High Ammonia Levels.

[Zak2401]

I got testing kits today. I havnt finished my cycling, only 6 days in or so. and i have got 7 fish in the tank;

Betta
2 Platies
Dwarf Pegesus (Or something )
Red Ram
Red tailed black shark
Long fin WCMM

My fish waste didnt seem to cycling too well in my 10 gallon tank, using an internal Juwel filter. So i bought an;

ELITE STINGRAY 10. Apparently its the best in the range. according to a fellow friend.

Like i said, i got NitrAte, NitrIte and Ammonia testing kits.

The NitrAte looked about 5-ish.
The NitrIte looked like it was 0, or very close.
Now to the Ammonia. It looked about 0.5 maybe higher.

I immediatly syphoned out alot of fish waste, as much as i could, and about 30% of the water. then obviously re-filled it, with Treated water. Did i do the right thing? and is there anything else i should do?

The Ammonia looked a little lower when i last tested it, around .25. possibly lower.




I bought some aquarium salt today

I thought that might help my fish in some way shape or form?


Should I do a water change everytime ammonia levers are above .25??

Like 30% water change? more? less?

Should i get something to help drop the ammonia, such as 'Ammo-lock'?


Thanks in advance

(I Tried to put it in the Emergencies section, but seeing as i'm new. i'm assuming i cant post there yet? help on that would be nice aswel. )

 

[bronzecat]

Hi

What size is the tank? How long has the tank been set-up and when did you change the filter?

The biggest problem here is that you have introduced fish to an uncycled tank. You are going to get high ammonia and nitrIte which are both toxic to the fish.

 

[Amunet]

Ditto bronzecat.
Read up on the nitrogen cycle. It's a common newbie mistake that most of us have made. Getting fish too soon.
If you can't take the fish back or rehome them to do a fishless cycle, then you'll have to do a fish-in one which will require you to do daily water changes.. probably more since you have so many fish in there (and platy are poop machines) to keep ammonia and eventually nitrite as low as possible.

 

[bronzecat]

Just seen its a ten gallon.

 

[Alliecat420]

i hate to tell you this.. but no your tank was not cycled in 6 days.. it's just not long enough.. even with a bacteria boost it takes at least a week.. if you added all the fish at once.. the bacteria you had developing could not have caught up quickly.. even with established tanks (years established) i still only add no more than 3 fish at a time
you are now going through what most beginner aquarists go through at least once.. we call it new tank syndrom.. this means your bioload (your cyle created bacteria) is not mature enough for your fish

the only cure is lots and lots of water changes.. every day or 2.. %20

this may not even fix the problem as it seems you have a few too meny fish that just will not work in a 10 gallon tank.. i dont know what some of them are but if they are what i think your trying to say.. is that a red tailed shark?..because him and your betta will just not do

i seguest you do your research

 

[bronzecat]

Yeh agree with Alliecat, the betta and shark will not get on Plus a Red tailed black shark is too big for a ten gallon.
Do you mean "Pangasius"? If you do they are 11" fish, so again should not be in a ten gallon.

Bearing this in mind, i believe you would be better off taking them back to where you got them If you dont, i wouldn't be surprised if you lost some of them due to high ammonia and nitrIte. Even if they do survive, your tank is going to end up as a battleground.

Many people here will help you through the early stages

 

[OldMan47]

You are on the right track Zak. The way to deal with 0.5 ppm of ammonia is an immediate 50% water change using any decent dechlorinator such as Prime or similar products by other manufacturers. The things that supposedly hide ammonia from the fish usually just convert it to a less harmful form and don't really remove it. The best approach is to use large water changes because smaller ones cause just as much stress to the fish and do not do as much to help. Where you want to end up is low enough in ammonia and nitrites that, by the time you are ready for the next water change, the chemicals will still be below 0.25 ppm. Once you have done that first big water change, come back an hour later and sample again. If you are still over 0.25 ppm, do another big water change.