Jump to content

Ammonia Spike - advice for sick fish


toastiireefs

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

I had been pretty neglectful of my aquarium because of school and travel over the last 3-4 weeks. But corals were all looking happy so I didn't think much of it- kept it topped off.

 

Last night I noticed my fish not swimming around so I did a water change.

This morning it was more active but swimming upside down etc- looking unhealthy. So I thought crap that looks like ammonia.

 

So I checked my ammonia and it was 0.25-0.5!!!!!! YIKES!

I used up all my pre-made saltwater yesterday, so I ran to the store and am mixing some water now. Should I set up a hospital tank for the little guy and put him in some freshly mixed saltwater with water changes- or keep him in the main tank and continue to do large WC over the next few days??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seachem prime is really helpful to temporarily detoxify ammonia and buy time. Really you need to figure out the cause of your ammonia. Are your RODI filters exhausted? The filtered particles can rot and leech ammonia. Did something else die? How old is your tank?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seachem prime is really helpful to temporarily detoxify ammonia and buy time. Really you need to figure out the cause of your ammonia. Are your RODI filters exhausted? The filtered particles can rot and leech ammonia. Did something else die? How old is your tank?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My tank is only 3 gallons and pretty new- 4 months old. And It had not had a water change in a while - it really should be once a week or every other week at the least.

So probably filter build up etc. I also used old saltwater that I mixed and didn't check it before the change. So its just a small tank that hasn't had love in a month!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My tank is only 3 gallons and pretty new- 4 months old. And It had not had a water change in a while - it really should be once a week or every other week at the least.

So probably filter build up etc. I also used old saltwater that I mixed and didn't check it before the change. So its just a small tank that hasn't had love in a month!

If your tank is cycled properly and nothing else is amiss there shouldn’t be ammonia. When neglecting a tank it’s really about not exporting phosphate and nitrate with water changes that lead to algae blooms/poor coral health. What kind of fish is it?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also do you have a tds meter?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No tds meter.

 

I was feeding the tank- every once in a while- probably over feeding for one fish.

It was cycled- but with small tanks it can get out of hand pretty quickly.

It is a hectors goby. The only fish in the aquarium.

I have chaeto in the back that has otherwise been really good at keeping phosphates and algae away. I was having an algae issue (at the beginning as per usual and put chaeto in and poof all gone).

 

I just not sure if I should set up a temp tank and take the fish out immediately but I worry about further shock.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would not recommend removing the fish. It will add more stress to an already-stressed animal. Let him heal in this tank. A 4-month old tank should not have ammonia spike unless there is something dead, more than nitrifying bacteria can process. Did you remove any media (such as carbon, socks) that could have resulted in the reduction of bacteria population?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Elevated ammonia can damage a fish's gills and other organs inside of 48 hours if subjected to those levels. If there's tissue damage, it may take longer for your fish to recover if it recovers at all. 

 

Binding the free ammonia up with an ammonia binder like Amquel, Prime can be a quick fix. Just realize that, depending upon your test kit and the ammonia binder used, additional testing may not give you an accurate result. You can also perform a water change to dilute the ammonia. And, finally, you can shift the pH of the water down lower (toward 7.8) to convert as much as 75% of the free ammonia to the less toxic ammonium ion (NH4+).

 

As mentioned earlier, an ammonia spike is a pretty clear indication that most likely something has died in your tank and is decaying.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yea. I the only thing in my tank unaccounted for is 1 snail. I can't find it and thinking maybe it died? But all other 4 snails are looking good.

I fed the tank last night and did a water change right after (1/2 gallon)- and think I stirred some trapped nutrients in the filter -- but other than that there were no changes.

 

I did a 30-40% change this morning, and added some amquel though I tested my new water and even that read 0.25 on my test.

I tested the DI- but i don't think the test works with freshwater. (but if it does it read 0)

 

So I threw all of that out, maybe i didn't clean the bucket very well before using it and I am making another 3 gallons of water. Plan on doing another water change this evening I think- maybe hunt harder for this snail- see if it died.

 

The only animals I have are 1 fish. 5 snails (i unaccounted for) and 5 types of zoas,gorgonia, 1 mushroom and a hammercoral. - all of those are looking pretty good.

The fish has been trying to swim today- yesterday it really didn't move at all. I am not sure if that means its getting better or worse.

 

Just annoyed that I was neglectful - lesson learned pay more attention

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From Kordon, makers of Amquel and Amquel Plus:

"AmQuel (Plus) is compatible to use with those water quality test kits on the market that are fully effective (see note below), except for the ammonia test kits that use Nessler reagents that read in shades of amber or yellow, and the oxygen test kits that use Winkler reagents. Residual AmQuel Plus and its reaction products are incompatible with the Nessler and Winkler type reagents, resulting in false, high ammonia and low oxygen concentration readings. Ammonia test kits using Salicylate-type reagents (reading on a colorimetric scale from yellow to green to blue green) are appropriate for accurate test results." 

