I could cry

[Reygan2]

HELP! My darling 7 year old nephew wanted to be "helpful" and decided to feed my fish while I was in the shower...I was horrified when I entered my room and saw at least six months worth of flakes in my tank. I immediately began netting what I could, then I vaccumed as much I could. The real problem is that my tank is still cycling. I have 2 guppies and 2 danios in a 29 gallon. I also have a cascade 150 HOB and a penguin 150 HOB. What to do??? I bought a test kit and my ammonia level is .50. This happened yesterday, I tested this morning.

 

[spoonman]

At least 50% water changes daily until the ammonia is brought down. You will be ok.

 

[eco23]

Yep, lots and lots of water changes and vacuuming. You've got to get as much fish food out as possible. The food will take some time to start decomposing and releasing ammonia, so if there's still lots in there...the .5 is just the tip of the iceberg.

If you're not already using it, here's a great guide for fish-in cycling. Do your best to keep the ammonia and no2 below .25 at all times
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

 

[-Mac-]

And don't forget, hide the fish food when young people are on-site. ~hugs~ Not a catastrophe, just a bit more work for a week.

 

[Terrance]

Sorry to hear about this catastrophic incident. It will take a while to clean up the spill.

Is your tank on a stand? In addition to hiding all the fish food, I like to kid-proof my stands by tying the stand to the wall. I see kids using my stand to pull themselves up and playing around the tank. It will be hard to clean everything if the tank falls to the floor.