - just had bad advice from the LFS - that's pretty normal sadly.

Anyway - you are trying to fix it and that is what matters