Compatible Species & pH
- Thread starter Scyroes
- Start date
The african mbuna probebly should be fed on a vegetable diet. So make sure you read the food info and the more the better. The foods I see for Africans have similer ingrediants as the reg foods for general cichlids, but much more veggies in the ratio. If you vary it he may be fine. Africans can run into digestive issues if they do not have the correct food. The jack will eat whatever.
What cichlid did you add?
Did you clean the filter reall well..cause that was my initial thought about a recycle as Newman pointed out. If it gets cloudy I would test for ammoinia and Nitrite.
I love using pellets/sticks .
What cichlid did you add?
Did you clean the filter reall well..cause that was my initial thought about a recycle as Newman pointed out. If it gets cloudy I would test for ammoinia and Nitrite.
I love using pellets/sticks .
The cichlid I added is the one at the top of this page. When I initially introduced the first two, the ammonia levels were minuscule and eventually dissipated. Now after adding this latest fish, my ammonia levels have spiked to levels reaching 8ppm – this didn’t occur immediately, it was fine until yesterday.
I did a 60% water change as soon as I got those readings and added 15ml of ammo-lock (5ml per 10 gallons) and checked again today and I am still getting these high readings.
How should I be tackling this? Should I do another large water change, would that not remove the useful bacteria within the tank? The gravel is regularly cleaned and I typically feed my fish once every two days.
I did a 60% water change as soon as I got those readings and added 15ml of ammo-lock (5ml per 10 gallons) and checked again today and I am still getting these high readings.
How should I be tackling this? Should I do another large water change, would that not remove the useful bacteria within the tank? The gravel is regularly cleaned and I typically feed my fish once every two days.
craaaaap. 8ppm? are you sure about it?
no fish can handle 8ppm of ammonia. Those will be some miracle Cichlids if they survive this.
you should do water changes until your ammonia reads less than 1ppm...use water that's preheated to the same temp of the tank, and make sure you treat the tap water before adding it...also make sure the pH of that water is similar to the water in your tank. all this prevents fish shock.
It's likely the fish have been exposed to the spike before you noticed it and detoxified with ammo-lock...They're probably gonners :'[
no fish can handle 8ppm of ammonia. Those will be some miracle Cichlids if they survive this.
you should do water changes until your ammonia reads less than 1ppm...use water that's preheated to the same temp of the tank, and make sure you treat the tap water before adding it...also make sure the pH of that water is similar to the water in your tank. all this prevents fish shock.
It's likely the fish have been exposed to the spike before you noticed it and detoxified with ammo-lock...They're probably gonners :'[
I’m going by the colour chart that is included in the testing kit – the shade in the tube matches the 8ppm mark on the chart so I assume it’s accurate. I just don’t understand where these high readings came from – I’m really diligent when it comes to tank cleanliness so there isn’t any uneaten food or waste to contribute to this, not from the naked eye at least.
Is it safe to add more ammo-lock even though the directions specify once every two days? I will continue with the water changes as suggested. I hope I can turn this around.
Is it safe to add more ammo-lock even though the directions specify once every two days? I will continue with the water changes as suggested. I hope I can turn this around.
hmm, I use the API one too...
the test does require 8 drops of bottle 1 and 2... you gotta shake it up and wait for 5 min, I know you obviously do that.
It has to go down if you do a 50% water change. If you do that it HAS to read 4ppm ammonia. if after a 50% water change it still reads 8ppm, then its wrong. get a new one lol.
the test does require 8 drops of bottle 1 and 2... you gotta shake it up and wait for 5 min, I know you obviously do that.
It has to go down if you do a 50% water change. If you do that it HAS to read 4ppm ammonia. if after a 50% water change it still reads 8ppm, then its wrong. get a new one lol.
Ok than something is definitely wrong because I changed more than half of the water with no apparent change. I’ll do one more change and test the water quality. I’m looking over the fish here and they seem to be behaving fine – are there any visible indicators when fish are subjected to high ammonia levels? Do all these water changes have any negative impacts?
Just a strange situation overall – the test tube at one point did produce a yellow liquid and now I get nothing but blue.
