Question Abou Water Changes And Stress On Fish

[wildechild_01]

ok so Fish in water cycling a new filter have been doing water changes to keep my Ammonia levels below .25, has been quite simple so far with small 25-30% water changes, but today i woke up to a dead tiger barb, and all the other ones are breathing a little hard, Ammonia is at .5 this morning so i am about to do a larger water change, the question i have is, am i better off doing multiple smaller changes as in 30% change 3 times in a short period or should i do 1 larger change. the 3 smaller would result in a higher percentage of change and thus a lower amonia level but i am not sure if that would be more stressfull... also with the smaller changes i can leave the filter running. any tips would be grealy appreciated.


as a second question, other than the laboured breathing the fish seem fine except for 1 of my Polka Dot loaches who seems a litle faded and is swimming a little erratically, would this be from the ammonia or is it a sign of something more serious??? he is still quite active and eating.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Most likely from the ammonia.

A larger water change is in order. A water change is going to be less stress full than a high ammonia level. Do more large water changes.

-FHM

 

[wildechild_01]

Most likely from the ammonia.

A larger water change is in order. A water change is going to be less stress full than a high ammonia level. Do more large water changes.

-FHM

Thanks, i just did a 50% and i think i will do another one right away

 

[shane87]

i do a 50% water change every now and again and it seems to help my cories to lay eggs so dont think its stressin them

 

[kelly528]

i do a 50% water change every now and again and it seems to help my cories to lay eggs so dont think its stressin them

While swings in water parameters may induce breeding in some species, it doesn't mean that they are always a 'good thing'. But if the ammonia is spiking, pH is wonky, etc they are definitely safer than leaving the water alone! Do what it takes to alleviate the ammonia buildup (ie 50%), then stay on top of the ammonia levels with smaller water changes as needed until the tank is cycled.

 

[fatheadminnow]

i do a 50% water change every now and again and it seems to help my cories to lay eggs so dont think its stressin them

While swings in water parameters may induce breeding in some species, it doesn't mean that they are always a 'good thing'. But if the ammonia is spiking, pH is wonky, etc they are definitely safer than leaving the water alone! Do what it takes to alleviate the ammonia buildup (ie 50%), then stay on top of the ammonia levels with smaller water changes as needed until the tank is cycled.

This is not true.

The reason why his ammonia levels are always rising is because he is in a fish-in cycle, not because of the pH. Ammonia is alkaline, and will actually raise the pH of the water a lot if the KH is too low. A low KH (Hardness) will make the pH more susceptible to change.

You can read about it here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=307725

-FHM

 

[GuppyGoddess]

ok so Fish in water cycling a new filter have been doing water changes to keep my Ammonia levels below .25, has been quite simple so far with small 25-30% water changes, but today i woke up to a dead tiger barb, and all the other ones are breathing a little hard, Ammonia is at .5 this morning so i am about to do a larger water change, the question i have is, am i better off doing multiple smaller changes as in 30% change 3 times in a short period or should i do 1 larger change. the 3 smaller would result in a higher percentage of change and thus a lower amonia level but i am not sure if that would be more stressfull... also with the smaller changes i can leave the filter running. any tips would be grealy appreciated.


as a second question, other than the laboured breathing the fish seem fine except for 1 of my Polka Dot loaches who seems a litle faded and is swimming a little erratically, would this be from the ammonia or is it a sign of something more serious??? he is still quite active and eating.

For my first tank fish-in cycle, I was doing daily water changes (20%) and the guppies in that tank have done fine. I've had a few casualites, but that was due to the first few being infected with worms they caught at the LFS or breeder, not the water changes. The fish store told me to do 10% every three days and that seems like nonsense especially since they sold me the sick fish. Not ones to trust.

My tank is very small, though. . .now what I do is scoop out three cups of water every morning and replace it with fresh water because I added additional fish (and there is ammonia again). These fish don't seem to mine and my pygmies become more active soon after the water is freshened up.

 

[kelly528]

This is not true.

The reason why his ammonia levels are always rising is because he is in a fish-in cycle, not because of the pH. Ammonia is alkaline, and will actually raise the pH of the water a lot if the KH is too low. A low KH (Hardness) will make the pH more susceptible to change.

You can read about it here: <a href="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=307725" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=307725</a>

-FHM

Sorry, I meant that if something is drastically wrong with your tank water, change it. Not that ammonia spikes and the above-mentioned water chemistry swings coincide. Hence the 'etc'.

Good job on the thread though, I checked it out before and it was really informative

 

[fatheadminnow]

This is not true.

The reason why his ammonia levels are always rising is because he is in a fish-in cycle, not because of the pH. Ammonia is alkaline, and will actually raise the pH of the water a lot if the KH is too low. A low KH (Hardness) will make the pH more susceptible to change.

You can read about it here: <a href="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=307725" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=307725</a>

-FHM

Sorry, I meant that if something is drastically wrong with your tank water, change it. Not that ammonia spikes and the above-mentioned water chemistry swings coincide. Hence the 'etc'.

Good job on the thread though, I checked it out before and it was really informative

Oh,

I get what you are trying to say now...

My bad!

-FHM

 

[kelly528]

Oh,

I get what you are trying to say now...

My bad!

-FHM

Haha no worries... you were worried for my 4 tanks for a sec, I bet!

 

[waterdrop]

How's it going wildchilde? Getting any better? I forget, do you have a liquid-based test kit you're getting those numbers from?

~~wd~~