confused about ammonia now!

[11bkd]

Hi guys,

I've had a couple of days of fish drama and now I'm totally confused!
I upgraded my tank from a 10 litre to a 45 taking all my bacteria, filter etc safely with me. The fish were acting weird so I got my water levels checked and they were fine. The next morning we had a fatality (moving stress?) leaving a lonely minnow I went into my fave fish seller and got my water checked and got 2 new minnows. They're in and doing fine.

Now. I was talking to the fish dude about getting some shrimp and he said that they had none in stock but to go for it. I've been to the local pet shop that gives bad advice and they refused to sell me shrimp because my ammonia levels were really high. Problem is that I used the same water in a sterilized baby bottle only 2 hours ago to get my minnows and it was fine.

Can ammonia spike in bottles over a couple of hours? Does my handbag posess magic ammonia giving properties? Is it likely that my fave fish dudes mucked up the test twice? Am I expecting too much from Pets At Home?

I don't know what to do I've ordered my own API master kit but I don't want to hurt my wee guys in the meantime.

Any suggestions? Thanks guys. X

 

[jlk]

Did they test with liquid or strips? Good job ordering a proper test kit! I would to guess theres likely some amount of ammonia in your tank and would do 50% water changes daily until you have your test kit and can see what is really going on. Make sure you test your tap as well. Please ask if you have questions!

 

[11bkd]

The good fish shop used the API master kit and the Pets At Home folk used one I've never seen before, loads of wee test tubes. I can't wait to get my own kit but it'll make me even more neurotic! I'm getting obsessed! The tank has now turned a bit cloudy so I'm not sure if it's bacteria or the new gravel. I'll find out when the post comes on Saturday at least.

Thanks for the advice, I'll be happier knowing I'm doing something that could help matters. X

 

[11bkd]

I've used my new test kit and all my levels are perfect. I took a water sample to get shrimp at Pets At Home again and they refused to sell me any as my ammonia was too high! I took my (now heartbroken) 4 year old to my fave fish seller who offered to test it again and it was perfect! Argggg!

Thankfully it turns out that my fish are doing well in good conditions and we bought a wee black moore and some plants while we were at the good shop

Thanks for the advice, I'll not be back to Pets At Home for anything!

X

 

[jlk]

What fish are presently in this tank? 45l is only about 10-11g. Adding a moor to this small tank was not the best move. Moors grow large (10+in) very quickly and have very large bioloads. I honestly would not keep him in anything less than 30g as youngster. Here's some more info on goldfish and their care- please ask if you have any questions!

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/goldfish-101-11174823.html

 

[11bkd]

Hi again, thanks for the advice. I'm finding the advice online and in books regarding fish very conflicting. The books we have say it'll grow to around 4 inches and the fish dude said roughly 5 to 6 inches but over 6+ years.

We currently have 4 zebra danios, 3 gold mountain minnows and our new black moor. We're hoping to get a pair of ghost shrimp to complete our tank for now. We are planning on getting a larger tank for Christmas, the size is still being negotiated! My hubby thinks a 30g will be big enough but I totally disagree, especially if we could have a 10 inch black moor!

I appreciate all the info and advice offered. I'd rather be informed as I do not plan to mistreat any of them, especially through my own ignorance.

X

 

[Amlyel]

I'm not really in a position to give any important advice, but I can say I have two Moors and when I had ghost shrimp with them eventually they all became dinner. You can try to give them a hiding spot but at some point...I couldn't believe how active my shrimp became when I moved the Moors out! Made me feel a little bad they couldn't be that way the whole time! Good luck!

 

[Mebbid]

What did the second fish store say your ammonia level was at?

 

[11bkd]

Hi, the good fish store said my ammonia was zero. My test kit showed zero. Second (not so good) fish store said it was 4.0. So not much difference really! Glad I've got my own test kit now

I've found a future home for our black moor if he gets too big too fast for us to look after him properly. I think I'll wait to get ghost shrimp at that stage and maybe they won't get eaten!

Thanks folks. X