Sudden ammonia spike...please help!

[Mylittlemollies]

Hi guys,
The ammonia levels in my tank have suddenly spiked and I don't know what to do. I noticed when I got home from work tonight that my balloon mollies were looking lethargic.
I tested my tank using my master test kit and it is showing high levels of ammonia. I quickly did a water change (as suggested in the master test kit booklet) but the situation isn't improving. The tank looks cloudy, fish appear to be gasping and sitting at the surface if the water. I also have approximately 25 new fry in a breeder box in the same tank and I don't want to lose them all. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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[ScotJudd]

Hi. I've not experienced an ammonia spike but am a fairly experienced fish keeper.
Firstly, WC daily, up to 50% at a time to bring ammonia under control.
Secondly, identify why! Is your filter still running well? Has your ph crashed? Is there a dead fish in the tank, maybe out of site? Ammonia spikes when the level of ammonia in the water suddenly out runs the ability of the filter to process it.
If you identify and correct the cause then you may need to keep up the WCs until the tank has become stable again.
Best of luck, let us know how things go.


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[Mylittlemollies]

I am pretty sure it's because there are too many fish in the tank! My mollies just won't stop breeding!


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[Mama Karoti]

I am pretty sure it's because there are too many fish in the tank! My mollies just won't stop breeding!


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If that's the case, it might be wise to lose the breeder box and let nature take its course.

You can use Prime to help detoxify the ammonia while you are trying to get through the mini cycle with daily pwc's.


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[Mylittlemollies]

I think you are right Mama, time to let nature take it's course. While I was cleaning out the filter I found a dead baby, could this be what is making my ammonia levels rise?


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[Mama Karoti]

Definitely could be. My platy was apparently pregnant when I got her. The only indication I had that there were babies is that two of them survived by hiding in my plants. I got lucky in that the two survivors were female, so the buck stopped there. Otherwise I wouldn't have known there were others (presumably) that were born and then eaten.


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