Nitrite, ammonia, bass and perch.

[ck85abc3]

I set up a 45 gal tank without knowing a thing about fish keeping. It had fresh local lake water and rocks put in it. Then five 3 inch perch, two 3.5 inch bass, and a few crayfish were put into it. I have the inexpensive cheapy filter from wal-mart where it sucks water up into a tank on the side and the water runs through two charcoal/fiberglass filters back into the tank like a waterfall.

The fish are very very healthy, swim around like crazy, and eat like crazy. The problem is that I have high levels of ammonia and nitrite. Is this anything to be concerned with if the fish are healthy?

I should note that when I first put the fish in about a week ago I feed them lots and lots of minnows. Now I am only feeding them every 4 days and not as much.

Suggestions??? Add something, water change, just wait for a while and see what happends with the decrease in feeding...

 

[Guest]

yes, i have a suggestion. please put those fish back in the lake where you got them from. then cycle your tank. then go to a lfs and get fish from there.

 

[ck85abc3]

Why? I plan on getting some bullheads from a local fish store.

I can't put them back were I got them. It is illegal.

 

[WaterPond]

Those fish get really big, and will not live for long, what you are doing is illegal in alot of states and canada. You can't keep native fish in your aquariums. That is what is illegal. It is not illegal to put them back IF nobodysees you put them back . You will be doing the fish a favour. C'mon, You CAN'T do that, it is way too cruel for the fish. Please put it back. And yes, you NEED to cycle your tank. The high ammonia and nitrate is because those fish produce alot of waste. One perch is too much for that tank anyway. Bullaheads grow too big for the 45gal tank too, they should really have 75gal+ for just one IMO. As aquarists, we have to provide good lives for our fish, Your fish will not be happy for much longer. PLEASE PUT THEM BACK!

 

[JustOneMore20]

They get far to big for your tank size. Your tank is overstocked, thats why you have high ammonia and nitrate. The only thing you can do is get them a bigger tank and better filtration (try a cannister filter). One bass would overstock the tank...not to mention all the other fish you have in there.

Skip the bullheads...they also get far too big. They can get anywhere from 6 to 18 inches, depending on what kind you get. An 18 inch fish has no business being in a 45g tank. Try around 200g.....they can get long and pretty thick...so there's no way it could live in a 45g...plus you are already overstocked.

 

[ck85abc3]

I can't put them back, it is illegal. It is not illegal to have these fish. I have a fishing license and caught them with a line and hook and there is no length limit. Chapter 20.1 sum section... say's that any non protected fish species legally obtained are given the same property rights as domestic fish.

I can get a bigger tank when they grow.

 

[Guest]

i wont tell if you dont. please put them back.

 

[ck85abc3]

They get far to big for your tank size. Your tank is overstocked, thats why you have high ammonia and nitrate. The only thing you can do is get them a bigger tank and better filtration (try a cannister filter). One bass would overstock the tank...not to mention all the other fish you have in there.

Skip the bullheads...they also get far too big. They can get anywhere from 6 to 18 inches, depending on what kind you get. An 18 inch fish has no business being in a 45g tank. Try around 200g.....they can get long and pretty thick...so there's no way it could live in a 45g...plus you are already overstocked.

Thanks for the advice.

I will be getting a bigger tank and a better filtration system. I'm just following guidelines I find about fishkeeping. I have around 22 inches of fish which is 1/2 inch per gallon. Everything I read says 1 inch of fish per gallon. I know bass and perch are probably a little fatter than your standard 3 inch fish.

On a native fish websites that specializes in information about North American native fish says that a 90 gallon tank is big enough for bass, but they are assuming 1/2 lb bass, not 1/8 lb bass if even.

 

[Guest]

yeeps. dude....


if you insist on keeping them....

safely cycle a 300+ gal tank with a powerful powerhead. do tests on the water where you caught them and keep that 300+ gal tank identical to that.


up the filtration a LOT and get things as CLOSE to the lake you pulled them from as possible.

