High Amonia Levels

The December FOTM Contest Poll is open!
FishForums.net Fish of the Month
🏆 Click to vote! 🏆

pchoina

New Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2013
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Location
US
Hey all,
 
I started my tank up about 2 months ago with everything going normal. The past few days I have noticed a huge increase in the amount of amonia. Four of my fish have died in the past 24 hours.
 
A little about the tank set up. It's a 36 gallon tank, using two Magnium 200 bio wheel filter. Both are using filter cartridges and behind the cartridge is a media bag (one filled with API AmmoChips, the other with Marineland Activeated Carbon). The tank has 3 common plecos (each about an inch), a 1 inch albino pleco, a 3 inch rhino pleco, 3 inch sail fin pleco, 3 1.5 inch swordtails (had 4, one died), 5 .5-.75 inch guppies ( had 8, 3 died). 3 mollies about 1.5 inches each, and two plattys about 1.25 inches.
 
The ph has been steady at 7.2. There was a huge spike in nitrates and nitrites the past few days as well, but those went back down to 0 ppm after a 50% water change.
 
I tried using API Ammo-Lock, and I know this only detoxifys doesn't remove.
 
Currently using the API freshwater master kit and the color shows up as a dark teal color. This isn't even on the color chart for the test. After the water change the amonia didn't change one bit. I've checked with multiple pet stores and they have no clue whats wrong. Feeding has been cut down to practically nothing as well.
 
Weekly I have been adding API's Stress Zyme and Stress Coat. Also there are no plants in the tank.
 
Any help would be awesome as I don't want to lose any more of my fish.
 
First of all, your tank is over stocked and most (if not all) of those plecos are not suitable for a tank your size. I would recommend rehoming all of them. The common plecos get to about a foot when they're full grown and so does the sail fin pleco and (I think) the rhino pleco. Unless you can ID the albino pleco it will have to go aswell. 
If you must have a pleco then get a bristlenose pleco or a school of otocinclus (these aren't a pleco but they do eat algae).
 
What sex are the guppies, mollies, platies and sword tails? If there are male and female of each then you will quickly become over run with fry.
 
Was the tank cycled? If so, how did you cycle it?
 
Don't bother with carbon and ammo lock, they're a waste of money (unless you have medication you need to get rid of which is when you use the carbon). 
Do have a sponge or ceramic rings (or similar) in your filters?
If you don't have anything other than the carbon and ammo lock then don't remove them as they will contain your beneficial bacteria.
How do you clean your filter?
 
Lastly, have you added/removed/changed anything in your tank recently?
 
Answering these questions will help us to pin point what has gone wrong.
In the meantime, perform daily water changes of 70% making sure you use a dechlorinater and match the temperature to the temp in the water.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top