Hello,

[jags78]

hi everyone im jags, i have just had a 65litre tank for over 3months, i have lost a few fish in there as i carnt get my amonia levels down,iv just been and got some special blend (very smelly stuff) and am going to try that, i would love for my tank to get nice and full with fish but its abit empty but i wont get anymore till i get the water sorted out,

i am a complete newbie to tropical fish, but i am really getting into it and dont want to lose anymore fish as i feel horrible

im not good with the names at all so am learning but i have a few diff coloured neons,i had some small catfish and some dwarf gold ones,(sorry said im not good with the names )

im trying to do everything what i need to but the levels are still high,

any advice would be most welcome, and i have been reading this forum with great interest

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum!!

Right three months and your still having problems with ammonia wow that is an issue. First off which test kit are you using? And what kind of filter?

How many fish do you have in total? Do you have sand or gravel for the bottom? If your not sure of your fishes names take some pictures of them for us and post them on here and we will be able to work out what you have. But for now how many fish in total do you have?

For there to be ammonia there must be a source, so for example in the start up of a tank you would have the fish poo but after three months the filter should have taken care of it by now which would make me think that you have something rotting in the tank, maybe like a dead fish or some dead plants or if you have sand in your tank maybe some of its gone off and caused the spike?

Sorry for all the questions but just so we can work out how best to help please try to answer all of them

Wills

 

[jags78]

will answer your ques when i get back from the school run and get some pics for you, thanks very much

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, hi there! Wills will get you going, great advice! Pay particular attention to learning about good test kits and what they can tell you. Study up on the Nitrogen Cycle - there are 3 articles in our Beginners Resource Center: The Nitrogen Cycle, the Fishless Cycle and The Fish-In Cycle. At this late stage its more that you just need to -understand- this more than doing it from scratch. Then, also learn about the gravel-clean-water-change (or sometimes we call it substrate-clean when you have sand) as this is the fundamental tool you have in the aquarium (in a sense its more about keeping water prior to keeping fish, lol.) Another detail after you learn about test kits will be to measure your source water and see what's coming in with it, if anything. Good luck!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Harlequins]

HI &

 

[jags78]

hi, i did a really big reply and then timed out!! iv been away this weekend, so here go again.....

the filter is a HAILER HL-400, i gopt it with the tank, and am happy to change if its not a good enough one,i have done a few gravel hoovers where lots of stuff floats about but the filter seems cleans it all,

iv counted about 14 neons (small diff colours) and i have a bigger blue fish (i had 2 but it died very quickly) its gravel at the bottom,

i have done a few water changes and the last water change was a big one and i washed everything with treated water,

i had a few more fish ioncluding 2 small catfish, and 4 dwarf gold ones that have just disappeared, i found the catfish and removed one and the remains of the other

the plants are not real,and i am not over feeding them, iv been getting the water tested at my local petshop,

heres some pics not very good as off my fone...

sorry about spelling im trying to do it befo i time out again

its a HAILEA filter, and also the pics are pretty rubbish sorry guys

 

[Ashley1991]

when you say cleaned everything does that include the filter media?

ash

 

[jags78]

hiya yes i got oh to clean it and have a look at it to see if it was in working order, it was cleaned with the water that i took out of the tank, was that the right thing to do?

2 neons have died and the bigger one isnt looking to good, i carnt see any white spot on it, its just at the top of the water alot,

i had the water tested again and my ph and ammonia is high although the ammonia isnt as high as it has been,

iv been adviused to do some small water changes this week and then to go back with another sample,

its driving me mad, i thought i was doing everything right, but i just carnt seem to get the water right,

 

[Wills]

Hi, if the ammonia is high that is probably whats killing your fish. As said by your shop water changes are the best way to go but do about 40% rather than small ones that should balance out the effects of the water on your fish and still feed the filter.

I would buy your own test kit like the API water test kit not the strips as they are unreliable at the best of times.

If you keep the water changes up over time your filter will develop the bacteria and it will run as it should supporting your fish etc but it will take a few weeks to settle down again.

Wills