2 Neon Tetras Found Dead This Morning

[DJH584]

And please, do get yourself a liquid test kit. It is far more accurate than the test strips.

 

[resa]

Well, considering how inaccurate those strip are, then that's very dangerous. Any time you see any reading, however small, for ammonia or nitrite, you'll need to be doing a very large water change.

You'll need to test, preferably for both ammonia and nitrite every day.

so i need a nitrate test kit and ammonia test?

 

[Flute]

Get yourself one of these kits: API Freshwater Master Kit, they're about £20 or so online. Test at least twice daily, and every single time there is a reading that is above 0 ppm of Ammonia or Nitrite, then do a very large water change as everyone has already advised.

Where abouts are you Resa? We might be able to get some mature media to you if you're close to anyone.

 

[resa]

ok bettafish forums is suggesting the ammonia test liquid kit and thats what i'm staarting with.....

i cant afford the master kit........i'm in usa, louisiana

which is deep southern parts of USA

 

[DJH584]

That's fair enough but you should also consider getting a nitrite kit as well. Ammonia converts to nitrite and subsequently to nitrate. So the first two are what you really need to keep an eye on.

 

[fluttermoth]

A nitrite test is what you need, not nitrate; they're two very different substances.

Nitrite is toxic to fish at 0.25 PPM (parts per million, so that's how toxic it is; ammonia is the same), whereas nitrate only causes problems for most fish at 100PPM or over.

 

[resa]

thanks i'll try to remember that

 

[fluttermoth]

You soon will!

I know it all seems overwhelming right now, but you'll get there

 

[KCB]

Good luck resa, I hope things work out well for you and your betta! It'll be worth it in the end. Once the tank is cycled you shouldn't need to worry about it again unless you change filter or get a new tank .

 

[resa]

i have an aqua tech 5-15 model filter and it says to replace filter every 2 to 4 weeks is that necessary? and ......i brought my tetras back in a bowl with water from the aquarium and i had them test it and the alkaline was past the testing thing he said he couldnt believe the rest of the fish didnt die he had to put them in QT and bring them back to health .....i used top fin water conditioner though... anyways my husbands bout to get out shower and we're going to store for test kit i seen an amonia test kit made by seachem and its a test that stays inside the tank with a suction .... at petsmart for 8.00 does those work? anything anybody can think of that i have to have before i leave in the next 15 minutes to the store?

 

[the_lock_man]

This is probably too late, as you posted that 9 hours ago, but the test kits you need are liquid-based. I'm not keen on the alarm types that stay in the tank.

I would suspect that the filter instructions are telling you to replace the carbon (or charcoal) filter every 2-4 weeks. Don't. It's an excuse to fleece more money out of you. I don't actually use a carbon filter at all, they are used to remove heavy metals (copper, etc.) from the water. All the decent dechlorinator products do that too, so the only time you need a carbon filter is to remove medications from the water once the course of treatment is finished.

 

[resa]

ok i broke down and got the api master test kit! i havent done a water change yet. i'm doing that at some point today though. but i went ahead and tested the nitrite and nitrate and ph..... well the nitrate and nitrite came back at 0 and the ph basic test was bright bright blue and i didnt do the ammonia test or that other ph high test yet.....but now i see why petsmart said my water has so much alkaline in it, it was from the ph test reading. so i'm going to do a water change at some point today and then do these test over __________________

the only thing i used to treat my water is top fin's water conditioner when i do do a water change

 

[the_lock_man]

Glad to see you got the API kit, they are the most popular. You need to do that ammonia test straight away. If you have no nitrite, it says to me that you have no bacteria, so I am expecting that the ammonia reading will be very high.

 

[resa]

by the way do i need a dechlorinator? i dont have that all i have is the water conditioner

 

[fluttermoth]

Water conditioner and dechlorinator are the same thing