 

 

If the loss of a single snail is behind this spike, you may want to get a Seachem Ammonia Alert (Ammonia badge) for your nano. It continuously monitors ammonia for you and lasts a year or more, I think. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yea. I the only thing in my tank unaccounted for is 1 snail. I can't find it and thinking maybe it died? But all other 4 snails are looking good.

I fed the tank last night and did a water change right after (1/2 gallon)- and think I stirred some trapped nutrients in the filter -- but other than that there were no changes.

 

I did a 30-40% change this morning, and added some amquel though I tested my new water and even that read 0.25 on my test.

I tested the DI- but i don't think the test works with freshwater. (but if it does it read 0)

 

So I threw all of that out, maybe i didn't clean the bucket very well before using it and I am making another 3 gallons of water. Plan on doing another water change this evening I think- maybe hunt harder for this snail- see if it died.

 

The only animals I have are 1 fish. 5 snails (i unaccounted for) and 5 types of zoas,gorgonia, 1 mushroom and a hammercoral. - all of those are looking pretty good.

The fish has been trying to swim today- yesterday it really didn't move at all. I am not sure if that means its getting better or worse.

 

Just annoyed that I was neglectful - lesson learned pay more attention

Found the last snail its alive- so I am at a loss other than I fed the tank over the last few weeks with 0 water changes. and Yesterday when I did a water change I dislodged a bunch of crap or I added it in directly with old salwater.

Edited by toastiireefs
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found the last snail its alive

That's good.

 

Any chance the tank's been overfed? Something else died? Maybe a cat decided to dose the tank with a urine-sample?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From Kordon, makers of Amquel and Amquel Plus:

"AmQuel (Plus) is compatible to use with those water quality test kits on the market that are fully effective (see note below), except for the ammonia test kits that use Nessler reagents that read in shades of amber or yellow, and the oxygen test kits that use Winkler reagents. Residual AmQuel Plus and its reaction products are incompatible with the Nessler and Winkler type reagents, resulting in false, high ammonia and low oxygen concentration readings. Ammonia test kits using Salicylate-type reagents (reading on a colorimetric scale from yellow to green to blue green) are appropriate for accurate test results." 

 

 

If the loss of a single snail is behind this spike, you may want to get a Seachem Ammonia Alert (Ammonia badge) for your nano. It continuously monitors ammonia for you and lasts a year or more, I think.

Thanks I will look into that. I always thought that stuff was gimmicky and didn't work.

Good to know that it can result in false highs after use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's good.

 

Any chance the tank's been overfed? Something else died? Maybe a cat decided to dose the tank with a urine-sample?

I think over-feeding is the best guess I have. No cats. Dog can't pee that high! Nothing else in the tank is dead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks I will look into that. I always thought that stuff was gimmicky and didn't work.

Good to know that it can result in false highs after use.

It's not a false high reading, really. It's that certain tests can't distinguish between the bound-up ammonia and free ammonia, or it converts the bound-up ammonia back to free ammonia in the testing process, and gives you the impression that it's all free ammonia. The key when testing when using one of these ammonia binders is to know which family your test kit falls in so you understand whether or not you can trust that the result you're getting is actually a measure of free ammonia (the bad stuff).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think over-feeding is the best guess I have. No cats. Dog can't pee that high! Nothing else in the tank is dead.

 

When doing water changes, you may want to keep an eye open for detritus that you can remove by siphoning.

 

I'm hoping that your goby is looking better and returns to good health.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When doing water changes, you may want to keep an eye open for detritus that you can remove by siphoning.

 

I'm hoping that your goby is looking better and returns to good health.

He unfortunately didn't make it :(

 

I am going to keep monitoring my aquarium closely over the next few days. And do some more water changes.

Bummed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry to hear about your fish.  In future, and for others' knowledge, another option would have been to remove the fish to a 5gal bucket of freshly made water.  Even saltwater made from tap and dechlorinator is better than being in 0.5 ppm ammonia.

 

Sure, there would be some stress from this. But ammonia is a no-kidding killer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry to hear about your fish.  In future, and for others' knowledge, another option would have been to remove the fish to a 5gal bucket of freshly made water.  Even saltwater made from tap and dechlorinator is better than being in 0.5 ppm ammonia.

 

Sure, there would be some stress from this. But ammonia is a no-kidding killer.

Thanks that was the type of information I was really looking for initially.

I am going no-fish for a while

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sara, there's a good chance that you were in a no-win situation with the fish inasmuch as its gills may have been burned too much by the time you posted. Again, given how fast things can change in such a small tank, I'd advise investing in an ammonia badge so you're alerted more quickly next time and can take immediate action.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sara, there's a good chance that you were in a no-win situation with the fish inasmuch as its gills may have been burned too much by the time you posted. Again, given how fast things can change in such a small tank, I'd advise investing in an ammonia badge so you're alerted more quickly next time and can take immediate action.

 

Agreed! Ammonia badges are very useful and will detect toxic ammonia very quickly. Remember that when you do water changes to remove ammonia you are reducing it by the same % of the water change, for example, a 50% water change will reduce your ammonia levels by 50%.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...