VERY high Ammonia levels...

[Beno78]

Hi,

I have set up a new tank around 7 weeks ago...and populated with a few fish early on to allow the tank to cycle. Which all seemed to go quite well.

But the last week or so, I have added a few more fish to the tank, and it seems to have made the water go quite cloudy...especially looking in from the long ide of the tank. I havent lost any fish for 3 or 4 weeks. I did lose 2 or 3 Neons early in the cycle process, but nothing really since. I have done regular water changes etc etc. It is a 250 litre tank, and has around 20 - 25 small fish.

I did an ammonia test last night, and freaked a little bit, as its around 6-7. I also did a nitrite test, and it is at 0. My concern is that the cycling process is not working as it should? I understood that the ammonia should be converted to Nitrite, then Nitrate. But this doesnt seem to be happening...

Any advice is much appreciated!

[Fishmonger70]

Well that's about 66 gallons. How many fish did you put in your tank at one time. You said you have about 20 - 25 fish. I hope you didn't put them all in at once. If you did, that is your problem. Your bio load is to high. You put too many fish in too soon.

[Beno78]

I started with around 10 Neons...then added 3 or 4 more fish at around 2 weeks...after losing 2 Tetras. Then in weeks 5, 6 and 7, I added a 2 - 3 fish a week? My local aquarium advised that this would be ok?? So hopefully it was the right advice!

Is there anything I can do, besides water changes...to drop the ammonia levels?? Ive heard that playing with chemical additives can do more harm then good!

[Fishmonger70]

What types of fish are in there , other than the neons? At this point in time all I can recommend is to do the water changes and hope that you get ahead of the problem

[Beno78]

There are a couple of Rainbow Sharks, 4 or 5 Black Widow Tetras, two Salt n Pepper Catfish, 8 or 9 tetras, and 4 or 5 guppys. Its an odd mix at the moment...as Im not too sure on what I want to keep. I have another smaller tank, that I am planning on setting up once I have decided what to keep in the large tank...

Do certain species have higher ammonia levels??

[blue_ram]

Originally Posted by Beno78

There are a couple of Rainbow Sharks, 4 or 5 Black Widow Tetras, two Salt n Pepper Catfish, 8 or 9 tetras, and 4 or 5 guppys. Its an odd mix at the moment...as Im not too sure on what I want to keep. I have another smaller tank, that I am planning on setting up once I have decided what to keep in the large tank...

Do certain species have higher ammonia levels??

Test your tap water. Are you treating the tap water before you add it into the tank? What type of water conditioner do you use? What type of test are you using, eg.. strips or liquid?

Are the fish hugging the bottom breathing heavily?

How much are you feeding them? Is there a dead fish iin the tank hidden somewhere?

Water changes alone will not remove that much ammonia, but the fish would be dead at that level so the readings are most likely being set off by something else?

I woudl take a filter bag and put some zeolite (ammo-chips) in it and place it in the tank to absorb the excess ammonia just to be sure. If possible put it in the filter (eg for aqua clear type filters).

[Beno78]

I am using tap water, and treating it before I add to the tank, with a "good" conditioner, as recommended by my fish shop...

Fish dont seem to be acting strangely...the are swimming as normal, top and bottom of the tank. None of them appear to be gasping, which Ive been told is a sign of ammonia burns. I am using liquid tests, and its showing as very high...6 - 7.

I am feeding them as Tetra Tropical Flakes, and using the recommended amounts. They say 3 times a day, but I am doing twice as they say on the packaging, but the midday feed I tend to give a LOT less then they say to...as it seems a lot of food. They eat the food within a minute, and doesnt seem to be a lot left over.

I cant see a dead fish anywhere in the tank, but I will have a thorough look tonight to make sure its not hidden somewhere...

I figured I would be seeing dead fish also, or at least some strange behavior. But they seem fine. Its just the reading is WAY high.

I do not have an external filter, it is an undergravel filter. Is it worth maybe installing a smaller externel filter also?? Will this help with levels of the nasty stuff in the tank?

Thanks heaps for your help so far! Im having a ball with the new tank, and very interested in learning as much as I can!

[Fishmonger70]

For starters, cut feeding down to once a day. Feediung them more than once a day can be one of your problems. I generally feed mine in the evening. If you go a day without feeding them it's not a big deal. Don't overfeed them. If the food is settling down on the bottom of the tank you are feeding them too much. Rotate what you feed them. I will feed mine flake food one night, frozen brine shrimp another night, bloodworms another night and I keep rotating through those food types.

[FroggyFox]

You should have let the tank finish cycling before adding more fish...two weeks is no where near enough...but what's done is done.

You need to do a big water change to lower your ammonia level. With it that high i'd expect you will start seeing nitrites soon...but your fish are going to start feeling the effects of the high ammonia if you don't get it down...so instead of trying to put anything in the tank to take care of it, you need to just do some old fashioned water changes. Same thing with when the nitrites start rising.

[iapetus]

Originally Posted by Beno78

I started with around 10 Neons...then added 3 or 4 more fish at around 2 weeks...after losing 2 Tetras. Then in weeks 5, 6 and 7, I added a 2 - 3 fish a week? My local aquarium advised that this would be ok?? So hopefully it was the right advice!

Is there anything I can do, besides water changes...to drop the ammonia levels?? Ive heard that playing with chemical additives can do more harm then good!

Ugh. Neons? They're not the best fish if you're going to do a fish-in cycle. They're notoriously fragile fish. But, as FroggyFox said, what's done is done; and, if they're mostly still alive, that suggests that you've been doing well.

As far as getting the ammonia levels down, the best thing to do is to get on a regimen of frequent water changes. You're correct in not wanting to add too many chemicals to remove the ammonia.

Originally Posted by FroggyFox

You need to do a big water change to lower your ammonia level. With it that high i'd expect you will start seeing nitrates soon...but your fish are going to start feeling the effects of the high ammonia if you don't get it down...so instead of trying to put anything in the tank to take care of it, you need to just do some old fashioned water changes. Same thing with when the nitrites start rising.

Ah, this brings up a good point. Beno, what are your levels of nitrites and nitrates? What have they been while all this has been going on? If you can tell us this, we'll have some idea as to where your tank is with regards to establishing its nitrifying bacteria.

Originally Posted by Fishmonger70

For starters, cut feeding down to once a day. Feediung them more than once a day can be one of your problems. I generally feed mine in the evening. If you go a day without feeding them it's not a big deal. Don't overfeed them. If the food is settling down on the bottom of the tank you are feeding them too much. Rotate what you feed them. I will feed mine flake food one night, frozen brine shrimp another night, bloodworms another night and I keep rotating through those food types.

This is particularly important while your tank is still cycling. You can feed them a couple of times per day (or more smaller feedings) after the tank has properly cycled.