Hi I was looking for some help with ammonia. Ive had this aquarium a little of a month its not overstocked, a 30 gallon, whisper 40 filter, The ammonia test is still showing between 2 and 4. Fish seem fine, active, eat, but I cant get rid of this problem Ive changed 25 percent of the water 3 times, I bought one of those vacuums to try and pick up the debris,(which there is a lotof, is that much debris typical, because when I am done and refilling the tank, the debris is floating all over, the fish must think it is frood because they eat it. Ive bought stress zyme which is supposed to cut down on the ammonia, Is my filter defective or something else somebody might know about. Its starting to stress me out. Help
another ammonia question
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That's quite alot of fish to cycle the tank with, the chinese algae eaters sorry not a good choice there, also they produce alot of waste,did your nitrite raise then fall, what is your tap nitrate reading.
Not the writer of this information.
Chinese Algae Eater, Gyrinocheilus aymonieri (Tirant, 1883)
This Algae Eater belongs to family Gyrinocheilidae, although it resembles both loaches and Algae Eating barbs. Its English name isn't very accurate, because it comes from Northern India and Thailand, not China. It is also called the Indian Algae Eater. There are still some unclear points in the systematic classification of this genus and it is possible that the species most often imported isn't G. aymonieri but G. kaznakovi. There are also two other species (G. pustulosus and G. pennocki).
Description: Chinese Algae Eater is a bottom-dweller. The most prominent feature is a big suckermouth, which it uses for scraping algae and clinging to objects. There is a special opening on the upper part of the gill cover for the water intake so the fish can breath without using its mouth. This same feature is seen on Suckermouth Catfishes. The fish is light brown and there is a dark grey or brown horizontal pattern on its side, which can be either a zig-zag edged solid stripe or a row of separate spots or anything between these two. Young specimens are more colorful. There are some dark patches at the back and small brown spots at the tail. All the other fins are transparent or slightly brownish. Maximum length is 27 cm (11") but normally it doesn't exceed 15 cm (6") in an aquarium. Females are larger and fuller, adult males might show spawning tubercles on the head.
Behavior: It moves along all the surfaces of the tank scraping green algae with its suckermouth. Older specimens prefer artificial foods and are rather aggressive.
Needs: Chinese Algae Eater is not very demanding on water conditions: pH may vary from 6.0 to 7.5 and the temperature from 22C (72F) to 28C (82F). Water should be well oxygenated, as it comes from streams. It eats all kinds of foods, but must get enough algae or plant food. It is reported that it will stop eating algae if the temperature drops below 69 degrees F (20 deg. C). It has not been bred in captivity. Minimum tank size 100 liters (25 gallons).
Compatibility: Young Chinese Algae Eaters can be kept in community, but adult specimens can be aggressive to other fish. They most often attack slow-swimming, flat-bodied fish and shouldn't be kept with them.
Chinese Algae Eater, Gyrinocheilus aymonieri (Tirant, 1883)
This Algae Eater belongs to family Gyrinocheilidae, although it resembles both loaches and Algae Eating barbs. Its English name isn't very accurate, because it comes from Northern India and Thailand, not China. It is also called the Indian Algae Eater. There are still some unclear points in the systematic classification of this genus and it is possible that the species most often imported isn't G. aymonieri but G. kaznakovi. There are also two other species (G. pustulosus and G. pennocki).
Description: Chinese Algae Eater is a bottom-dweller. The most prominent feature is a big suckermouth, which it uses for scraping algae and clinging to objects. There is a special opening on the upper part of the gill cover for the water intake so the fish can breath without using its mouth. This same feature is seen on Suckermouth Catfishes. The fish is light brown and there is a dark grey or brown horizontal pattern on its side, which can be either a zig-zag edged solid stripe or a row of separate spots or anything between these two. Young specimens are more colorful. There are some dark patches at the back and small brown spots at the tail. All the other fins are transparent or slightly brownish. Maximum length is 27 cm (11") but normally it doesn't exceed 15 cm (6") in an aquarium. Females are larger and fuller, adult males might show spawning tubercles on the head.
Behavior: It moves along all the surfaces of the tank scraping green algae with its suckermouth. Older specimens prefer artificial foods and are rather aggressive.
Needs: Chinese Algae Eater is not very demanding on water conditions: pH may vary from 6.0 to 7.5 and the temperature from 22C (72F) to 28C (82F). Water should be well oxygenated, as it comes from streams. It eats all kinds of foods, but must get enough algae or plant food. It is reported that it will stop eating algae if the temperature drops below 69 degrees F (20 deg. C). It has not been bred in captivity. Minimum tank size 100 liters (25 gallons).
Compatibility: Young Chinese Algae Eaters can be kept in community, but adult specimens can be aggressive to other fish. They most often attack slow-swimming, flat-bodied fish and shouldn't be kept with them.
Are you using any chemicals like ammo-loc or amquel? Since your fish are fine with an extremely toxic level of ammonia (and no nitrites or nitrates), I imagine you are adding something that is converting ammonia to a non-toxic form and preventing your tank from cycling. As Wilder mentioned, that is a lot of fish to cycle with. You have a problem that really will be difficult to solve. If you stop using the chemicals, the ammonia will become toxic again and you will probably start losing fish, especially the neons and angels. If you don't stop using them, you will basically be stuck with using them forever and your tank will never cycle.
On a side not about your fish, as Wilder said, CAE will get very aggressive as they get older, especially toward flat bodied fish like gouramis and angels. Also, once the angel fish get bigger, they will eat the neons or any other fish small enough to fit in their mouth.
On a side not about your fish, as Wilder said, CAE will get very aggressive as they get older, especially toward flat bodied fish like gouramis and angels. Also, once the angel fish get bigger, they will eat the neons or any other fish small enough to fit in their mouth.
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