I've had a tank w/ fish now for over 3 weeks and the ammonia levels are still high, I've been doing 10% water changes about 2-3 times a week. Of course, I do have 5 fish in there. It's a 5 gallon tank. And I think it may be due to the fact that there has been a lot of decayed food on the bottom of the tank until recently. I just did a 50% water change today and the ammonia is still high. Should I just change all of the water out of the tank? I used to do this instead of weekly water changes back 7 years ago. The beneficial bacteria would still be inside the filter, so should I do this, I'm about to lose another fish and it may be due to this (or it could be the pet store I bought it at, considering the fish I bought from a fish store are doing well). By the way, the fish that looks like she is about to die is kind of turning on her side every so often, would this indicate this was due to ammonia? Plus, is there anyway it could have something to do with the filter? It's a Regent filter that came w/ the tank. Please help!
Ammonia problems
- Thread starter bhath19
- Start date
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Menagerie
Aquarium Advice Addict
What are the other parameters (nitrite and nitrate)?
You need to do a 50% water change immediatly. Do not change all the water out of the tank. Feed the fish every other day and vacuum the gravel when you do the water changes.
You need to do a 50% water change immediatly. Do not change all the water out of the tank. Feed the fish every other day and vacuum the gravel when you do the water changes.
An t-iasg
Aquarium Advice Addict
I agree with Menagerie. I would do a 50% water change now, and every day until the ammonia is under control. As the ammonia lowers, you could do a smaller change than 50%. I wouldn't do a complete water change. That is very stressful on fish because you're changing all the water parameters drastically at once. Can you post your parameters? That would help us guide you in your water changes. If you don't have test kits, take a sample of water to the lfs and they can test it. When you can, get some liquid test kits. They are more accurate than the strip kind.
As the parameters get better, the one fish that is swimming on her side may perk up. If you see signs of disease like frayed fins, white spots, fuzz sticking to the fish, or rapid gill movement, post back.
What kinds of fish are in the tank? Is there a chance that they are harrassing each other, and causing stress? Are they "picking on" the one that's swimming erratically? If so, you may want to put her in a QT tank.
I don't know anything about that brand of filter. Does it have a sponge of some kind? If so, leave it alone -- don't rinse it out because it's becoming full of the good bacteria that you want for your cycle to complete.
As the parameters get better, the one fish that is swimming on her side may perk up. If you see signs of disease like frayed fins, white spots, fuzz sticking to the fish, or rapid gill movement, post back.
What kinds of fish are in the tank? Is there a chance that they are harrassing each other, and causing stress? Are they "picking on" the one that's swimming erratically? If so, you may want to put her in a QT tank.
I don't know anything about that brand of filter. Does it have a sponge of some kind? If so, leave it alone -- don't rinse it out because it's becoming full of the good bacteria that you want for your cycle to complete.
Scottcenfla
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Sure hope you didn't loose any expensive fish, not that you weren't attatched to them. When establishing tanks, I used to use a buddie's water when he did a water change. It helped to kick start the helpful bacteria and get the tank established in half the time as it takes on it's own. With a 5 gallon tank it will be hard to keep good stable water quality, as a rule, larger tanks are easier to maintain water quality, most of the time anyways.
Scottcenfla
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Generally, the beneficial bacteria grow on just about every concievable surface in the aquarium, the colonies are more concentrated in the filtration system due to organics, excess food, fish waste being caught. If the only filter media in your system is a single cartridge, changing it can cause ammonia levels to skyrocket temporarily, especially in small tanks.
If you have a little extra room in the filter, you might try putting some carbon in the extra space and only change one media at a time during cleaning. This way the ammonia should stay more stable due to leaving enough beneficial bacteria in the filter that will spread quickly to the new media. Some folks have used pantyhose, small netted bags, etc to hold the carbon, anything that will allow the water to pass through it should work. Hope this helps. Scott
If you have a little extra room in the filter, you might try putting some carbon in the extra space and only change one media at a time during cleaning. This way the ammonia should stay more stable due to leaving enough beneficial bacteria in the filter that will spread quickly to the new media. Some folks have used pantyhose, small netted bags, etc to hold the carbon, anything that will allow the water to pass through it should work. Hope this helps. Scott
