Dangerously High Ammonia Levels! = (

[C_is_for_cichlid]

I have a 55 gallon with cichlids and they aren't doin too well. The ammonia level in my tank is way too high. I have heard so many different solutions, such as use a chemicals to lower he ammonia, and do water changes everyday. Then there are people who tell me not to use chemicals because they only make it worse. I want to do a water change but I don't want to loose the good bacteria and I don't want the nitrite levels to spike.

What should I do?

 

[*Fishkies*]

Your good bacteria is located in your filter and on your gravel. If you do a water change you will not lose all your bacteria. Doing a water change should help, sometimes checmicals often just make things worse. So go ahead and do a good water change.

What is your tap water ammonia reading?
How often have you done water changes before?

 

[C_is_for_cichlid]

I usually try and do a water change every month, but since I have been staying on campus at in the dorms at the university I go to I haven't done a water change in quite a while. I'm not really sure what the ammonia reading is for my tap water.

How much water do you think I should take out?
And how often?

 

[Amunet]

You need to be doing water changes every day or every other day depending on how many fish are in the tank.
You should be doing a couple of water changes every day though to get that ammonia as close to 0 as possible. Like do a 50% in the morning. Then do another at night.
And depending on how stocked the tank is... I would do either every day, or every other day water changes of about 20-50%. Depends on how many fish are in the tank and how quickly the ammonia builds up.
You need to keep the ammonia down as low as possible.
Do you know the nitrite reading? If the tank isn't cycled then you're gonna have to keep this up until it does. Or rehome the fish and do a fishless cycle

 

[*Fishkies*]

Well it would probably be best to do at least 35% water change as you say the ammonia is quite high. This should help bring it down. Also doing a water change at least twice a week. Changing your water also depends on how stocked you have your tank. Have you ever cycled your tank?




Good Luck!!

And to the forum!

 

[C_is_for_cichlid]

I have 2 6inch parrot cichlids, 2 5inch ....(I forgot what they're called I just call them mohawk fish), 1 2inch frontasa, 1 2inch red devil, 1 3inch livingston, a small pleco, and 2 catfish.

 

[*Fishkies*]

Okay so your tank seems to be okay stocking and size wise for now. I would suggest doing a 25% water change twice a week if you can. Once a week at the least, if you cannot afford the time to do twice a week. This will hopefully keep your levels down and in check. Just be sure that you keep on top of water changes and everything should be fine.

 

[C_is_for_cichlid]

do you think it would make it better if I put another filter in there?

 

[*Fishkies*]

What type of filter do you have in now?

 

[C_is_for_cichlid]

ummm... i think its one of those emperor filters 50- 60 gallons. And an undergravel filter

 

[Tolak]

When you stated that you do water changes once monthly, but have been busy at school I'm assuming you haven't done a water change in a few months. What you are dealing with now is referred to as old tank syndrome. The waste products that build up will usually drop your pH, and increase your hardness and TDS. This means the water in your tank could be way different from your tap water, and doing a large change could be very stressful, if not deadly for your fish.

I wouldn't do more than 10% to 15% daily, these daily water changes will acclimate your fish to your tap water gradually. Use a water conditioner that takes care of chlorine, chloramine, and ammonia, as chloramine is a combination of chlorine & ammonia. Feed 1/3 to 1/4 normal, less food means less waste.

Chemicals like Ammo-Lock that say they remove ammonia don't actually remove it, they convert ammonia to ammonium, a compound that is harmless to fish but used the same as ammonia by your bio filtration. Shops that do aquarium maintenance as part of their business use Ammo-Lock all the time, it is a good product.

After 5-7 days of the smaller water changes you can get on a schedule of doing weekly changes of 25%. What you really need to do is find out what is causing the ammonia reading. The most common ones are replacing filter media, or rinsing it in tap water, topping off with water that hasn't been treated, or overfeeding to the point that your bio filtration can't handle the extra ammonia produced by the rotting food.

 

[*Fishkies*]

So it's possibly an Emperor 400 or Emperor 280. If you can afford to add another filter that may be a better idea as Undergravel filters are not always the most efficient. Also overfiltering is always better then underfiltering. However you may want to look into just getting a Canister filter for you fish tank if you can afford one. They may be a bit more expensive but well worth it sometimes.

 

[C_is_for_cichlid]

I think the problem might be over feeding and the lack of water change. As you can see in the pic my parrot is very friendly and every time i walk by the tank he follows me waiting for me to feed him. so yeah, i usually feed my fish like everyday, and sometimes twice a day.... is that bad?

 

[*Fishkies*]

Depends how much you are feeding, like quantity wise. Some fish owners do 3 times a day, but with very small portions, some do once a day with one big portion. It also depends on the variety of food or what you are feeding to your fish.

Also need to take into consideration that these fish "we" keep are not in their natural habitats so they may not have as big a space as they would normally to "run" off this food. So therefore we do not need to feed them so much. The general rule is, as much as your fish can eat within 3mins. And if you do the rule of as much as your fish can eat within 3minutes, then I would feed twice a day.

 

[Tolak]

It depends on how much you are feeding them. A fish's stomach is around the size of its eye, if you are feeding more than that you are overfeeding. Also, as fish mature, especially larger cichlids, they can get by with less frequent feedings.

It's always better to underfeed than overfeed.