Ammonia levels

[Patryck]

I have just started a new 10 gallon tank, I have only plastic plants and I let everything run for a week with no fish. Yesterday I added 3 tiger barbs and I am watching them close but being a begginer at this I have a couple of questions.

They seem active enough and their coloring is awesome , but I keep reading about "gasping" if they don't get enough oxygen or if the ammonia level gets too high. I tested this morning and mine has risen to .25 my pH is a little high at 7.2 but Ive added Neutral Regulator to take care of it. My question is how long should I wait before making a water change? I dont want the ammonia level to get so high that it kills these little guys but I also want to leave it long enough to let the needed bacteria grow.

Oh and the other question is could someone describe this "gasping" behavior for me? They are very small yet and Im not sure i would reckognize it if I saw then doing it.

Thanks ..... Patryck 8-)

[Richalds]

When you first start cycling the tank with fish, you should be doing 15-20% water changes every 3 days. After 1-2 weeks you can start to ease up until you are doing a 20-25% water change once a week.


The best thing to do is keep checking those ammonia levels and monitor changes from there.


Don't get any more fish for awhile, can take up to 8 weeks to cycle a tank.

[William]

good answer

[Patryck]

Well I tested again this evening and the ammonia was up to .5 already. I admit I had also overfed the little guys :oops: . So I went ahead and did a 20% water change just a few moments ago. They took it really well, even attacking the gravel cleaner as if they could push it around. Then they hid in a corner till I finished and are now pretty much acting the same as before I changed it.

I dont know how accurate it is to test right after a change like that but it showed closer to .25 and the pH was closer to 7.0 as well. I hope I havent taken away too many good bacteria.

Thanks for the quick response ,

Patryck 8-)

[Richalds]

it does kill some of the good bacteria but its neccessary, or else the fish will die. if you stay at 20% or less and dont do it anymore often then every 3 days (for the first 2 weeks) you'll be fine and your fish will thank you for it!

[NorthernBoy]

i suggest not using anymore chemicals till your tank has fully cycled. you may be prolonging the cycle by adding nuetralizer. water changes like william said are the best approach with a few fish for about 1 month or 2.

[Patryck]

It was over 1.0 today , I did another 20% change. I only have plastic plants and clay decorations. no live plants. Would it help me to get a floating plant maybe?

What point does the ammonia become critical? My Barbs are still active and seem ok but I truly wouldnt know whats normal and whats not.

I think Ive got 2 males and one female but Im not sure about the smallest one. I cant tell which it is. I remember seeing something about posting pictures on here. I will post a couple as soon as I know how to do it properly.

Thanks again.

[William]

I strongly recommend that you don't feed them for a couple of days. (It will not hurt the fish.)

your amonia levels are dangerously high. At what fish starts to die depends on a large number of factors such as how quick the levels raises, the fish species, other water parameters etc.

[Patryck]

Dont feed the fish! ok .. last check my pH was 6.8 , temp 79, Nitrite and Nitrate was barely above 0 ( meaning so little color change you could hardly tell ) Alkalinity around 120 , Hardness about 25.

Its tough to be accurate with the color strips , Im using them for everything except the Ammonia. I get paid again this weekend and Im hoping to have enough left after bills for one of the Master Test Kits .. ( not going to plug the name in here no free ads ) .. its $40 here.

The good news is they seem to be ok. They are still swimming and chasing each other and playing in the bubblestone bubbles and even sometimes the current caused by my power filter. They are awesome to watch.

[Patryck]

I didnt feed them. The Ammonia was 1.0 , I went ahead and did another water change. Every so often I see one of them go to the surface and get an air bubble. There is plenty of Aeration.

They also seem to know me and what Im doing. When I sit in front of the tank to watch them they come to the front as if they are watching me too. Then when they see me get the siphon they scramble for hiding places. Then attack it when it comes close to them as Im vacuuming and cleaning the gravel. I dont get much but I always get something.

When I start seeing the Ammonia level drop , then I slow down on my water changes?

Thanks

[William]

You don't have the vacuum the gravel every time you chaenge water right now since you chaneg the water so often. It can infact be better to only do that once a week / every other week.

[Patryck]

YAAHHOOO! ! ! :D :P :wink:

The Ammonia levels are finally dropping. They were closer to .5 when I got in from work today. I am thinking I should not do a water change today and see if the dropping trend continues. Then do one tommorrow if needed. I also took your advice and havent fed them yet. Maybe I should feed them tommorrow too? VERY sparingly at least?

Anyways thanks Guys , youre help has been invaluable , I still have all three Tiger Barbs. It is likely I would have killed them if I had to figure this out on my own.

[William]

Good to hear

[Patryck]

Level went back up to 1.0 :( , I did a water change this morning , lowering it to .5 again , but I dont see any real progress on good bacteria growth. My Nitrite and Nitrate levels havent changed at all (both still 0) , wouldnt they be on the rise if bacteria were doing the job?

Is there anything I can do or any product that can promote the growth of the bacteria I need to stabilize this?

Thanks again,

[William]

The bacteria will take time. especially sinc eyou have to change water to keep ammonia levels down.

Nitrate and nitrite levels that are close to 0 are good but should be higher if the bacteria worked due to the high ammonia levels.

There are starter kits with bacteria you can buy. You can also try to get some water from a working aquarium to add to your tank to egt more bacteria.

[Patryck]

There are starter kits with bacteria you can buy. You can also try to get some water from a working aquarium to add to your tank to egt more bacteria.


Thanks William, I did both actually , and I now have a nicely stable 10 gallon aquarium. My ammonia problems seem to be over. My Ph is 6.7 Ammonia less than .25 my Nitrite finally rose to a readable level but is also less than .25 and my Nitrate is between 0 and 5 ppm.

I now have 5 Tiger Barbs and intend on adding 2 or 3 Serpae Tetras next weekend.

Again thank you folks , youre advice was invaluable. :)

[William]

Glad to be able to help.