Ammonia won't go down

[JemZ]

I think my fish has ammonia poisoning, he has trouble getting up from the substrate and is very lethargic. When he does get up to swim, he can only do so for short periods and swims in a loopy, erratic motion. The ammonia has been stuck at 0.25 ppm for days now, despite the fact I have done large, daily water changes as well as gravel cleaning the substrate. I have also cleaned the filter in tank water. Also, the pH is 8.2.

 

[Colin_T]

Has the filter been cycled?
Have you tested the tap water for ammonia?
How much water have you been changing?

A pH of 8.2 will make any ammonia much more toxic than if the pH was 7.0 or less.

Assuming the tap water doesn't have ammonia in, do 75-90% water changes each day until the ammonia stays at 0ppm.

Some test kits read 0ppm as 0-0.25ppm. If you test some distilled water it should have 0ppm ammonia. If your test kit says it has 0.25ppm, then the kit is probably reading 0 as 0.25ppm.

 

[DragonScales+Doubletails]

couldn't have said it better; but if it get's out of control I suppose you could use ammonia remover. I heard it works.

and please do not judge me or take my word for it I've never tried it.

 

[coriesinhawaii]

I've used ammonia detoxifiers a number of times and can say that they definitely help

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

Ammonia remover. Cycled? Fish? Water change amount?

 

[JemZ]

Hi everyone, thanks for the responses, but he passed away during the night.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Sorry for the loss.
Get some Seachem Prime for your water conditioner, it will detoxify ammonia while your tank cycles.

 

[DragonScales+Doubletails]

sorry for the loss