Ammonia Reading Help/Ich

I am unsure if this is .25 or .50 or somewhere in between. I did just drain the tank and switch out the substrate so I'm sure that caused a disruption in my water parameters... My 2nd question is: Could my fish be flashing because of the ammonia rather than Ich? There are no longer any spots on my fish and haven't been for over a week. I was told by a LFS employee that if Ich was still in the tank after treating it for 2 weeks, I would quickly see new white spots on the fish. What are your thoughts?

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True, the ich needs to run its cycle, so I believe that the ich issue is OK, and the reason the fish are flashing could be as simple as their skin is still a bit irritated or itchy. Kinda like a mosquito bite.

As for the Ammonia, it looks like .50 to me.. Grab some media from an existing tank and just put it into that one. Maybe a sponge from an existing tank or filter. My fry tank had a spike like that a couple weeks ago, and within a few days was completely back to normal.

Awesome...thanks, Madness! Do you think a water change would help at all? I do still have a bit of the lighter sand under the black substrate and of course, the filter was unmessed with (I do only have 1 filter running as of now) but even so, I think tanking that much out of the tank messed it up a bit

I wouldnt add any new water for a couple days, but I would throw some prime in there or some type of ammonia blocker. You will still read that there is ammonia there but the Prime will neutralize the water and make it OK for the fish while you deal with getting regulated.

Thank you. I will run to Bridges and grab some

madness wrote:I wouldnt add any new water for a couple days, but I would throw some prime in there or some type of ammonia blocker. You will still read that there is ammonia there but the Prime will neutralize the water and make it OK for the fish while you deal with getting regulated.

Why not just do water changes? I'd be diluting that ammonia while the bio catches up. That's more than enough ammonia to make them flash. I'd be cautious about the ich also. I've had it return a month later after salt treatments. That's why I stopped using salt. It's also far too labor intensive. Ich can most definitely live in the gills & sinuses of fish without visual detection for weeks/months.

If your trying to establish (build) that bacteria level, you dont wont to continue to add new water complicating things. She has put in all new sand, so allow the bacteria that is left to establish itself before adding water. JMO, but I would let it set before disrupting everything more than already has been done.

Water changes won't interfere with the bacteria growth. As long as there is enough ammonia present for it to grow. There's too much ammonia present IMO and it's really hard on the fish! If she was doing a fishless cycle, no fish in the tank, I'd agree.
You may have whacked a bunch of the bacteria withy your ich treatment too?
What kind of filter are you using? I'd look at the biomass and maybe add more if there's room. 2 filters is always better IMO.

ich may still be present and an ammonia spike could cause it to resurface. i agree with the prime although i use seachem safe (powder version of prime). you get a lot more for your money but u usually have to order it. test your water daily for ammonia and nitrite and dose your tank accordingly. you will probably have a nitrite spike next. you can use 5x the normal dose of prime to detoxify nitrite. if possible i would do water changes with mature water from another tank to help boost your bennificial bacteria until your water parameters balance out. what kind of filter are u using. regardless of what kind it would probably be in your best interest to add a second filter when you can. it's hard for any filter to keep up with a 6 foot tank. it's also good in case your current filter fails for any reason. if it does it wont take long for big fronts to suck all the oxygen out of the water. kens fish is a great place to find filters for great prices.........and pretty much anything else. hope this helps you.

ian

X2 Kens is a great place for Food and filters.

I am using the Eheim Pro II Canister filter on that tank. I just tested the water again after putting 3 capfuls of Seachems Prime in last night (1 cap per 50 gallons) and am still getting a pretty green color. Shouldn't it be reading less by now if it neutralized the ammonia? I am still on the fence as far as whether or not to do a water change but think the suggestion of putting some water from a healthy tank into the 150 was a good idea

Prime will make the ammonia nontoxic, but you will still get an ammonia reading with your test kit. The second question in their FAQ -- [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Yes you will still get a reading of ammonia. I would strongly suggest transferring water from an established tank to this one, along with media if possible. You can even transfer over a couple pieces of wood from an established tank to this one.

Floating plants can help get rid of ammonia, that is if your fish don't eat them, lol

madness wrote:Yes you will still get a reading of ammonia. I would strongly suggest transferring water from an established tank to this one, along with media if possible. You can even transfer over a couple pieces of wood from an established tank to this one.

Lamental Jester wrote:Floating plants can help get rid of ammonia, that is if your fish don't eat them, lol

I added live plants to the tank about 2 weeks ago but they only float when the fish uproot them

Betty wrote:Prime will make the ammonia nontoxic, but you will still get an ammonia reading with your test kit. The second question in their FAQ -- [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thank you, Betty...I almost read the FAQ before posting here but didn't I should have They all seem to be doing well now though I have yet to perform any type of water change. I will today and use water from my juvie Moba tank to add to the 150. I already used media from another tank and swished it around in the water