please, help with high ammonia levels, i dont want my fish to die?

Question

I have 2 goldfish, one regular one, and a shunbunken, i had 3 but one died a week ago. The regular goldfish has been around for a year and has grown to be very large. I had them in a 10 gallon tank, but because the size my goldfish was growing i had to get a larger tank and changed to a 20 gallon. i never had any problems with the 10 gallon. Now a week a go one fish died, and i test my water everyday and i have very high levels of ammonia. And my water is turning very green. I've done partial water changes a couple times a week, and have been putting an ammonia neutralizer in the water , but nothing works. What am i doing wrong, and can i save my fish, i dont want to lose the one fish that has been around for so long, its kind of a pet to my daughter, she'd be devastated. Please help.Should i be changing the water more, I also have been testing the nitrate and nitrite levels and they seem to be fine,but when this whole thing started it was the nitrate that was high,now ammonia

Answer 1

Part of the problem is the fish you have and the tank size they are in for one. That many gold fish, I'd think you need at least like a 50 gallon tank. Consider gold fish produce by far, ounce for ounce more waste then other fish. Your filtration alone for something like that should filter the tank at least four to five times over. A filter typical for a 10 or even a 20 gallon tank won't have nearly enough surface area to provide enough coverage for those fish.

First thing really needs to be done, maybe you can't but still does need to be done is move the tank size up and get a powerful filter like a Fluval 205 or an Aquaclear 70. That will give you the space and proper filtration. Until that time comes, you need to do a few things to help your fish.

One is to reduce the amount of food you are putting in significantly. Keep in mind that fish do not use food in the same way we do. Reduce the food to only as much as they will eat in 1-2 minutes. Perform water changes of about 40-50% to begin reducing the amount of ammonia in the tank. Keep an eye out on your ammonia, and remember that if you can get or have access to an established tank, using the filter media and/or gravel from that tank can help speed up the cycle itself. Bottled chemicals like cycle are not really worth the bottle they come in. BioSpira also does not work consistantly enough for me to tell anyone buy over the counter fixes. The best fix is media from an established filter or gravel from that tank.

Answer 2

Part of the problem with using an ammonia neutralizer is that a lot of them still allow the ammonia to show up on water tests, so you never know how much is neutralized and how much is still in a toxic state. I'd suggest that you stop using this altogether, and rely on just water changes so you know exactly what amount of ammonia is in your tank.

I'd say you still have high amounts of nitrate in the tank - algae isn't able to process ammonia or nitrite in the same way, and it sounds as though you've got something acting to fertilize it.

If you just moved the fish to the 20 recently, did you move the gravel from the 10 gallon and the old filter as well? These would have had the bacteria necessary to convert the ammonia to nitrate, which is less toxic than the ammonia and nitrite (although it can also be toxic if the level is high enough!). It may have been better to just move one fish, part of the gravel, and an old piece of filter media to the 20 until it had cycled.

For now, I would recommend a 50% water change (both to lower the ammonia and remove the ammonia neutralizer), and another change of the same volume tomorrow. Then test your water the next day, and continue to do 25% changes whenever the ammonia or nitrite get over 0.5 ppm.

Also, be careful about overfeeding - golfish are food hogs and will eat much more than they need. Only give them enough so all the food is eaten within 2-3 minute 1-2 times a day.

Do you use a gravel vacuum to siphon debris out of the gravel when you clean? This can be a big help. If you don't want to buy one, you can make one yourself with some tubing purchased from a hardware store (in plumbing) and the top part of an old soda bottle (cut the bottle in half, get tubing that fits snugly into the inside of the cap so it looks like a funnel with a long tail).

Keep in mind that your regular goldfish can get 9-18 inches, and the shub may get to around 10 inches.

Answer 3

Add some Cycle to the water,stop feeding the fish for a couple of days,and don't keep changing the water,except to vacuum the bottom.After you add the Cycle ( put in more than recommended),the ammonia levels should drop in a few days,but you have to give the Cycle time to get the beneficial bacteria multiplying and if you keep changing the water,that's not going to happen.Hook up a couple of airstones to oxygenate the water.Also,some live plants will help.You might consider a stronger filter,too.When I had my 20 gallon with goldfish,I used a 150 gallons per hour Bio -Wheel filter,as goldfish produce so much waste.Good luck.

Answer 4

The reason why you are having ammonia issues in the 20 gal is because you need to re-cycle your tank. If your tank water is becoming algae infested cut back on the amount of tank light it recieves, as well as cutting back on the ammount you feed the fish.
the nitrite and nitrate levels seem to be fine because they are just beginning to develop. keep doing small daily water changes -5% tops, because you don't want to have to re-do the tank's cycle [you'll have to go through this ammonia thing AGAIN!!]
If you are still having issues in two weeks you will need to modify your filter or get a new one. Just because a certain thing is "meant" to go in your filter doesn't mean that you have to stick to it. Things like filter floss, sponges, bio balls, ceramic noodles exc work great. Aqua clear makes these packages of ceramic type nodules specifically for their filters, but don't worry you will be able to taylor it to your own non-aquaclear filter very easily.

Answer 5

big water change. just use chlorine remover. put an airstone in the tank to help circulate the water even more change your filter material. and cut the light time to half. Use a timer to have the light on when you are home and in that room. If in a kids room,have the light come on around three and off at bedtime. this will cut down on the algae growth

sounds like you put these fish in a new tank that has not been cycled... where is the old tank did you transfer the gravel to the new one?

I have a few ideas on how to help you . email me please

Answer 6

First of all it seems like you have to get a bigger fish tank. Second, when is the last time you did a water change on the the tank. thris go out and buy a filter with a bio wheel to kill the ammonia.