ammonia levels...

[Sharkie]

hey guys,

so i got out the nasty fish and crab yesterday from my tank but while doing so we had to take the entire tank apart... this morning i checked all the levels and everything is fine but my mom just called me (i'm at school right now) and told me that both my skunk cleaner shrimp and purple psuedochromis are both dead. the chromis was given to me and she was very skinny so i think that may have caused her death but the shrimp was doing really well and she ate this morning when i fed her and gave me my daily "Miss Priss Cleaning" (shes miss priss lol).

i had her do a check and the only thing thats changed is my salinty with from .025 to .020 and my ammonia spiked from 0 to what appears to be a 3 on my test kit.

is this from me removing everything from my tank and what is the best way to get rid of this problem? My mom has no clue how to do a water change (go figure) and i am not home for at least another hour or so... are there any tablets that can help lower it that she can go get from the LFS? and how often should i do water changes when i get home to get it back down to 0?

 

[yote]

Both the drop in salinity and the ammonia are bad news to anything living in the tank.
Are there any other critters in the tank?If so,then when you get home,do a 50% water change and start running carbon.You'll have to do daily water changes for a while.
BUT
The quicker route,If you dont have any other animals in the tank,just let it run its course and adjust the salinity.But bring it back up slowly by topping off with salt water daily.
Hate to hear of the troubles,but we've all been there and done that.

 

[cthegame]

Yote has you well covered.

 

[Bifferwine]

Anytime you move the rock or sand around, you risk starting another cycle. Sorry to hear about your losses, it sucks because sometimes there's no other option when you need to get a nuisance animal out. You should follow Yote's advice.

 

[Sharkie]

ahh so i came home to a dead damsel and many fish in distress... my black clown was sitting on the bottom gasping for air but he is doing better now, so far i have done a 30% water change and am working on getting some more instant ocean going (since i didn't have enough for doing a 50%)... And I am PISSED OFF!!!

after all this I had my royal Gramma who has been doing amazingly swim up to the top and out of no where a HUGE sally lightfoot came out and i swear he grabbed her just right because she sezied up and her gills flared and she is now dead!!! D:< I would find that crab and smash him to bits if i wasn't worried about getting my levels okay first... I feel so bad for my fish :( this is the first major loss i've had and i am extremely worried for my clowns...

pray that Omen (my blackclown, which is Nemo backwards ;) I told you i had a creative name for him!!) and the others make it through the next few days... i am so worried :c i know we all have our hard spots so lets hope this is my only one.

I know for a fact before i move i am buy another tank and i will cycle it before i move ANYONE so i dont have this problem again

Thank you for your help, keep the kids in your prayers!!

 

[Piggy]

Sorry to hear about your losses.

 

[Teixeira29]

I really dont like hearing stories about fish dying and not knowing exactly the reason why? But i guess its part of life. We all take so much time and effort into our tanks! I remember when i lost my foxface, I think i put to much vita-chem in the tank and i killed him by mistake. I was really sad for along time, I had that fish for 2 yrs. Just keep doing water changes and run some carbon! Good Luck!

 

[Sharkie]

well everyone made it through the night so pray they all do great!

I'm so glad that Timmy is still alive!! The poor lil guy was beaten up multiple times by Bluto (the whole reason this mess started!! meanie!) our other blue damsel and i had to hand feed him in order for him to get any food since he couldn't swim.

He is now doing GREAT but i was abit worried about my lil guy... seems it has no effect on him because hes looking way better than he has the past month!! lol Timmy the Trooper... lol.

levels are still high but i've been doing my water changes...

should I be doing 50% everyday?

 

[yote]

Glad to hear your other animals are still doing good.
Yeah,I'd do 50% everyday untill the cycles done.The ammonia you can get outta there,the less stress the other animals have to put up with.

 

[Sharkie]

alright, its off to get some more instant ocean then! lol. i used up my whole box of it trying to do my 50% changes... everyones doing great! the ammonia is still somewhat high but doesnt quite hit the 3 on my meter anymore.. salinity is back up to .023 :)

thanks so much for all the help!

 

[Teixeira29]

Great!

 

[Sharkie]

yaay all levels are almost back to normal!! nitrites are showing up a little but the ammonia is back down to a .5 from the high 3 that it was at!

Nemo ended up passing on to fishie heaven but the rest of the gang is doing okay and I have discovered my shrimp has eggs and my corals were broadcasting eggs so thats a good sign right?

 

[yote]

Thats a very good sign.

 

[Smitty]

Glad to hear everything is coming along.