helppp dont know if ammonia level is to high

[Jarrett]

i have a 45 gallon tank that has been running for almost 2 months, in their right now is a niger trigger (going back saturday) a toby puffer fish and a baby snowflake eel

Levels:
ph-8.0
ammonia- .25 - .50
nitrite- .25
nitrate- 5.0

im wondering if this is just normal because maybe my tank hasnt fully cycled yet? also forgot to mention im filtering it with a eheim canister filter(100 gallons worth of filtration) and i also have a protein skimmer, uv sterilizer and 40lbs of live rock. all the fish look perfectly fine swimming and active no heavy breathing i just wanna make sure i have nothing to panic about

[melosu58]

Any amount of ammonia is bad. You`ll need to do PWC`s to keep the level down. Are you saying that you are cycling your tank now? With ammonia that high you do have something to worry about. One of the problems I see is that all those fish are messy eaters in too small of a tank. I`m sure the bioload is a big contributor.

[Jarrett]

ok well i did do a partial water change i am going to test the water right now, do you think i should skip feeding them for the night? im going to return the trigger on saturday do you think theyll be ok untill then as long as i keep my eye on it. i mean when i feed them theirs literally minimal waste i feed them directly from a turkey baster and make sure every bit of food in swallowed so thats why i figured it could be the cycle because i kno the levels spike during it

[ronk]

What kind of test kit are you using? If you are using a stick kit you never know exactly how accurate it is. Are you cycling with these fish or was the tank fully cycled before you put them in there?

[George9]

Get some liquid tests, those are usually the most accurate and easy to read. You need to get that ammonia way down! .25 -.50 is extremely high, and really toxic to fish. Your fish will start showing symptoms of ammonia poisoning or another disease if this stays.

[Jarrett]

Yea I used liquid test I changed a very minor percent of the water and.the ammonia went to 0? But it wad such a minor water change hmm I'm also wondering if snails and hermit crabs could be spiking my tank and I know the puffer does go after them on an occasion could they be spiking it if their dining?

[ronk]

You really shouldn't be getting an ammonia spike after feeding. You should have enough beneficial bacteria that it should be converting into nitrate.

[Jarrett]

thats weird maybe my test were just wrong then i am going to bring my water to a store today and see

[George9]

Originally Posted by Jarrett

thats weird maybe my test were just wrong then i am going to bring my water to a store today and see

Don't believe everything they tell you at the store. They might lie about the results to get you to buy something..... Make sure it's a good store. My old fish store lied to me one time, I stopped going there.

[Krypt]

I wouldn't just take back the trigger, I'd take back all of them. All of those heavy bio-load fish in an uncycled tank is bad news. Tanks need to be cycled before introducing fish, not after. Setting up your tank and letting it run is not the same as cycling it.