Just a strange situation overall – the test tube at one point did produce a yellow liquid and now I get nothing but blue.
WTF, BLUE??!!! the highest my ammonia read was very dark green (which was an 8ppm ammonia spike in a cycling tank)
Blue does not sound valid at all.
Symptoms from high ammonia include "blinking" of the eyes frequently, and the fish gravitating towards the water surface to gasp for air. also clamped fins and lethargic fish are another indicator.
doing too many water changes wont harm them at all
(unless its every hour 24/7 lol)
You're actually making their water even more clean if the test kit is wrong lol.
Blue does not sound valid at all.
Symptoms from high ammonia include "blinking" of the eyes frequently, and the fish gravitating towards the water surface to gasp for air. also clamped fins and lethargic fish are another indicator.
doing too many water changes wont harm them at all
(unless its every hour 24/7 lol)You're actually making their water even more clean if the test kit is wrong lol.
WTF, BLUE??!!! the highest my ammonia read was very dark green (which was an 8ppm ammonia spike in a cycling tank)
Blue does not sound valid at all.
Symptoms from high ammonia include "blinking" of the eyes frequently, and the fish gravitating towards the water surface to gasp for air. also clamped fins and lethargic fish are another indicator.
doing too many water changes wont harm them at all (unless its every hour 24/7 lol)
You're actually making their water even more clean if the test kit is wrong lol.
Blue does not sound valid at all.
Symptoms from high ammonia include "blinking" of the eyes frequently, and the fish gravitating towards the water surface to gasp for air. also clamped fins and lethargic fish are another indicator.
doing too many water changes wont harm them at all
(unless its every hour 24/7 lol)You're actually making their water even more clean if the test kit is wrong lol.
In terms of the symptoms, it’s a good sign that none of the fish are displaying them from what I see. One of the fish usually stays near the surface every now and then but that’s due to some hostility from another occupant.
I think I'll do another 50% change (unless that is too extreme) and test it again.
Thanks again Newman, you are the man! *celebrate
If you are using a product that locks ammonia, its making it NON-TOXIC to fish, but it WILL STILL SHOW on your test kit. The kits measure total ammonia (toxic and non-toxic). If you have 8ppm toxic ammonia, treat the water with ammo-lock, the ammonia is now bound and non-toxic. If you test again, it will STILL show 8ppm, because the ammonia is STILL there (just in a form that is non-toxic to fish). It will show high until it gets converted to nitrite and then to nitrate by the bacteria, or consumed by live plants if you keep them.
Are you testing for nitrite and nitrate too? If so, as long as those numbers are right (0 for nitrite and <20 for nitrate) you should be able to breathe easier.
The color is likely not changing after water changes because its actually higher than 8ppm. 8 is the max on that chart I believe. If its really 16ppm, you do a 50% water change, its now 8ppm. Both 16ppm and 8ppm will look the same on the test kit.
Are you testing for nitrite and nitrate too? If so, as long as those numbers are right (0 for nitrite and <20 for nitrate) you should be able to breathe easier.
The color is likely not changing after water changes because its actually higher than 8ppm. 8 is the max on that chart I believe. If its really 16ppm, you do a 50% water change, its now 8ppm. Both 16ppm and 8ppm will look the same on the test kit.
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I would just like to say that lake malawi cichlids prefer PH 7.8-8.6 so 8 would be a good number... as for the american he looks more like a green texas, and prefers PH 7.0. In general i do not like mixing the two types... mainly because their needs are different, but there are also some temperment issues.
Cones, good point about the whole ammo lock thing.
But Orangecones, the issue here isn't that its still showing 8ppm after detoxifying, the issues is its still 8ppm AFTER many 50% water changes! That's just not right.
plus no fish can handle 16 ppm ammonia...if its indeed gotten that high before he treated it his fish should be dead right now....that leads me to question the validity of that API test. maybe his is expired now?
