Ammonia High Wont Go Down Need Help Fish Are Dying

[BIGT]

i just baught a new fish tank had it about 1 week maybe a little more. the water started gettign really cloudy and ammonia was high. the fish store said its normal called new tank syndrome it was just going through its initial setting up period. it went away not fully now the cloudy water is coming back i been testing the ammonia again when the cloudy water started clearing up the ammonia levels never changed. i been using some ammonia killers from api called amm-clear or something like that, and water conditioner also from api, and another one from api for algea growth for benificial allgy. i use the ammonia stuff when it tells me to do it and yet ammonia still does not drop i also have had about 5 fish die now 2 of them were pregnant not sure if its a big factor one died right after giving birth other died just befor having babies. can someone please help with why my ammonia levels are high and not going down even with the ammonia medicine stuff. all the other levels ph and all that stuff are good ammonia is only one thats bad. i really appreciate the help

 

[unknowntbeast]

Well I would recomend getting them out of that ammonia filled tank first. If you overfeed I think they make more ammonia.

 

[BIGT]

Well I would recomend getting them out of that ammonia filled tank first. If you overfeed I think they make more ammonia.

just did anothe rtest everything is screwed up ammonia still high nitrate says safe hardness is soft, chloring is 0, alkalinity is 0 ph i acidic any help with this befor these were all fine

 

[JenCliBee]

A tank been setup for only a week is your problem, no bacteria growth and fish constantly producing ammonia.

Take a look at the pinned section on fish-LESS and fish-IN cycling and you will understand more.

 

[BIGT]

A tank been setup for only a week is your problem, no bacteria growth and fish constantly producing ammonia.

Take a look at the pinned section on fish-LESS and fish-IN cycling and you will understand more.

thankyou very much just a fyi the guy at the fish store said u should have alot of fish they will die but it will speed up the process faster were no fish it will take a while

 

[fatheadminnow]

A tank been setup for only a week is your problem, no bacteria growth and fish constantly producing ammonia.

Take a look at the pinned section on fish-LESS and fish-IN cycling and you will understand more.

thankyou very much just a fyi the guy at the fish store said u should have alot of fish they will die but it will speed up the process faster were no fish it will take a while

LFS (local fish stores) tell you what you want to hear, and what will make them the most money.

You NEED to go to the beginners section, and take a look at the pinned articles about fish-in and fishless cycling like said above.

Fish produce ammonia through respiration, left over fish food in the water and fish waste in the water.

What ever the case is, if you have fish in a tank, you are going to have an ammonia source.

The only difference is, how much ammonia fish can tolerate.

Any ammonia reading over .25 ppm is going to give the fish permanent gill damage, and will eventually kill them, as you unfortunately found out.

In a fully established tank, there are what is called autotrophic bacteria that live in our filters that process ammonia, so that the ammonia reading on your test kit will zero.

When these bacteria process ammonia, the ammonia then turns into nitrite, then there is a second type of bacteria that process nitrite in nitrate.

There is no kind of bacteria that process nitrate, and the only way to get nitrate out of the water is through water changes.

Now, all of what I just described, takes place in a fully cycled/established tank.

Where am I in all this?

You are at the beginning with no autotrophic bacteria present in the filter.

How do I get these autotrophic bacteria?

If there is an ammonia source in your tank, then these bacteria will eventually start to colonize in your filter.

How long does it take to colonize enough bacteria to process all of the ammonia that my fish are producing?

It will tank on average, if done properly, 4-6 weeks.

Now, there are different ways to do it, the two ways are called fish-in, where as the second way is called fishless.

Have a read about them in the beginners section so you can fully understand how these two processes work, and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

-FHM

 

[Rooster]

A tank been setup for only a week is your problem, no bacteria growth and fish constantly producing ammonia.

Take a look at the pinned section on fish-LESS and fish-IN cycling and you will understand more.

thankyou very much just a fyi the guy at the fish store said u should have alot of fish they will die but it will speed up the process faster were no fish it will take a while

The fish you have are already dead.... PLEASE read the stickies on "fishless cycling" and start again





...oh, and burn down that fish shop.

 

[doktor doris]

i just baught a new fish tank had it about 1 week maybe a little more. the water started gettign really cloudy and ammonia was high. the fish store said its normal called new tank syndrome it was just going through its initial setting up period. it went away not fully now the cloudy water is coming back i been testing the ammonia again when the cloudy water started clearing up the ammonia levels never changed. i been using some ammonia killers from api called amm-clear or something like that, and water conditioner also from api, and another one from api for algea growth for benificial allgy. i use the ammonia stuff when it tells me to do it and yet ammonia still does not drop i also have had about 5 fish die now 2 of them were pregnant not sure if its a big factor one died right after giving birth other died just befor having babies. can someone please help with why my ammonia levels are high and not going down even with the ammonia medicine stuff. all the other levels ph and all that stuff are good ammonia is only one thats bad. i really appreciate the help

I can't believe I just read that.

Those poor, poor fish.

But is it really all the shops's fault?

