My filter broke, help!

[tallentemma]

Here's the results I got after testing the water. Are these acceptable ranges?? The ammonia vile has the tiniest tinge of green but even when my tank was cycled the yellow had always looked like that. Should I do another water change??

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Here's the results I got after testing the water. Are these acceptable ranges?? The ammonia vile has the tiniest tinge of green but even when my tank was cycled the yellow had always looked like that. Should I do another water change??

It's really hard to tell from a photo, but it looks okay to me. I'd leave it for tonight and test again in the morning. Remember to keep feeding light, more food in means more waste out and higher ammonia, and most of us tend to overfeed our fish. Gotta keep it light while the tank is cycling

 

[tallentemma]

It's really hard to tell from a photo, but it looks okay to me. I'd leave it for tonight and test again in the morning. Remember to keep feeding light, more food in means more waste out and higher ammonia, and most of us tend to overfeed our fish. Gotta keep it light while the tank is cycling

Gotcha! Thanks so much for all the help. I'll be sure to feed as light as I can. I'll update if there's any change, good or bad.

 

[tallentemma]

My fish has been doing a lot of bottom sitting today. I did another water change this morning . Idk if that was too much?? Or my fish is still reacting to the ammonia poisoning it has currently?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

My fish has been doing a lot of bottom sitting today. I did another water change this morning . Idk if that was too much?? Or my fish is still reacting to the ammonia poisoning it has currently?

You can't really water change too much. As long as it's the same source water, warmed to match the temp of the tank and you used declorinator, it wasn't the water change.

What are your water test results now?
@Ch4rlie you're the cycling man! Help please

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sorry if this is an obvious question for you, , did you cycle the tank ?
If so, how did you cycle the tank?

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

I only ask since there is little nitrate, between 0 and 5ppm, normally one would expect more nitrite than this but since you’ve just done a water change that could just be the nitrate form your tap water.

So am a little uncertain at this point until you tell me how long this tank has been running, what stock you have and how you cycled the tank.l, the more info, the better.

All these questions helps build a mental picture of where your tank is exactly and what could be the issue if there is any.

 

[tallentemma]

Sorry if this is an obvious question for you, , did you cycle the tank ?
If so, how did you cycle the tank?

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

I only ask since there is little nitrate, between 0 and 5ppm, normally one would expect more nitrite than this but since you’ve just done a water change that could just be the nitrate form your tap water.

So am a little uncertain at this point until you tell me how long this tank has been running, what stock you have and how you cycled the tank.l, the more info, the better.

All these questions helps build a mental picture of where your tank is exactly and what could be the issue if there is any.

Hey! Thanks for the response. I think I'm currently going through a mini cycle?? Although I'm unsure at this point. I've had this 20 gallon tank for about 3 to 4 months and it fully cycled at 2 months. Unfortunately the filter broke and I had to replace it. Small amounts of ammonia started to show and when my fancy goldfish(just 1 goldfish in the 20 gal) started to show ammonia poison symptoms I hopped on here for advice. Previously before gaining advice on the 20 gallon, I was changing the water everyday but would leave a little bit of ammonia because I read somewhere that that's what you do in a fish in cycle. I now do water changes where no ammonia is present. I hope this helps with the visuals

 

[tallentemma]

You can't really water change too much. As long as it's the same source water, warmed to match the temp of the tank and you used declorinator, it wasn't the water change.

What are your water test results now?
@Ch4rlie you're the cycling man! Help please

Everything is 0. I tested the ph and I believe its inbetween 6.4 and 6.8. It was always like that in the 20 gallon but now I'm a bit concerned if that's where the stress is stemming from.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Everything is 0. I tested the ph and I believe its inbetween 6.4 and 6.8. It was always like that in the 20 gallon but now I'm a bit concerned if that's where the stress is stemming from.

What was always like that in the 20 gallon, the pH? You mean you think the pH is what is causing the stress?

The ammonia was causing the stress I'm pretty sure. There was readable ammonia until yesterday, and the fish had blood streaks which are caused by ammonia, it may take some time with clean water and zero ammonia for him to recover.

 

[Ch4rlie]

That give a better picture of what’s happening so far.

When the filter broke, am assuming you replaced it with a new filter, did you add all the old filter media from the old filter to the new filter?