The lake water will ROT, as it is full of micro-organisms that will die taken out of their native land.

 

[rkilling1]

but to answer your question reguarding NH3 and NO2:

high levels of NH3 and NO2 (over 1 PPM) will stess and kill the fish you have. You have big eaters and big mess makes which inturn adds to your problem.

as you can see people are not very happy about having all those fish in that small tank. we all make mistakes and this one can be corrected if action is taken. If your levels in the tank are not reduced, you will end up with a lot of dead fish.

EDIT: Welcome to AA.

 

[ck85abc3]

yeeps. dude....


if you insist on keeping them....

safely cycle a 300+ gal tank with a powerful powerhead. do tests on the water where you caught them and keep that 300+ gal tank identical to that.


up the filtration a LOT and get things as CLOSE to the lake you pulled them from as possible.

The lake water will ROT, as it is full of micro-organisms that will die taken out of their native land.

I was thinking 180 gal. Dont' think I can swing a 300 gal. Might have to fry them up next time I have a fish fry.

but to answer your question reguarding NH3 and NO2:

high levels of NH3 and NO2 (over 1 PPM) will stess and kill the fish you have. You have big eaters and big mess makes which inturn adds to your problem.

as you can see people are not very happy about having all those fish in that small tank. we all make mistakes and this one can be corrected if action is taken. If your levels in the tank are not reduced, you will end up with a lot of dead fish.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Guest]

then fry them. better to eat them then make em suffer. i am having a nice salmon tonight myself.

/e avid fisherwoman
/e avid camper
/e avid cooker
/e avid outdoorsperson
/e avid aquarist

 

[ck85abc3]

then fry them. better to eat them then make em suffer. i am having a nice salmon tonight myself.

/e avid fisherwoman
/e avid camper
/e avid cooker
/e avid outdoorsperson
/e avid aquarist

Since I think the fish will die if nitrite and ammonia are not reduced I will, but have to give the other half a chance to make things better.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

Well...Uh... the high ammonia and Nitrite is because your tank is not cycled yet...What this means is that you do not have the benificial bacteria established yet to convert the ammonia to Nitrite and then Nitrite to Nitrate. To establish this your tank needs time maybe a month or more. The bacteria live in the filter and gravel in the tank. You perdy lil fishes will die with the high ammonia and nitrite levels no question about it. It would be wise to let them go so they don't piss themselves to death. Also your tank is too small fer em anyways.

 

[ck85abc3]

Well...Uh... the high ammonia and Nitrite is because your tank is not cycled yet...What this means is that you do not have the benificial bacteria established yet to convert the ammonia to Nitrite and then Nitrite to Nitrate. To establish this your tank needs time maybe a month or more. The bacteria live in the filter and gravel in the tank. You perdy lil fishes will die with the high ammonia and nitrite levels no question about it. It would be wise to let them go so they don't *beep* themselves to death. Also your tank is too small fer em anyways.

Just to make sure, you know I have lake water and lake gravel in the tank right? I would think that would be the best bacteria you could get???

 

[Jchillin]

I set up a 45 gal tank without knowing a thing about fish keeping

But somehow you found out about this forum, which is a good thing.

The fish are very very healthy, swim around like crazy, and eat like crazy. The problem is that I have high levels of ammonia and nitrite. Is this anything to be concerned with if the fish are healthy?

As stated by others, this is a concern. You have these fish in an uncycled tank. Until you make your decision regarding whether you will keep them, you will need to do 60-80% water changes daily.

 

[JRagg]

Well...Uh... the high ammonia and Nitrite is because your tank is not cycled yet...What this means is that you do not have the benificial bacteria established yet to convert the ammonia to Nitrite and then Nitrite to Nitrate. To establish this your tank needs time maybe a month or more. The bacteria live in the filter and gravel in the tank. You perdy lil fishes will die with the high ammonia and nitrite levels no question about it. It would be wise to let them go so they don't *beep* themselves to death. Also your tank is too small fer em anyways.

