Dead Fish, Ph Drop, Ammonia Spike... Ut Oh

[nike12301]

I've had quite a situation with my 36 gallon tank for the last couple days.

I've lost four fish in the last few days. Two I found and disposed of. Two I did not find.

I finally got a chance to test today to see what in the world is going on and found that my pH had dropped to about 6.0 and my ammonia had increased to 1.0 ppm.

I'm guessing the ammonia spike is from the rotting dead fish I couldn't find.

I put some baking soda in to get the pH back up there and did a 75% water change.

Also, I guess it's worth mentioning that I had noticed some slightly cloudy water over the last week or two but didn't think much of it.

Any idea what could be at the root of all this?
And what should I be concerned about now?
Will my ammonia keep spiking if I don't find those dead fish? It's a giant danio and a small rasbora.

 

[OldMan47]

You will continue to produce a lot of ammonia if you don't remove the dead fish. Whether or not you see a build in the water depends on how mature your filter is really. Since the loss of 4 fish has driven the ammonia that high from only 4 fish dead in a 36 gallon, I suspect your filter is not very up to handling the ammonia load. Check your ammonia levels again in another half hour and see how you are doing. If levels are still above 0.25 ppm of ammonia, try another 50% water change to get your chemistry right while you look for the missing fish. It is possible that you will find them in the filter or even outside the tank on the floor. It happens.

 

[nike12301]

You will continue to produce a lot of ammonia if you don't remove the dead fish. Whether or not you see a build in the water depends on how mature your filter is really. Since the loss of 4 fish has driven the ammonia that high from only 4 fish dead in a 36 gallon, I suspect your filter is not very up to handling the ammonia load. Check your ammonia levels again in another half hour and see how you are doing. If levels are still above 0.25 ppm of ammonia, try another 50% water change to get your chemistry right while you look for the missing fish. It is possible that you will find them in the filter or even outside the tank on the floor. It happens.

Ammonia was back up to 1 ppm today. Did another 75% water change. While I did that, I stripped the tank and looked for the two dead fish but had no luck. How long will I have to do these water changes for before the ammonia stops spiking?

Also, can ammonia neutralizer help? Or does that mess with your filter?