Ammonia level won’t go down. Please help

[Angrybeaver]

Thank you. The ammo lock I added after the partial water change. I am still trying to understand this. I only did 30% water change on Thursday. Last Wednesday I did 50%. If I keep doing water changes, how will the tank keep BB in it? I use water conditioner in the new water and let it sit overnight before adding to the tank. I don’t understand what I am doing wrong with all the water changes, I don’t understand how the cycle will ever be complete. Also, seems after the water change, the water looks a bit cloudy. If this is normal, and having to do water changes so often, I assume, I will never see a very clear tank. I have 6 glo tetras. 4 glo danios, and 4 glo barbs. So much I feel like I am struggling with in trying to understand how to keep my fish and tank healthy. What am I doing wrong!?

Your tank seems borderline overstocked. to me.

6 tetra x 2.5" each = 15"
4 danios x 3" = 12"
4 barbs x 3" = 12"

That ia 39" of fish in a 36 gallon tank. So even when your biofilter is fully established you will still need to be doing extra water changes.

 

[Rocky998]

Your tank seems borderline overstocked. to me.

6 tetra x 2.5" each = 15"
4 danios x 3" = 12"
4 barbs x 3" = 12"

That ia 39" of fish in a 36 gallon tank. So even when your biofilter is fully established you will still need to be doing extra water changes.

This is the inch per gallon rule being mis-interpreted. The rule is: "One inch of torpedo shaped fish per gallon". The rule doesnt include fish over an inch. So you cant say a 5 inch pleco can live in a 5 gallon tank. That doesnt work. Honestly, he is under-stocked but right now his tank isnt established to where he can have a full bio-load of fish in there. And after his tank can handle the bio load, I would reccomend just keeping two types of schooling fish and then getting more of those two types.

 

[Byron]

Your tank seems borderline overstocked. to me.

6 tetra x 2.5" each = 15"
4 danios x 3" = 12"
4 barbs x 3" = 12"

That ia 39" of fish in a 36 gallon tank. So even when your biofilter is fully established you will still need to be doing extra water changes.

This points out a problem with how many in the hobby look at stocking. It is often in terms of fish mass to water volume, which is how the "inch per gallon/liter" idea got started. In the vast majority of cases, it is not any where near adequate. For example, in the present situation where the aquarist has (or had) 6 tetra, 4 danios, 4 barbs, this tank was not so much overstocked as incorrectly stocked, and the fish just from the numbers will not be in good condition. These three fish need a group of the species, and the group should be in the neighbourhood of 10 fish of the species, not 4 or 5 or 6 or whatever, if the fish are to be in the best environment. Obviously there is not sufficient space for all these, so the "stocking" problem is the wrong species, not just the fish mass.

 

[Essjay]

The rule is: "One inch of torpedo shaped fish per gallon"

Actually it's "one inch of torpedo shaped fish which grow no larger than 3 inches, per gallon".

But it's still not a very good rule.

 

[Rocky998]

Actually it's "one inch of torpedo shaped fish which grow no larger than 3 inches, per gallon".

But it's still not a very good rule.

I always leave that part out ... Thank you Essjay!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

How'd this old thread get bumped anyway? Way too long to read through, but I got a notification so must have commented in it