Just to make sure, you know I have lake water and lake gravel in the tank right? I would think that would be the best bacteria you could get???

How high are ammonia and nitrite levels exactly?

I realize you have lake water and lake gravel, and I'm not an expert on how much of the beneficial bacteria that the gravel has (assuming it never dried out), but it obviously isn't cycled. If it were cycled you wouldn't see ammonia or nitrite.

FYI, water itself doesn't contain much beneficial bacteria at all.

And I'm not going to get on your case about this, but I'm pretty sure that the terms fishing and hunting imply that you're going to kill the fish or animal. Generally you're not allowed to keep game fish. Once again I'm not an epxert on that and you would have to contact the appropriate agency in your state to verify that.

 

[ck85abc3]

I set up a 45 gal tank without knowing a thing about fish keeping

But somehow you found out about this forum, which is a good thing.

The fish are very very healthy, swim around like crazy, and eat like crazy. The problem is that I have high levels of ammonia and nitrite. Is this anything to be concerned with if the fish are healthy?

As stated by others, this is a concern. You have these fish in an uncycled tank. Until you make your decision regarding whether you will keep them, you will need to do 60-80% water changes daily.

If I do 60% water changes daily will the tank cycle? Shouldn't there be plenty of bacteria from the lake water and rocks?

I notice you did not mention concern about the amount of fish. Does not mean you feel the tank is big enough (for now) but just needs to be cycled? Or you just did not feel like repeating something that everyone else said?

Well...Uh... the high ammonia and Nitrite is because your tank is not cycled yet...What this means is that you do not have the benificial bacteria established yet to convert the ammonia to Nitrite and then Nitrite to Nitrate. To establish this your tank needs time maybe a month or more. The bacteria live in the filter and gravel in the tank. You perdy lil fishes will die with the high ammonia and nitrite levels no question about it. It would be wise to let them go so they don't *beep* themselves to death. Also your tank is too small fer em anyways.

Just to make sure, you know I have lake water and lake gravel in the tank right? I would think that would be the best bacteria you could get???

How high are ammonia and nitrite levels exactly?

I realize you have lake water and lake gravel, and I'm not an expert on how much of the beneficial bacteria that the gravel has (assuming it never dried out), but it obviously isn't cycled. If it were cycled you wouldn't see ammonia or nitrite.

FYI, water itself doesn't contain much beneficial bacteria at all.

And I'm not going to get on your case about this, but I'm pretty sure that the terms fishing and hunting imply that you're going to kill the fish or animal. Generally you're not allowed to keep game fish. Once again I'm not an epxert on that and you would have to contact the appropriate agency in your state to verify that.

It's legal to keep the fish, I found the laws but am going to contact the game and fish to make sure.

Ammonia is between .5 and 3 parts per million. I think closer to .5 parts per million

Nitrite is 5.0 parts per million which is in the danger zone. Yesterday Nitrite was only about .5 to 1 parts per million.

Nitrate is 40 parts per million and yesterday it was around 0 parts per million.

 

[fish_4_all]

It is legal to keep fish here, for food. Your fishing liscence most likely gives you sole permission to catch for consumption, my states licenses do. Not for a pond or fish tank without an aquaculture license of some kind. Your state may be different, I don't know. Also, as far as bioload, I have caught perch that were over 18 inches and seen bass over 18 so a 300 gallon tank should suffice until they reach full size unless the bass eat the perch.

 

[JRagg]

Yes, the tank will cycle even if you do large water changes. As I stated in my previous post water does not contain much beneficial bacteria at all. The bacteria that you want/need is growing on your tank walls, gravel, and in your filter. 1.0 is the safe level for nitrites, and the same for ammonia. Large water changes are the only way that you will be able to keep those fish alive.

It does however look like your tank is cycling fairly quickly since you're seeing nitrites and nitrates. But in the meantime your nitrite and ammonia levels are too high.