But Orangecones, the issue here isn't that its still showing 8ppm after detoxifying, the issues is its still 8ppm AFTER many 50% water changes! That's just not right.
plus no fish can handle 16 ppm ammonia...if its indeed gotten that high before he treated it his fish should be dead right now....that leads me to question the validity of that API test. maybe his is expired now?
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If it were me, I'd get water tested at a LFS to see what they show.
I'd like to know the levels of nitrite and nitrate before thinking the test kit is wrong.
If ammo-lock was used all along, it could keep a level of 16ppm ammonia safe. If no nitrite or nitrates are present, I'd suspect something killing off the bacteria (rinsing filter pads in tap water?). That would lead to massive buildup of ammonia despite water changes if the aquarium is still getting a source of ammonia (food and fish waste).
If ammo-lock is interferring with the cycle, it may stall at ammonia. If the bacteria that feed on ammonia can't, then it can't move on to nitrites then to nitrates.
But I agree 100%, no fish could survive 16ppm! Not even for a few minutes!
I'd like to know the levels of nitrite and nitrate before thinking the test kit is wrong.
If ammo-lock was used all along, it could keep a level of 16ppm ammonia safe. If no nitrite or nitrates are present, I'd suspect something killing off the bacteria (rinsing filter pads in tap water?). That would lead to massive buildup of ammonia despite water changes if the aquarium is still getting a source of ammonia (food and fish waste).
If ammo-lock is interferring with the cycle, it may stall at ammonia. If the bacteria that feed on ammonia can't, then it can't move on to nitrites then to nitrates.
But I agree 100%, no fish could survive 16ppm! Not even for a few minutes!
Update:
After checking the readings again this afternoon (and receiving the same results) I did a 75% water change. I retested the water quality after an hour and again I am testing at 8ppm+.
@ Orangecones: Thank you for that bit of information in regards to ammonia testing. I have yet to test the nitrite and nitrate levels. I’m still puzzled because regardless of the constant water changes, I am getting the same readings and I don’t see how they could reach 16ppm+.
I haven’t been using ammo-lock on a regular basis – when I got the initial high readings I did a water change, and then added it afterwards. The filter has not been rinsed with tap water since it was installed nearly two weeks ago (I used some of the aquarium water). I have cleaned the gravel during each water change so there is little to no waste on the aquarium floor at present to contribute to these levels from what I see.
@ Mixicano: Thanks! I have seen those temperament issues first hand, especially when I introduced the third fish. After about 3 days, they started to wise up.
@ Newman: I bought the testing kit at PetsMart fairly recently, do these things actually expire? You're right, I’m using the individual testing kit for ammonia.
I’m not sure what more I can do – would it be fine to do another water change and add some live bacteria to the aquarium? I probably should get the water tested at the LFS.
Thanks again everyone for all your help!
After checking the readings again this afternoon (and receiving the same results) I did a 75% water change. I retested the water quality after an hour and again I am testing at 8ppm+.
@ Orangecones: Thank you for that bit of information in regards to ammonia testing. I have yet to test the nitrite and nitrate levels. I’m still puzzled because regardless of the constant water changes, I am getting the same readings and I don’t see how they could reach 16ppm+.
I haven’t been using ammo-lock on a regular basis – when I got the initial high readings I did a water change, and then added it afterwards. The filter has not been rinsed with tap water since it was installed nearly two weeks ago (I used some of the aquarium water). I have cleaned the gravel during each water change so there is little to no waste on the aquarium floor at present to contribute to these levels from what I see.
@ Mixicano: Thanks! I have seen those temperament issues first hand, especially when I introduced the third fish. After about 3 days, they started to wise up.
@ Newman: I bought the testing kit at PetsMart fairly recently, do these things actually expire? You're right, I’m using the individual testing kit for ammonia.
I’m not sure what more I can do – would it be fine to do another water change and add some live bacteria to the aquarium? I probably should get the water tested at the LFS.
Thanks again everyone for all your help!
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I forgot to mention something strange I noticed this afternoon – when I went to do the water changes I noticed these cloudy formations at the bottom of the tank, they were scattered all around. They were not there the previous night.
I took a picture, though it’s not the best quality.
I took a picture, though it’s not the best quality.
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