Close Call

[William Hlas]

I had no idea that my jack dempsey cichlid was in pain from ammonia until I found the red around her gills. So I did my research and when I found out it was ammonia I went straight to petsmart and got some Ammo lock and things that tell you if the PH or ammonia is right. Anyways my JD is doing WAY better than she was before. But just wondering, will my JD ever recover completely?

 

[Proxo]

Not sure on this ammo lock stuff but some larger water changes would of done enough of a job to lower ammonia.
I'd cut back on feeding and keep the water changes going until the ammonia hits 0 again.

 

[This Old Spouse]

The ammo lock only covers up the problem temporarily. You have to stabilize your water with large changes until the ammonia and nitrite levels remain at 0 all the time. Did you cycle your tank before introducing the fish? And the "things that tell you if the PH or ammonia is right" are likely strips, which are ridiculously inaccurate. You need to buy a liquid test kid, particularly for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. How big is your tank? Are there other fish in it?

 

[This Old Spouse]

Sorry ... double post for some reason.

 

[Man of fish]

a liquid test kid

This made me lol
How much would one cost me?
Where would I go about finding one?
What size and color will it be?

 

[William Hlas]

My tank is a 30 gallon and in it is 1 jack dempsey female (2-3 inches) and 1 African featherfin catfish (4 inches)

 

[This Old Spouse]

a liquid test kid

This made me lol
How much would one cost me?
Where would I go about finding one?
What size and color will it be?

Glad I could be a source of entertainment for you. Liquid as opposed to test strips. API Master Test kit, Nutrafin, there are others.

 

[fishprotector]

My tank is a 30 gallon and in it is 1 jack dempsey female (2-3 inches) and 1 African featherfin catfish (4 inches)

That is quite a lot of stock for a 30 G tank. Neither of those fish are fully grown and will easily outgrow that tank. JD's are messy eaters aswell which probably will not help the ammonia situation.

 

[nicky b]

You can get a full liquid Nutrafin test kit off ebay or your LSF

 

[Proxo]

Alot of users on here get API master test kit from ebay, £20.
I agree with fishprotector, that stocking will not work out too well long term unless you upgrade the tank.