And with the new filter, is it agitating the water surface, making ripples?
This is needed to help the bacteria as oxygen exchange is important for both the bb and the goldfish, both need oxygen to develop.

I understand where you’re coming from when you say you need ammonia for the cycle, this is true to a certain extent, definitely true for fishless cycles as normally 3ppm of ammonia is added for feeding the bb.

But for a fish in cycle or a mini cycle, not so much as ammonia is naturally occurring from the goldfish itself by simply breathing and of course poops.

So therefore it’s a slower process to build up the bb numbers back to their normal numbers to deal with the bio load from the goldfish as is much, much lower compared to fishless cycle ammonia at 3ppm.

Ammonia is the most toxic out of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in that order for the goldfish, so anytime you see 0.25ppm or above of ammonia, do a water change as this damages the fishes organs and gills.

But anyway, keeping a good eye on the water parameters and doing water changes as soon as you see any readings for ammonia and possibly nitrite.

Good water quality is the best treatment for your goldfish’s ammonia burns, he/she will recover but takes a little time.

Keep up the good work with the water changes and tests, you’ll get there very soon hopefully.

 

[tallentemma]

What was always like that in the 20 gallon, the pH? You mean you think the pH is what is causing the stress?

The ammonia was causing the stress I'm pretty sure. There was readable ammonia until yesterday, and the fish had blood streaks which are caused by ammonia, it may take some time with clean water and zero ammonia for him to recover.

Sorry if I wasnt very clear yes I meant the ph. I'll try to be more patient with the fish's recovery

 

[tallentemma]

That give a better picture of what’s happening so far.

When the filter broke, am assuming you replaced it with a new filter, did you add all the old filter media from the old filter to the new filter?

And with the new filter, is it agitating the water surface, making ripples?
This is needed to help the bacteria as oxygen exchange is important for both the bb and the goldfish, both need oxygen to develop.

I understand where you’re coming from when you say you need ammonia for the cycle, this is true to a certain extent, definitely true for fishless cycles as normally 3ppm of ammonia is added for feeding the bb.

But for a fish in cycle or a mini cycle, not so much as ammonia is naturally occurring from the goldfish itself by simply breathing and of course poops.

So therefore it’s a slower process to build up the bb numbers back to their normal numbers to deal with the bio load from the goldfish as is much, much lower compared to fishless cycle ammonia at 3ppm.

Ammonia is the most toxic out of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in that order for the goldfish, so anytime you see 0.25ppm or above of ammonia, do a water change as this damages the fishes organs and gills.

But anyway, keeping a good eye on the water parameters and doing water changes as soon as you see any readings for ammonia and possibly nitrite.

Good water quality is the best treatment for your goldfish’s ammonia burns, he/she will recover but takes a little time.

Keep up the good work with the water changes and tests, you’ll get there very soon hopefully.

Thank you for the information! I'll be sure to keep a close eye on my parameters, fish, and and so on. I think I have enough flow?? I have a sponge filter on one end of the tank and the aqua clear filter on the other end. It's flow is on the highest.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Sorry if I wasnt very clear yes I meant the ph. I'll try to be more patient with the fish's recovery

No worries! I'm not sure about the pH, @Ch4rlie will know more I'm sure. If the pH has stayed the same though, she's probably used to that pH and not causing the stress now, while her symptoms do fit for ammonia poisoning, and it makes sense since you were keeping ammonia levels in the tank for a while.

Not your fault, it's so easily done, and cycling is confusing, and mini cycles too - going through a frustratingly long mini cycle in one of my tanks now because I had to replace the filter, I feel the pain!

Have seen fish looking much worse off than yours recover, she looks pretty good still. How is her activity now? Is she still eating?

 

[tallentemma]

Sorry if I wasnt very clear yes I meant the ph. I'll try to be more patient with the fish's recovery

Also yes, I added all the bio media that was in the previous filter to the new one

 

[Colin_T]

Just do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate any day your ammonia or nitrite is above 0ppm, or the nitrate is above 20ppm.

The fish has a couple of red lines in the bottom half of the tail. As mentioned previously, that is from the ammonia. Water changes should clear that up.

The small white dots on the gill cover indicate the fish is a male that is coming into breeding condition. Male goldfish will develop the small white dots on the side of their gill cover and on their pectoral fins. Female goldfish don't get the white dots.

The fish will be fine. Just don't go overboard and give it time to recover.