Ammonia...?

Question

Just recently got a 55 gal tank. My bf has previously owned fish and said we had to have the tank running for at least 2 weeks before we got fish.
It was running for about 6 days and he said it should be ok, so we picked up 2 German Blue Rams, 2 Swordtail koi, 2 bala sharks, 3 danios and 2 sucker fish (i cannot remember the specific name on those).
Well, the fish were doing ok for the first couple of days, (Tomorrow will be 1 week since we have had them) but he said it was looking like they had ick. We started treating the water with some tablets from PetSmart and it wasn't helping. Last night he did a test on the water and said the ammonia is at 10 (I'm almost positive he said 10). I know this is REALLY bad,
This morning one blue ram and koi were dead.
Are the rest of my fish going to die as well? And how do I get the ammonia down? Is there anything I can do to save my other fish?

Answer 1

You need to do a partial water change (50%) ASAP! I'll write more later, but you need to start on this !

When you add the new water, try to get it as close in temperature to what's in the tank now, and remember to add the dechlorinator.

Your tank has WAY too many fish at the moment. The fish produce wastes including ammonia, which is toxic to them in relatively small amounts. The more fish (or larger they are), the more ammonia that's produced. In an established tank, there are bacteria that will convert the ammonia to nitrite (also toxic), then to nitrate. But in a new tank, you don't have any of the bacteria yet, and it will take 3-6 WEEKS to get it established. Until then, you should only have 1-2 hardy fish in the tank.

You also have fish that aren't a good mix. Rams are very sensitive to water quality, so that's why they were among the first to die. Bala sharks will grow to 12-14 inches and require a lot more space than a 55 gallon to keep. I think the swordtail koi you're talking about are swordtails with orange and white coloring, not actual koi (which get to around 3 feet long), so these would be okay, but like to have a little salt added to their water - about 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons. Danios are schooling fish and should be in larger groups (5+). The suckers could be plecostomous (will get 18" if the common pleco, but there are varieties like rubbernose and bristlenose that only get to around 5"). You might be able to keep one pleco in the tank, but the adults are territorial, so you should only have one. If it's an otocinclus, these are small (only about 1 1/2 inches as an adult), but should be in groups of 3+. They're also sensitive to water quality, and shouldn't be added for about 6 months after starting your tank. If these are Chinese algae eaters, these will grow to around 10", and only eat algae as juveniles. As adults, they're aggressive, and they eat the slime coat off other fish in the tank, leaving them open to infections or killing them from the stress. IMO, these shouldn't be in any tank!

For now, I would recommend returning any survivors other than the danios. You'll probably need another 25-50% water change tomorrow, and 25% changes for the next few days until you can get the ammonia level under 1 (0.5 is where fish begin to be stressed). Keep these in the tank to provide the ammonia for the bacteria to establish. Once the water tests show zero ammonia and nitrites, you can add 2-3 fish per week until you have the tank stocked again.

Please read the following links:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ammoniapoison.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/CloudyWater.htm

Answer 2

Your tank is too over crowded and you didnt properly cycled the water. If you wanted those fish you needed a 500gallon tank to start off with then continue to upgrade because of the kois.

First of all kois need 120gallons when young then upgrade to a 500-600 gallon tank then to a 1000gallon tank or a pond. And are you sure the swordtail kois are actually kois because theres Swordtail fish that is a koi color breed "Koi Swordtail" which only gets up to 3inches long.

The rams could have fought the koi or each other since they both could have been males and each male needs 20gallons and a pair(male and female) needs 25-30gallons.

The suckermouth catfish is called a plecostomus, or pleco or armored catfish, etc which get up to 2feet long.

The tank needs to be cycled by two fish at first, then after 1week and a water change add 2-4fishes then so on. And to tell if the tank is proprerly cycled there should be some algae growth.

And the tank needs a 50% water change weekly or not the other fish will start to die of from the ammonia.

Answer 3

While goldfish are more "dirty" (produce more poop) than other fish, they cannot withstand poor water quality any better!! And you should definitely clean your tank more than once a month! I recommend 20% water changes every week at a minimum, unless you have an extremely heavily planted tank (if that were the case you wouldn't have ammonia issues however). How toxic ammonia is depends on pH and temperature in the tank. Lower temps and lower pH mean less toxic. (Just FYI) Careful using Amquell products as they can lower your pH, which can be helpful in an ammonia crisis, but too low and you'll kill the fish. My favorite ammonia-detoxing product is Prime by Seachem. Carbon/charcol alone will not remove ammonia. You need a chemical resin called zeolite, or a product that specifically says "removes ammonia," If you've had the tank set up a while and are still having ammonia issues, you may be overstocked and/or over feeding.

Answer 4

Your bf made a big mistake.

Letting the water sit for two weeks did absolutely nothing - the tank can't cycle without a source of ammonia - like fish. Then you went and bought a whole bunch of fish, including a species that needs a mature tank (rams).

So here is your best alternative:

First things first, do a 50% water change.

Then run to the fish store and ask them for some gravel from one of their mature tanks, or sponge from a mature filter. Try to get as much as you can. Pay for it if you have to. Bring this home in a bag of fish water. Add it to your own filter. What this will do is introduce healthy living bacteria to the tank and your ammonia will immediately begin to convert, and within several hours will disappear. This simple solution is overlooked by most keepers, and would save them a lot of grief.

All of your fish are suffering serious ammonia poisoning, and no matter what you do, you may lose most or all of your fish before this is through. If you save your fish, remember to wait it out until everything is stable and add more fish slowly. If they all die, don't worry - do a complete water change, and then start adding fish - if you do what I said about bacteria, you can add more of them, if you don't, then play it safe and add them very slowly, just one species at a time, a couple of weeks between additions, starting with danio's (the hardiest) and ending with rams (the most delicate).

And last, remember to do research and stock your tank carefully. Rams only get to a couple inches long, while Bala's get to a foot long and are not very good tankmates for them. Rams are also pairing fish and it's best to start off with more of them. Koi are cold water fish, grow massive, and are unsuitable to this tank.

Answer 5

First, there is no such thing as a "swordtail koi." And, you'd better not have any real koi in there anyway. They grow to 3 feet in length and you would need at least a 200 gallon tank for one koi alone. Stay away from koi. They're outdoor pond fish. I'm hoping you meant swordtail tropical fish. Anyway, for your boyfriend saying he knows what he's doing, it sure doesn't sound like he knew what he was doing. He didn't let the tank cycle. It takes 4-6 weeks for a tank to cycle, and he should've been testing the water BEFORE adding the fish. Not after you added them and they started getting sick. Either you are going to need to take the fish back before anymore die, or you are going to have to let them tough it out while the tank cycles. Chance are, more, if not all, will die. You need to read about the nitrogen cycle and get that tank cycled. For right now, you need to do a 50% water change immediately and test the water 1-2 times daily and do daily 20% water changes to keep the ammonia down.

Answer 6

wow that fish guy isnt the smarter i once made that mistake on a 50 galllon tank just o 25% water changes for 2 to 3 weeks i no it sounds hard but enless you want them to mbe misrable and die i would do that

Answer 7

well u can add im ammonia remover i didnt read the rest so i dun know if any1 has already said this

Answer 8

Definitely!