 

[fatheadminnow]

i just baught a new fish tank had it about 1 week maybe a little more. the water started gettign really cloudy and ammonia was high. the fish store said its normal called new tank syndrome it was just going through its initial setting up period. it went away not fully now the cloudy water is coming back i been testing the ammonia again when the cloudy water started clearing up the ammonia levels never changed. i been using some ammonia killers from api called amm-clear or something like that, and water conditioner also from api, and another one from api for algea growth for benificial allgy. i use the ammonia stuff when it tells me to do it and yet ammonia still does not drop i also have had about 5 fish die now 2 of them were pregnant not sure if its a big factor one died right after giving birth other died just befor having babies. can someone please help with why my ammonia levels are high and not going down even with the ammonia medicine stuff. all the other levels ph and all that stuff are good ammonia is only one thats bad. i really appreciate the help

I can't believe I just read that.

Those poor, poor fish.

But is it really all the shops's fault?

Fish stores run from a financial stand point, and not for the well-being of the fish.

It is very rare and very fortunate to find a fish store that operates for the fish, and sees the money/income as a bonus.

-FHM

 

[OldMan47]

Getting away from LFS bashing for a moment, try a huge, 75% or more, water change then another one right away. After those two changes, you should have ammonia at a level that won't kill the fish outright. That will give you a few hour to read up on fish-in cycling and decide whether you want to do all the work involved or give the fish back to the store that thinks its OK to overpopulate a new tank and do a fishless cycle. There is a link to a thread on fish-in cycling in my signature area.
Either way, I would avoid trading with a store that was willing to give out trash advice like that. Greed is understandable but I don't deal with people that intentionally give me bad advice. If they didn't know it was bad advice that is one thing but to sit there and tell you that you will lose most of the fish means that they knew full well what they were telling you would kill your fish.

 

[doktor doris]

i just baught a new fish tank had it about 1 week maybe a little more. the water started gettign really cloudy and ammonia was high. the fish store said its normal called new tank syndrome it was just going through its initial setting up period. it went away not fully now the cloudy water is coming back i been testing the ammonia again when the cloudy water started clearing up the ammonia levels never changed. i been using some ammonia killers from api called amm-clear or something like that, and water conditioner also from api, and another one from api for algea growth for benificial allgy. i use the ammonia stuff when it tells me to do it and yet ammonia still does not drop i also have had about 5 fish die now 2 of them were pregnant not sure if its a big factor one died right after giving birth other died just befor having babies. can someone please help with why my ammonia levels are high and not going down even with the ammonia medicine stuff. all the other levels ph and all that stuff are good ammonia is only one thats bad. i really appreciate the help

I can't believe I just read that.

Those poor, poor fish.

But is it really all the shops's fault?

Fish stores run from a financial stand point, and not for the well-being of the fish.

It is very rare and very fortunate to find a fish store that operates for the fish, and sees the money/income as a bonus.

-FHM

What I meant was perhaps the person who decides to take care of fish shares some of the responsibilty, whether the shop gives crap advice or not.

I wouldn't dream of doing anything nowdays until I had joined at least one forum and asked people about my intentions, that's why Iam a member of at least 10 forums (forums? fora perhaps?) At least one for every hobby of mine.

I too agree It is easy to bash a LFS, but they exist to make money for owners and shareholders not to spread the gospel of animal care.

That is why if a person claims that they care for creatures, surely that person would realise that the very people who have a vested interest in selling more animals and nostrums perhaps don't have the animal best interest at heart?

It only takes 3 minutes of web browsing or a similar length of time with a book to learn the basics of being an aquarist.



THAt is why I said perhaps it isn't just the fault of the minimum wage youth who perhaps approaches the selling of live animals in the same manner he would sell DVD players?


doris

 

[h4hapoo]

3 minutes will not cover the basics not even for a speed reader. Bigt made a sad mistake he is concerned and trying to fix the problem. If you go to a fish store you want to believe as a newbie that you are in the right hands! I'm pretty sure most people make a mistake or 2 when starting a new hobby. Who get's a hole in one the first time they swing a golf club?

 

[doktor doris]

I agree with you entirely, perhaps yet again I have sounded like a tit whilst quickly writing an answer in a forum, sorry.

But I still think that if the OP had looked at the Wikipedia page (and I don't like wikipedia very much) about aquariums for a few minutes he/she would have learnt about the small part of the nitrogen cycle that is relevant for aquarists to know.

Thats all, I just meant that the box-shifter in the shop wasn't entirely to blame.

doris

 

[fatheadminnow]

Agree^^

I guess that BIGT is just fortunate to have found this forum where we can help him/her out through this initial process.

That is the bottom line; that we exist as this forum here to help other people out.

Lets just hope BIGT gets on the right track!

-FHM

 

[Rooster]

I agree with you entirely, perhaps yet again I have sounded like a tit whilst quickly writing an answer in a forum, sorry.

But I still think that if the OP had looked at the Wikipedia page (and I don't like wikipedia very much) about aquariums for a few minutes he/she would have learnt about the small part of the nitrogen cycle that is relevant for aquarists to know.

Thats all, I just meant that the box-shifter in the shop wasn't entirely to blame.

doris

I absolutely DISAGREE.... shops should have a responsibility to offer valid advice, or simply say "I dont know" ....
imagine this attitude from a chemist !!!!
The business model that states "fleece the thick customer NOW" has never made sense to me, I would have thought "treat the customer right, and they will keep coming back" would make more sense ?

Its true that most hobbies start with an interest deep enough to warrant a trip to the library, or at least a night with google - but shops also rely on impulse purchase, and as such should HAVE to tell you how to work it

I think we should build a list of GOOD shops, and once you've found one SUPPORT IT, ok you may save a few quid buying from FISHrUS but the smaller bloke is worth the extra bob or two.