Fish Dying

[SharonCC]

I woudn't euthanize the catfish just yet. My UDC was very ill two weeks ago. It wasn't due to Ammonia...possibly infection, but they are tough little fish. Mine was laying on his side, and gasping. Also thrashing and spinning. After antibiotics, he's now swimming happily around, eating everything in sight. I know you don't have the same problem, and Ammonia poisoning is terrible for fish, but again, they seem to be tough little guys. Give him awhile...he may surprise you, after you get the water sorted. You're going to have to test everyday, and keep Ammonia and Nitrites below .5ppm. There is a product called AmmoLock that I've seen recommended...it binds the Ammonia(I think!) into a non toxic form that still feeds the bacteria...

 

[Jrmnutra]

I woudn't euthanize the catfish just yet. My UDC was very ill two weeks ago. It wasn't due to Ammonia...possibly infection, but they are tough little fish. Mine was laying on his side, and gasping. Also thrashing and spinning. After antibiotics, he's now swimming happily around, eating everything in sight. I know you don't have the same problem, and Ammonia poisoning is terrible for fish, but again, they seem to be tough little guys. Give him awhile...he may surprise you, after you get the water sorted. You're going to have to test everyday, and keep Ammonia and Nitrites below .5ppm. There is a product called AmmoLock that I've seen recommended...it binds the Ammonia(I think!) into a non toxic form that still feeds the bacteria...

I have ammo Lock and I was using it for a bit but I stopped in favor of the filters in the Fluval. Any suggestions what Is better?

 

[kevinthecow]

Soz, but dojos dont grow 4"..

I got like, three dojos and they can get up to around, i think 10-6"s.
Mine are pretty good sized, very active.



-- HINT : You will have to rehome your tank soon. -i will too, xD (Bala shark, three dojos.)

 

[SharonCC]

I woudn't euthanize the catfish just yet. My UDC was very ill two weeks ago. It wasn't due to Ammonia...possibly infection, but they are tough little fish. Mine was laying on his side, and gasping. Also thrashing and spinning. After antibiotics, he's now swimming happily around, eating everything in sight. I know you don't have the same problem, and Ammonia poisoning is terrible for fish, but again, they seem to be tough little guys. Give him awhile...he may surprise you, after you get the water sorted. You're going to have to test everyday, and keep Ammonia and Nitrites below .5ppm. There is a product called AmmoLock that I've seen recommended...it binds the Ammonia(I think!) into a non toxic form that still feeds the bacteria...

I have ammo Lock and I was using it for a bit but I stopped in favor of the filters in the Fluval. Any suggestions what Is better?

I'd use the Ammolock only as a last resort....I hate adding chemicals to the tank. I'd concentrate on lots of water changes to keep levels below .5ppm. You do need to rehome some of those fish, and if you do it now, your problem will resolve...

 

[Jrmnutra]

I woudn't euthanize the catfish just yet. My UDC was very ill two weeks ago. It wasn't due to Ammonia...possibly infection, but they are tough little fish. Mine was laying on his side, and gasping. Also thrashing and spinning. After antibiotics, he's now swimming happily around, eating everything in sight. I know you don't have the same problem, and Ammonia poisoning is terrible for fish, but again, they seem to be tough little guys. Give him awhile...he may surprise you, after you get the water sorted. You're going to have to test everyday, and keep Ammonia and Nitrites below .5ppm. There is a product called AmmoLock that I've seen recommended...it binds the Ammonia(I think!) into a non toxic form that still feeds the bacteria...

I have ammo Lock and I was using it for a bit but I stopped in favor of the filters in the Fluval. Any suggestions what Is better?

I'd use the Ammolock only as a last resort....I hate adding chemicals to the tank. I'd concentrate on lots of water changes to keep levels below .5ppm. You do need to rehome some of those fish, and if you do it now, your problem will resolve...

OK The Fish is still alive but hes struggling bad. Gasping for air, Hardly moving at all!
I did a 50% water Change. I had 3 bags of Fluval Zero Carb in the Filter. I took out 2 of them and I left one. I think taking them out may be a bad idea because amonia levels are soo high that Im sure there is enough ammonia to create the cycle but I did it anyway. I also added Stress Coat and Tetra Safe Start Good bacteria to the water after the water change.

Water Levels before the Water change were
PH 7.0
Nitrite - .5ppm
Ammonia - Higher than 8ppm. Water in test kit test tube turned dark Greenish Blue.
Nitrate - 10ppm

I only checked ammonia after the water change and it was still high. What do I do?

This is all actually fairly decent news because although the levels are still bad I can tell you that the NItrate and Nitrite were zero before and now they are going up. That means the tank is cycling if I am correct?

My plan is to leave the catfish alone for now. As for the overstocking issue I dont know what to do. I dont plan on buying larger tank right now and I have no where to put the fish. I also did not have problems until recently. I have another tank but its a small 10 Gallon and I have a Small Mini Puffer in there. If I take a fish from the larger tank the Puffer would surely attack it! If any suggestions as to which fish may not get attached by the puffer let me know.

 

[paul123]

mhmm




bad news

 

[SharonCC]

Am I understanding...you've done a 50% water change, and Ammonia is still 8ppm??? Another water change is in order, and another a few hours later, and another a few hours later...You have to get that level down to at least .5ppm....

 

[rabbut]

The ammolock is better than the ammonia removing filters. The ammonia removing filters starve the filter bacteria, stopping the cycle from working. When they get saturated, they stop working. In turn this will lead to a killossal ammonia spike Another case of poor advise from the LFS. They will sell you anything that gets you to go back there regularly, as that generates more revenue for the owner. My experience with Tetra safestart is that it is a waste of money, as it does not work. By all means try it now you have it, but don't expect it to work any miricles for you

The large fish have to go. They will become an issue if they aren't the issue already, cleaning out the tank for you. If you don't have a suitably large tank for them, it's LFS time again, they will have to re-sell them for you on your behalf. The quicker you get shot of them the better as far as the current situation goes. I know as keepers we get attached to our fish, and re-homing them is tough, but it is something you must do for their welfare

Ammolock converts ammonia to ammonium, which is about as toxic as nitrate i.e. not very This is a "quick fix" solution to the issue of a cycle and does nothing for the following nitrite spike, but it can give the fish temperary relief from ammonia's effects. Salt is good also in a cycle, as it reduces nitrite toxidity. Once the cycle is done though, you should discontinue use, as many research papers have surgested that it has very bad in long-term use, as it increases osmosis pressure on the fishes internal and exturnal organs and control processes. Short-term during a cycle, salt good. Long-term health tonic, salt bad

With ammonia up, do another large (as close to 100% as possible) waterchange to check it. If you can, get some ammolock in this situation, as that ammonia spike needs to be controlled to keep the fish alive.

On a side note, are you shure the kit is fine? Could you take a sample to the LFS tomorrow to compair results? If so, make shure they use a liguid or tablet based kit, not strips, and most importantly get them to write numbers down don't accept "it's fine" as your results, as what they call fine will be like ifinate ammonia, nitrite or nitrate levels if the rest of their advise is anything to go on

All the best
Rabbut