i think I messed up. I bought my daughter a 5 gallon Aqueon tank for her birthday. It's been running for about 3 months now. When I set it up, I just followed the instructions that came with it. Added fish the next day, so the tank did not cycle before I added fish. It is a freshwater tank. No aquarium salt in it. It has 3 guppies, 2 neon fish and 1 Cory. All the fish have been healthy and happy from the start.
I have done small water changes every 2 weeks since I set it up and changed the filter twice. A while back I bought an ammonia meter (the little color-coded disk you attach to the glass). I did it because the water was looking yellow and it smelled. It showed high ammonia. I did a major water change and changed the filter. The next day, the water was crystal clear, but the disk still showed ammonia. I put in one of those effervescent tablets that lower ammonia. Still showed ammonia. I let it be since the fish were happy and healthy. I thought the disk just didn't work.
About a couple weeks ago, her tank started to grow brown algae on the walls. It quickly spread to the gravel. I added Algaefix. The next day, I scrubbed the walls and syphoned the gravel. Almost immediately afterwards, my two fancy guppies started acting stressed. Swimming on the surface, moving their fins fast, but not going anywhere. They are not eating much. I have done a water change and added another ammonia tablet.
My thought is that I stirred the toxic waste when I syphoned the gravel. Is this fixable?
Please, help!
I have done small water changes every 2 weeks since I set it up and changed the filter twice. A while back I bought an ammonia meter (the little color-coded disk you attach to the glass). I did it because the water was looking yellow and it smelled. It showed high ammonia. I did a major water change and changed the filter. The next day, the water was crystal clear, but the disk still showed ammonia. I put in one of those effervescent tablets that lower ammonia. Still showed ammonia. I let it be since the fish were happy and healthy. I thought the disk just didn't work.
About a couple weeks ago, her tank started to grow brown algae on the walls. It quickly spread to the gravel. I added Algaefix. The next day, I scrubbed the walls and syphoned the gravel. Almost immediately afterwards, my two fancy guppies started acting stressed. Swimming on the surface, moving their fins fast, but not going anywhere. They are not eating much. I have done a water change and added another ammonia tablet.
My thought is that I stirred the toxic waste when I syphoned the gravel. Is this fixable?
Please, help!