marcybeth0281
Fish Fanatic
Hi there. Any help would be appreciated.
I have an established 46-gallon tank. Had it for over 2 years and have had all levels perfect after cycling initially. For the past 3 months I have had extreme problems with ammonia levels. It started 3 months ago when an otherwise healthy platy just died. I checked the levels and the ammonia was absurdly high. Ever since then, no matter how many water changes we do, what products we put in, how little we feed the fish.... the ammonia is out of control. Yesterday a bristlenose pleco and rasbora died. So I'm here. It's out of control.
Left in the tank: 1 pearl gourami, 2 bristlenose plecos (1 is on his death bed), 4 rasboras, 4 tetras, 4 hatchets.
Current readings:
Ammonia: 1.5ppm
Nitrate: 10-20ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
PH: 7.2
Temp: 78 degrees
Last night we did a 40% water change because the ammonia level was up to 3ppm. The fish had a starve night the night before, so I fed them lightly and most all were eating fine. The plecos refused their wafers. But up to this point, all through the 3 months of hellious ammonia, all the fish were eating fine. No flashing, no jumping, no sense of discomfort AT ALL. It's so bizarre. My feeding pattern is as follows: I do a 3 day rotation, first night is some bloodworms and flake food, second night is just flake food and wafers for plecos, third night is starve night. Then I repeat. Every week the fish get 2 zuchinni circles. Since the ammonia spike began, I cut WAY back on the food to see if it was overfeeding, but the levels didn't change really. We have been doing weekly water changes of 40% (we were doing them more rapidly when the problem began....trying to rid the tank of the ammonia). The only chemical I use is stress coat to condition the water. I don't use carbon - just a sponge for biological filtration.
The ONLY thing that has been different the past 2 days is that I (reluctantly) bought some Ammo-lock to see if it would cure the problem, at least temporarily. I used it, the ammonia readings were no better.... I used it again, and still, no better. I'm at a loss. HELP!
I have an established 46-gallon tank. Had it for over 2 years and have had all levels perfect after cycling initially. For the past 3 months I have had extreme problems with ammonia levels. It started 3 months ago when an otherwise healthy platy just died. I checked the levels and the ammonia was absurdly high. Ever since then, no matter how many water changes we do, what products we put in, how little we feed the fish.... the ammonia is out of control. Yesterday a bristlenose pleco and rasbora died. So I'm here. It's out of control.
Left in the tank: 1 pearl gourami, 2 bristlenose plecos (1 is on his death bed), 4 rasboras, 4 tetras, 4 hatchets.
Current readings:
Ammonia: 1.5ppm
Nitrate: 10-20ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
PH: 7.2
Temp: 78 degrees
Last night we did a 40% water change because the ammonia level was up to 3ppm. The fish had a starve night the night before, so I fed them lightly and most all were eating fine. The plecos refused their wafers. But up to this point, all through the 3 months of hellious ammonia, all the fish were eating fine. No flashing, no jumping, no sense of discomfort AT ALL. It's so bizarre. My feeding pattern is as follows: I do a 3 day rotation, first night is some bloodworms and flake food, second night is just flake food and wafers for plecos, third night is starve night. Then I repeat. Every week the fish get 2 zuchinni circles. Since the ammonia spike began, I cut WAY back on the food to see if it was overfeeding, but the levels didn't change really. We have been doing weekly water changes of 40% (we were doing them more rapidly when the problem began....trying to rid the tank of the ammonia). The only chemical I use is stress coat to condition the water. I don't use carbon - just a sponge for biological filtration.
The ONLY thing that has been different the past 2 days is that I (reluctantly) bought some Ammo-lock to see if it would cure the problem, at least temporarily. I used it, the ammonia readings were no better.... I used it again, and still, no better. I'm at a loss. HELP!