Help Fish Dying 'amonia'

[murrayslad]

HI all,got a serious amonia problem,5 dead fish in the last week,3 tiger barbs,1 pencil fish, 1 clown loach.been taking 1/3 of water out of tank every day,but cant seem to get amonia level down, its been at 8.0 all week. p.h. is 6.0. nitrate 5.0. nitrite 0. 156 litre tank. 3 clown loaches,1 plec,3 tiger barbs.3 tetras.2 albino corys.
need some advice on what im doing wrong,the tank has been running ok for 18 months.
tony.

 

[wolfwolf]

Any idea why the ammonia is so high? What chemicals do you use? Do you gravel vac when you do your water changes? Is your pH always so low?
What filter do you use and what media is in it? If I was you I would do a thorough tank cleaning. Next I would think about getting some zeolite to bring that ammonia down. Try more frequent water chnages but do a smaller %.



I added Bio Spira to my tank last night. I had anti-bacterial medication kill all of my beneficial bacteria. My tank was cycling again. I have nitrites showing up already so hopefully the Bio Spira is working.

 

[crazie.eddie]

Are you using well water or from a municipal water source? Some well water have been known to have ammonia. Test your tap water for ammonia.

Also, we need some tank history...

What size tank?

What type of equipment (filter, pumps, etc.)

How often do you perform gravel cleanings/water changes? How much water is removed?

How long have you had the fish in there?

Anything new added lately?

Any chemicals around the tank? Like is there anyone spraying for bugs or maybe accidentally put some floor cleaner (containing ammonia) on the tank, which accidentally spilled?

If your ammonia is still high after several days and if your tap water does not contain any ammonia, I would place the fish in a bowl of clean, warm water with put some Seachem Prime. Then rinse out the tank, thoroughly, including all equipment, decor, etc. Then add the water back in, add some Prime and let the water reach the correct temp. Then add the fish back again.

 

[Underwurlde]

Crikey! Sorry to hear that. Nasty!

Yes, test your tap water!

Andy

 

[murrayslad]

hi all, amonia still high,started using amonia remover (interpet),doesn,t seem to be making much difference.
tested tap water,zero amonia. tank size is 156 litres,aqua one with top filtration,I do a water change every 7-10 days,about 25-30 %,and gravel clean.
tha tank has been running for 18 months,the tiger barbs that died have been in there since day one.
the filter and ceramic stones dont seem to have any bacteria life in them any more,must be due to the amonia,and the water seems to scum up on the
surface,also slightly cloudy.
just tested the water.
p.h 6.0
nitrate. 0
nitrite. 0
amonia. 4.0
tap water amonia.0

 

[Underwurlde]

Sounds to me like there is something in there rotting?!?!?

Andy

 

[wolfwolf]

Have you tested your tap water for nitrate? I am suprised that your tank is at 0. My tap water is usually 5-10. Are you using API liquids for testing?

Your ammonia was at 8.0 now it is 4.0. I would say that Interpret did something.

Has your pH been at 6.0 for the last 18 months?

Add an air stone and check for rotting stuff like Underwurlde said.

Personaly I would add zeolite into my filter and get the ammonia down. Then I would add Bio Spira, but that bacteria in a bag is a hot topic on this forum.

I would also beg for Wilder's help.

 

[afishdude]

did you replace or clean the media lately?

your tank is overstocked, which could be leading to the problem. plecos and clown loaches are big wast producers.
do you know what type of pleco you have? and did you know that clown loaches get to 12-14" long and need a 75g min for a shoal.

maby moving some of the big wast producers? that surly will help your ammonia out a bit..

and nitrates being at 0 is almost unheard of and is very unusual. what test kit are you using?

 

[shang hi]

i agree with underwurlde, with the water changes the amonia musent be that high, unless... have you used antibiotics or have you washed your media in "clean water" not in tank water because if you have the bacteria count will of dramaticly been reduced. you said you were using amonia remover, not the best thing to do as it prohibits the reproduction the the filter bacteria, i would suggest if any remover amo-lock by API and then use Stress Zyme the add more filter bacteria and speed up the reproduction of the benaficial filter bacteria. keep withh the water changes untill you get it under countral and look for and missing fish.
good luck with it all
shang hi

 

[Neo8223]

I once scrwed up and replaced a filter without cycling it. I did 50% water changes every half a day, for about a week. I also got some of my dads filter media and it worked a treat. Only the first few fish died. As long as you put water which is roughly the same temperature as the fish tanks temperature and treat it with aqua safe etc etc, then it'll really cut back your ammonia. After a while tho, reduce the amount of water changes you do as you want the ammonia eating bacteria to develop.