Ammonia and Nitrates High

[the guy]

Do you rinse and thaw your frozen foods in a fine net before feeding? I was told it's a good idea. I just do it under cold water from the kitchen sink tap then wring it out and feed in small portions. I feed once a day, I think it's good to keep them a little hungry with tails up and heads down looking for food just like in the wild. I also feed pellets and nori for the tangs and stay clear of flake food. Keep doing 25% water changes once a week if possible and your levels will get better but as mentioned it will take some time.

 

[bronson]

Do you rinse and thaw your frozen foods in a fine net before feeding? I was told it's a good idea. I just do it under cold water from the kitchen sink tap then wring it out and feed in small portions. I feed once a day, I think it's good to keep them a little hungry with tails up and heads down looking for food just like in the wild. I also feed pellets and nori for the tangs and stay clear of flake food. Keep doing 25% water changes once a week if possible and your levels will get better but as mentioned it will take some time.

i have never thawed my frozen mysis before feeding and my nitrates are at 0

 

[the guy]

I find with thawing the food and washing it makes it easier to spot feed corals and the fish don't have to fight over a frozen cube bobing around the tank and every one gets to eat clean food at tank water temperature, also I add liquid vitamins and garlic to the cleaned food a couple of times a week, tough do do when the mysis is frozen. My concern is that the animals get clean proper temperature food, not what the small frozen cube is putting into the water. If you run a good quality skimmer it will look after getting 99% of the bad stuff out of the water.

 

[bronson]

I find with thawing the food and washing it makes it easier to spot feed corals and the fish don't have to fight over a frozen cube bobing around the tank and every one gets to eat clean food at tank water temperature, also I add liquid vitamins and garlic to the cleaned food a couple of times a week, tough do do when the mysis is frozen. My concern is that the animals get clean proper temperature food, not what the small frozen cube is putting into the water. If you run a good quality skimmer it will look after getting 99% of the bad stuff out of the water.

youve got a good few points here fair play to ya:thumbsup:

 

[kyleman]

I use to feed slowly and make sure all the food is consumed. I will be doing this again when I put fish in my aquarium.

 

[Old Tom]

Stop feeding for a few days, the fish will survive and the ammonia should go down, let me ask how is the Nitrite? Ammonia is not good but Nitrites is deadly so if ammonia is being converted to Nitrites and then rapidly to Nitrates you have a good bacteria population, this would suggest you are just feeding way too much. We generally like to feed a lot, this is not necessary, feed just what they consume in say 15 to 20 seconds and if you want to feed a second tie later in the day do the same. Food needs to be completely consumed as the waste will also be converted to ammonia and this also is an issue when you over feed.

 

[bronson]

Stop feeding for a few days, the fish will survive and the ammonia should go down, let me ask how is the Nitrite? Ammonia is not good but Nitrites is deadly so if ammonia is being converted to Nitrites and then rapidly to Nitrates you have a good bacteria population, this would suggest you are just feeding way too much. We generally like to feed a lot, this is not necessary, feed just what they consume in say 15 to 20 seconds and if you want to feed a second tie later in the day do the same. Food needs to be completely consumed as the waste will also be converted to ammonia and this also is an issue when you over feed.

In my tanks early months i used to feed twice a day as i was told i should i also read this. I.n my 10 gal tank after a while had ammonia spike.Eventually got ammonia and nitrites back to 0 and decided to feed just once a day .I sometimes wonder if not feeding enough now but as everything in tank is generally looking good and healthy i am going to continue with this.Agree with you that most like to feed alot and it aint necessary