Black Molly, Ammonia Toxicity

[Zoilus68]

I have a relatively new Molly that is acting very lethargic. The tank it was in did register 2.0 ppm this morning, but the other two mollies and six guppies in it seemed fine.

The tank has not cycled yet, and I'm working on getting my ammonia levels down in this 20 gallon tank.

I decided to buy a 1 gallon desktop tank (with aeration), condition the water, then put him in it as a sort of sick bay. He was on death's doorstep early this morning, on the bottom and hardly moving. He's now swimming around a bit, and looking a LOT better than he did.

Have I accidentally stumbled upon something that might actually nurse this poor fish back to health?

 

[Delapool]

I'd say so. I've seen fish sulking due to ammonia bounce back pretty quick just from a water change. Like going from a smog-filled room to clear air I guess. Can't beat just a water change sometimes.

 

[Zoilus68]

I figured the fresh water would do it good, but

I had no idea that aeration was anything more than decorative. I went out and bought a large bubble stone for my 20 gallon tank as soon as I could because it improved my molly so much.

Any ideas on how long it would take for the effects of the toxicity to pass? I tried to reintroduce it to the big tank last night without much success, so I put it back in its sick bay.

 

[Delapool]

Sorry, got confused - was it the water change or the aeration (or both) you found useful?

I don't think you can put him back until you get the ammonia sorted or at least on the way down to 0.5 max.

Recovery would depend. Interesting question. Ammonia as you know is pretty bad for fish however some fish types are tougher than others and even within a fish type, some will do better/worse.

Quickest recovery is a water change and they stop sulking. Longest would be it can take up to three days I've read for the burns to show on the fish, then normal recovery for damaged skin/scales so say up to 2 weeks would be my thought.

 

[Zoilus68]

big water change

Sorry, got confused - was it the water change or the aeration (or both) you found useful?

I don't think you can put him back until you get the ammonia sorted or at least on the way down to 0.5 max.

Recovery would depend. Interesting question. Ammonia as you know is pretty bad for fish however some fish types are tougher than others and even within a fish type, some will do better/worse.

Quickest recovery is a water change and they stop sulking. Longest would be it can take up to three days I've read for the burns to show on the fish, then normal recovery for damaged skin/scales so say up to 2 weeks would be my thought.

I think it was probably both, although I'm leaning towards the water change as more helpful of course.

I did a 75% water change today in the hopes of getting that 20 g tank under control. The other hardy fish in there got a little freaked by the large water change, but seem to have adjusted after about an hour or so. Maybe the high pH of my tap water (around an 8), the temperature change (a little warm), the chlorine, or all of it. I added the water conditioner (Tetra AquaSafe) to the water after I added it all, and probably should have preconditioned/temped it but just don't have the equipment for all that yet.

I will keep my sick one in ICU where I can keep an eye on him, then see how he's doing in about three days. He's not even eating now so I'm not about to put him back into anything other than a pristine tank.

 

[Potluck]

Aeration is very important to an aquarium you have to move the top of the water, if your filter isn't strong enough adding an air stone or 2, or a power head is a good idea, also if your tank is planted and your temp is higher your plants use oxygen in your night cycle which takes away from your fish, and with a warmer tank oxygen dissipates faster.

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[Potluck]

Get prime for your water conditioner (use 1 ml for every 10 gallons you take out, not how many gallons are in your tank) also 75% water change is alot every lfs i have went to said never go past 50, what you should have done is do 20-25% every day for 3 days , you don't need equipment to temperature match just a thermometer that's in the tank, check the tank temp on the thermometer take the thermometer out cool it off and adjust water to the degree that was in the tank, so if it's 78 degrees in the tank match to 78 degrees or go to 79 don't go lower is okay to go a degree above, and you HAVE to temperature match and use prime (water conditioner)

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[Matt68005]

If you have a separate tank, you must do PWC's in both tanks until the "main" tank is cycled, usually 3 weeks. In the "hospital" tank, you would need to change 50% every other day.
yes use the prime
It covers up ammonia, fish can recover, in fact they are probably more
poisoned from NITRITE than the ammonia.

Nitrogen bacteria Cycle
bad
Ammonia(bad)------>Nitrite(very bad)----->Nitrate(good,cycled)
If you wish, you could go to a LFS and purchase a $5 bottle of methylene blue and dose 5ml per ten gallons every other day inside the hospital tank until the main tank is cycled, its a mild ant-disease, a strong anti-fungal, and helps fish that have been nitrite poisned recover and increases their Oxygen levels in their blood. Be advised it will permantely stain clothing/carpet, and will completely destroy Nitrifying bacteria, so use only in a hospital tank.