Large fish loss! Help.
14 posts • Page 1 of 2
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beachywoman - Posts: 40
- Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:31 pm
Large fish loss! Help.
Over a week ago I lost all of my cichlids but one. Only one was showing signs of distress by hanging out at the top of the tanking trying to get air. After he died, 24 hours later I lost all others. Of course I checked the levels and found that the only thing out of range was the ammonia level. It was in the stress level. I moved the only remaining cichlid to my hospital tank and he is doing great. I cannot get the ammonia levels down. I have done at least 25% water changes every other day to try to get the tank back to normal but the ammonia levels are still high. I have no idea what to do. Please help ! !!!!
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dream2reef - Posts: 521
- Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:19 am
I've had success with zeolite but I've never really been to dangerous levels. What levels are we talkin here?
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beachywoman - Posts: 40
- Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:31 pm
My level is staying around .5 ppm and it should not be over 0 to .25ppm. I use zeolite in my outdoor pond but wasn't sure about using it in my aquarium. I have been afraid to use any ammonia removers just because of disingenuous the tank with to much chemicals. My tank wasn't over populated. There were only 5 fish in my 72 gallon.
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devina - Posts: 21
- Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:10 am
You may need to do a really good gravel vacum and run you ringers trought the gravel to get the trapped gases out and how long has it been since you changed the pads in your filter
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beachywoman - Posts: 40
- Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:31 pm
Actually I just changed the pads in both my filters and cleaned the gravel. I did a thorough cleaning over a month ago. I rinsed filter sponges and media in tank water and cleaned out tubing and hoses with brushes and tank water. I even increased my air exchange by adding an additional small bubbler. That is why I am at a loss. I should still have my good bacteria so I am just not sure how this ammonia is hanging around.
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devina - Posts: 21
- Joined: Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:10 am
That is odd maybe you are going through a mini cycle because of the good cleaning you gave the filter and gravel that has happened to me before do you knoe your nitrite and nitrate levels
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raulgocubs - Posts: 9
- Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:47 am
ummm what type of filtration do u have??? did u like completely cleaned the filters? maybe u killed the beneficial bacteria bro.
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beachywoman - Posts: 40
- Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:31 pm
Pretty sure I didn't destroy the beneficial bacteria. I only used the tank water to mildly rinse the sponge and media. I have 2 canister filters. My Nitrates are at 0 and my Nitrites are almost zero so i am not sure what is going on.
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tekneb - Posts: 211
- Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:45 am
Believe it or not, your thorough tank cleaning might be the culprit for your sudden ammonia spike. The beneficial bacteria that eat ammonia reside in two primary places; your filter pad and your gravel, which you said you cleaned. Sorry for your loss, I just dealt with a pretty heavy fish loss myself courtesy of a nasty case of velvet :(
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dream2reef - Posts: 521
- Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:19 am
Sounds like a mini cycle if you have trace nitrites and ammonia. Sucks. Zeolite works it's safe enough I'm sure I always have it in my filters.