Acclimating Fish Kept in FW to BW?

[tecwzrd]

Are you sure your NH3 is 8.0 ppm? That is just about off the charts! Fish can not survive long in such a high NH3. I’d get a 20 gal Rubbermaid ($5) and put your fish in there with a PH doing 20%-50% pwc every other day until your main tank cycles.

At the very least I hope you put in ammonia lock to convert toxic ammonia into a non-toxic form which can be easily digested by the biologcial filter.
http://www3.shopping.com/xPO-Aquarium_Pharmaceuticals_Ammo_Lock_2

As I said before I always had a mini cycle lasting a minimum of a week using Bio-Spira and it’s best to do a fishless cycle and not put your new pets under duress. Doing pwc on the main tank will just prolong the cycle.

 

[Legacy]

I'll go buy ammo lock today. Problem was that everything was closed by the time I had my issue.

I'm currently reading:

NH3 - approx 4.0ppm
NO2 - .50ppm

I'm just waiting for the LFS to open and then I'll get the ammo lock and marine bio-spira.

 

[tecwzrd]

Glad the NH3 is coming down a bit. You should have some decent readings by the end of the week. Your tank is looking really nice by the way

 

[Legacy]

Thanks. Without all of you guys I'd be so lost right now. Here's an update:

I just poured a 1oz bag of bio-spira into the fish tank. Here's a tip for anyone that didn't bring along a cold pack to keep the stuff cool, even though it's not nessesary, I stopped by a fast food joint and got a cup with ice in it and it stayed cool the whole way home.

I spread the Marine Bio-spira all around the tank. This bacteria will survive the salt content now instead of just getting killed and adding to the problem. I'll keep monitoring it over the next week and hope it goes well. The fish seem to be just fine and loving the new enviornment.

 

[tecwzrd]

Have your NH3 levels dropped to 2 or less yet? Archer fish are fairly hardy but I'd still keep a close eye on them for any signs of stress.