Mollie Fish

[KittyKat]

thankyou so much everyone for your replys i shall start doing water changes and clean my filter with the tank water p.s shall i stop using the filteration booster chemical?

I wouldn't use it myself.

It is quite important that you start with *small* water changes (very often) and gradually increase them into fewer *very large* ones. Small water changes will not help much with ammonia, but will gradually get your fish used to your tap water parameters (which may or may not be different to tank water, but it's impossible to know without test kits). The large water changes will then help remove the ammonia.

For example, a 90% water change removes 90% of the ammonia, while a 10% water change would remove only 10% of the ammonia, but it would take 22* 10% water changes to remove 90% of the ammonia.

So, my suggestion would be something like this:
First water change: 10%
1 hour later: 15%
1 hour later: 20%
1 hour later: 25%
1-2 hours later: 30%
1-2 hours later: 40%
1-3 hours later: 50%
1-6 hours later: 65%
1-12 hours later: 85%
every 12 hours: 95%
…once you have a liquid test kit for ammonia and nitrite, 95% every time the reading looks close to 0.25 ppm. If you plan to go to bed or work, do a 95% water change before you do and make sure you double dose dechlorinator. If both test kits show 0 ppm, you don't need to water change. You should probably start by testing every 6 hours or more regularly, and eventually drop off to 12 hours. In 3-5 weeks, you will probably need to test only once per day. In 8-12 weeks, your testing will probably drop off to once per week, after 6 months, you should only need to test in case of a problem.

Edit: water changes are a LOT less stressful to fish than ammonia and nitrite.

 

[feefeefreckles21]

ok i shall follow your advice kitty kat thanks and the dechlorinator is the other stress coat chemical im using isnt it?

 

[feefeefreckles21]

p.s do i do all these water changes in one day?

 

[fishyfeet]

oh and dont feed, ive never done water changes like that, but it wouldnt do any harm better than doing a load at all once, so yes follow it exactly after the first couple of day you are doing about one a day which is what i would do, di

 

[feefeefreckles21]

ok and also its only effected one fish?

 

[the_lock_man]

ok and also its only effected one fish?

Only visibly.

The analogy I often use is to compare it with human's smoking. It might make your fingernails go yellow, but outwardly, you look perfectly normal. Then one day, the nasty hacking cough starts.

Same with fish, ammonia and nitrite cause internal damage that might not show itself for some time. In your instance, one fish shows burn marks, but the main damage is internal.

 

[feefeefreckles21]

ok im such an idiot should of done more research before i got tropical fish never new how much work they would be i dont get paid for another week so am unable to do anything but water changes atm. good job ive got the day off tomorrow to do all these water changes just hope my fish will be ok i also have a plec and 6 neons

 

[KittyKat]

ok i shall follow your advice kitty kat thanks and the dechlorinator is the other stress coat chemical im using isnt it?

Yes, Stress Coat is dechlorinator. It makes chlorine and chloramine not hurt fish, it also happens to temporarily convert ammonia to ammonium. You should use a double-the-stated dose of this for all water changes until your filter is cycled.

When you have to buy new dechlorinator, make sure that you buy more Stress Coat, Prime or another which "deals" with ammonia. Not all dechlorinators do.

p.s do i do all these water changes in one day?

Do at least the first 6 of those on the same day and wait at least one hour between each one.

ok and also its only effected one fish?

It is actually affecting all your fish, but it is not always visible. Ammonia burns are caused by serious ammonia exposure. Generally, ammonia will lead to health problems and a shorter life span, which, as you can imagine, are not visible.

ok im such an idiot should of done more research before i got tropical fish never new how much work they would be i dont get paid for another week so am unable to do anything but water changes atm. good job ive got the day off tomorrow to do all these water changes just hope my fish will be ok i also have a plec and 6 neons

Your LFS might test your water for you for free. If you take it in, insist that they write down the exact results on some paper for you, in ppm. ("It's fine" is useless for us.) Also, do NOT let them talk you into buying *anything* except more dechlorinator or a decent *liquid* test kit. There are NO products which will instantly cycle your filter, no matter what they say.

 

[feefeefreckles21]

ok thankyou i will let you know how i get on

 

[ellejay]

ok im such an idiot should of done more research before i got tropical fish never new how much work they would be i dont get paid for another week so am unable to do anything but water changes atm. good job ive got the day off tomorrow to do all these water changes just hope my fish will be ok i also have a plec and 6 neons

Don't feel like an idiot, there are hundreds of threads just like yours on this forum! Loads of people have done the same thing (I did too ) Follow KK's advice and you'll do fine.

What sort of plec do you have?

 

[feefeefreckles21]

thanks lol i felt like giving up until i found this site u all are so kind and helpful just hope the advice works. i have a common plec i love him lol he is my fav im going to upgrade my tank after christmas also i didnt put any poloystirene under my tank ive made proper newbie errors although i read on one site that someone was kepping 3/4 fish in a jar how cruel!!! well uneducated that person was

 

[feefeefreckles21]

when you clean your filter, use the tank water and pick bits off it food, waste etc. that will help out. i really thought it was best to wash it under a tap lol

uh oh me too

p.s do i have to use the same brand dechlorinator every time? if so this isnt a problem and is stress coat one of the good brands?

 

[ellejay]

Yes stress coat seems to be the recommended one on here, and no it doesn't always have to be the same brand as long as it does the same job. I hope it's a big tank upgrade you're planning because common plecs grow into monsters! I think you need either a 5 foot tank or a new home for him. Sorry

 

[KittyKat]

thanks lol i felt like giving up until i found this site u all are so kind and helpful just hope the advice works. i have a common plec i love him lol he is my fav im going to upgrade my tank after christmas also i didnt put any poloystirene under my tank ive made proper newbie errors although i read on one site that someone was kepping 3/4 fish in a jar how cruel!!! well uneducated that person was

Depending on species, common plecos should have at least a 6+*2+*2 ft (for ones which grow to 24") tank or a 4+*2*2 ft tank (for ones which grow to 12"). You are probably better off finding it a better home in a large tank unless you can upgrade to a tank of the size I mentioned.

p.s do i have to use the same brand dechlorinator every time? if so this isnt a problem and is stress coat one of the good brands?

No, you don't need to use the same one. But what you do need to do is one which treats chlorine, chloramine and converts ammonia to ammonium. The last bit is very important because it is what will keep your fish alive and some dechlorinators don't do that. I know that Stress Coat and Prime will deal with ammonia.

 

[feefeefreckles21]

Yes stress coat seems to be the recommended one on here, and no it doesn't always have to be the same brand as long as it does the same job. I hope it's a big tank upgrade you're planning because common plecs grow into monsters! I think you need either a 5 foot tank or a new home for him. Sorry

i was told that my plec will only grow to its environment size and i do plan to upgrade after christmas

when im making up the new water am i to use kettle water or tap? because i have an old boiler unsure wether that effects the water?