Ammonia Spike, How to get it down?

[Zenna]

Kay so i noticed one of my axies had his gills all curled forward. and So i decided to check water parimeters, And the ammonia is WAAAAY High. First. How can I lower it? And second, What causes the ammonia spikes? The water was fine when i first put them back in the tank after water change. But yeah, How do I lower it?

 

[hacelepues]

Do a water change. I'm assuming your tank is cycled? If so, you shouldn't have any problems after that, but I'd keep an eye on the parameters just in case.

 

[Zenna]

Alright, Thank you very much ^-^ I'll get right on that.

 

[Gromky]

Large daily water changes, and you can use a higher concentration of a dechlorinator that binds ammonia (such as Prime...follow the directions on the label for that use).

Did you heavily clean a filter or overly clean the substrate (if filterless)? If it's an established tank, the main cause of a spike like that would be killing off too much of the bioload.

 

[Colinna]

I would do a 50% water change daily until the ammonia goes down.

Things to look for that can cause ammonia to build up include dead leaves or plant matter. Poop hiding under plants and rocks can build up as well.

Is the tank filtered? If not you will have to do more regular water changes anyway.