Ammonia Levels High

[rewlyn]

is it bad to use a little extra ammolock than required

 

[fatheadminnow]

I am not too familiar with that product, can you please write what it says it does in the description?

Is this what you are using as a water conditioner?

Thanks

-FHM

 

[rewlyn]

not sure but i think its what your after

promotes healthy gill function and eliminates fish stress
caused by ammonia. each dose of ammolock will
detoxify 3.0ppm of ammonia, 7.0ppm of chlorine
and 5.0ppm of chloramines.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Okay, that is what I thought.

It can be used as a water conditioner because it removes chlorine and chloramines.

It says it "detoxifies" Ammonia. What this means that it changes ammonia to ammonium, where ammonium is less harmful to your fish, but is still detectable on your API ammonia test kit. Also, it can be processed by your bacteria in your filter, but it will take longer.

So, all-in-all, this product may make your tank cycle longer than usual.

What you should do:

Stop using this product, and go out and buy a water conditioner, one that does not detoxify ammonia. API Stress Coat is a good product.

You can still use this product, ammolock, but it may effect your cycling time.

-FHM

 

[rewlyn]

im also using SCIENCE PRODUCTS - CHLORINE NEUTRALIZER
AND SCIENCE PRODUCTS - AQUA CYCLE

 

[fatheadminnow]

im also using SCIENCE PRODUCTS - CHLORINE NEUTRALIZER

Okay good.

Stop using Ammolock and use this instead!

-FHM

 

[rewlyn]

MY LATEST AMMONIA READING IS .25PPM DOWM FROM 8PPM

AND I TRYED TO STOP USING AMMOLOCK YESTERDAY AND

MY FISH STARTED TO GET THE ICH FLICKER

 

[fatheadminnow]

Way to go man!

Elaborate a little on the "Ick Flicker."

Also, Cichlids, when displaying themselves to one another for spawning, they will do what is called "shimming" where it look like they are getting electrocuted for a second or two, where they vibrate very quickly.

Is this what you mean?

Congrats on the Ammonia man!

Now, just keep it down there by doing daily water changes, and eventually you will see that your ammonia will not rise up that high that fast anymore in a couple weeks or so (due to the good bacteria in your filter that are processing it). Also, you should start to test for nitrIte soon, as ammonia that is processed will turn into Nitrite, and you want to keep NitrIte down at or below .25 ppm as well.

Congrats man!

-FHM

 

[rewlyn]

ICK FLICKER

THEY TEND TO SCRATCH THEIR GILLS ON THE ROCKS WITH A QUICK FLICK

 

[fatheadminnow]

ICK FLICKER

THEY TEND TO SCRATCH THEIR GILLS ON THE ROCKS WITH A QUICK FLICK

This might be territorial issues, or it was the impact of the high ammonia.

I would wait and watch them for a couple of days and see how they act now since the ammonia is down.

If they still do this in a couple of days, I will let wilder know, another member on here, she is good with fish diseases.

Just keep those ammonia and nitrite readings down for now and you should be good to go!

-FHM

 

[mancin]

i also havent feed them in about 30 hrs should it rise that much

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't you feed sparingly during a fish-in cycle? Less food = less waste = less likely chance for ammonia to go through the roof. When I got stuck in a fish-in cycle for my very first tank, I only fed every 3 - 4 days and fortunately didn't really see my ammonia or nitrItes go above 0.25 (However, I think there were a couple days that nitrItes got close to 0.50).

 

[rewlyn]

COL ILL KEEP YOU POSTED

 

[rewlyn]

I THOUGHT THE SAME "MANCIN"
MY AMMONIA LEVELS HAVE BEEN HIGH
LIKE 8 HOURS AGO IT WAS 8 PPM
NOW ITS .50PPM AND I HAVE NOT FED
THEM FOR 32 HOURS I BETER FEED THEM NOW

I SPOSE IF I CAN WAIT ANOTHER 24 HOURS ILL
DO THAT

 

[WILDER]

How many gallons is the tank.
How big are the fish.
I wouldn't do a large water change. Best doing 40% water changes twice aday.
Any of your fish have white spots that look the size of a grain of salt.
Bad water quality can make fish flick and rub.
Did they start flicking when you added the ammo lock.

I would feed your fish but don't go mad. They need some energy to fight the cycle.
Soak there food in garlic juice it boost the fish immune system.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Yeah, I would do what mancin said, feed every couple of days.

Also, when doing water changes, if you haven't already, use a gravel vac.

With 11 Cichlids, you are going to have some waste build up on the substrate, and possibly left over food.

If you leave fish wastes in the water without taking it out, it will start to produce ammonia, as well will the food, if left in the water, it will start to produce ammonia.

So by using a gravel vac, you can get the waste and left over food out.

Answer the questions Wilder has asked, she will help you figure out why your fish are doing what they are doing.

-FHM