HELP! Ammonia!

[cheryl]

My ammonia levels have risen to 0.25. Do I do a water change (How much??) or do i just wait and make sure they dont go any higher? All my other levels are ok. We fed mealworms and when we cut their heads off all their insides were spilling out and making a mess so i think that was just too much for the tank.

 

[sharn]

id do a smaller one, bout 30% or so and see if that drops it, give the bottom a good clean, make sure you get in and around any decorations etc. if it rises again let us know

 

[cheryl]

thanks sharn. I will do a 30% water change. he seems ok so far.

 

[cheryl]

My levels went back up to somewhere between 0.25 and 0.5. He seemed pretty uncomfortable and his tail went bright red so i did about a 40% water change and got it down so there were just traces of ammonia. Any ideas?

 

[sharn]

it will take a bit for your bacteria to catch up, around a week or so probably so just do enough water changes to keep them as low as possible. better still take him out into a seperate container and do full daily water changes while hes in there so your tank can get itself under control and you dont have to do such large water changes

once you pop him back in feed sparingly and slowly up it till normal. try get out any bits of uneaten food aswell as im sure you know hehe. let us know how you get on!

 

[cheryl]

hes in my 1ft tank now with just a few inches of water. the tips of his gills are kind of white- i think maybe they had started to burn? i have no idea why the ammonia has spiked, as he hasnt pooped for well over a week, and i syphoned out everything possible (without taking too much of the sand), even moving all his tunnels etc to get under them.

 

[k]

Cheryl you can buy stuff to neutralise the ammonia I think ? - apparently it will still show its present when you test for it but it won't be toxic - could be worth adding some while you get the levels down ? i just noticed some in a local shop the other day ... my levels are 0.25 too and my guy seems fine (apart from being sick !) Don't think it's related to that though ...

 

[sharn]

i cant remember if ammonia shows up if you have chloramines in the water. have you tested your tap water to see what level it has if any?

 

[edward]

Yes it will cause a postive test for ammonia.

Ed

 

[sarah]

how do u test for chloramines?
im having a high ammonia reading and i have done daily 20% water changes and its not going down.

 

[joan]

You could also have a faulty test kit.

 

[sarah]

hmmmm its only 6months old :|

 

[kapo]

you cud always take a sample to your local petshop and get them to test the water and see if it differs much.

 

[ian]

When you do the water changes are you making sure it is de-chlorinated,if not you will be killing off beneficial bacteria.This will start your ammonia readings to rise.