I currently have my fish in QT, well i put them in last tuesday because i got ich. I did a water change friday and then sunday. Last nite my maroon clown was acting funny, and this morn he was dead, so i tested and everything was perfect except ammonia. So in my 29 gal qt tank i did a 5 gallon water change, when i got home from work my other maroon was acting like he was on his last leg, i tested and the ammonia was still real high, so i did a 50% water change. He died. But i am worried about my other fish. How do i keep the ammonia down, i have never had this problem in my 100 gallon tank.
Death by ammonia!!!!!
- Thread starter sbeane
- Start date
otrlynn
Active member
I assume you do not have Amquel or Ammo-Lock or you would have used it...It is a liquid product that can be purchased at a LFS which will convert the ammonia to a less toxic form. It is good for an "emergency" rise in ammonia, though it is not a substitute for water changes. I would do another 50% water change tonight and then measure the ammonia again. From what I have read, any amount of ammonia is considered dangerous, though I have had fish be "okay" with an ammonia level of .25 in the short term while I was working to get it down through water changes. I had 4 fish in a 29 gallon QT for 5 weeks and I did a LOT of water changes (sometimes daily) and I had even added a filter seeded from my display. IMO, keeping the ammonia level in check is one of the biggest challenges of running a successful QT or hospital tank.
I am still fairly new to SW, i just do not want anymore fish to die i have already had 5 die due to ich and then 2 maroons in qt. Boy i have learned a long hard lesson. Always qt fish before adding them into the tank. I will do another water change tomorrow. But no i have never heard of Amquel or Ammo-Lock. My LFS said not to use anything it could harm the fish. My ammonia level is around 1.0 possibly higher.
WhiteLightsaber
New member
I always used water & live rock from my display. Never had to worry about ammonia.
otrlynn
Active member
Ammo-Lock or Amquel will not harm the fish if used as directed. You will still see an ammonia reading when using it because it does not remove the ammonia, just converts it to a less toxic form. It is really just a stop-gap measure while you address the true problem with water changes. If your ammonia is 1.0, you do have a significant problem and a 50% water change is in order. If you do one this morning, you may even need to do another one tonight to get that ammonia down. Make sure you are matching the salinity (s.g) of the water when you are doing water changes. I'd also try to match the temp if you are doing large changes. IMO, the rule about not changing too much water at a time is suspended when you are trying to get the ammonia out.
Well last night i tested and it was at 2.0, this morn i checked and it is at .50 so i am definatley making progress. I am going to do another water change tonite and hopefully it will down even further.
Oh i cannot use my LR from my Display, I am QT with copper. If i did use one of my LR the i could not put it in my DT ever again. I did buy a base rock from the LFS that was in one of there tanks that had algea on it.
Oh i cannot use my LR from my Display, I am QT with copper. If i did use one of my LR the i could not put it in my DT ever again. I did buy a base rock from the LFS that was in one of there tanks that had algea on it.
cdness
Premium Member
I used Ammo-Lock whenever my QT got high in ammonia. Thanks to the tank sitter they didn't change the water when I asked them to and it maxed out my API test kit on ammonia (8.0). I thought they would be dead in the morning so I did a 50% water change each day for two days to get it manageable... If they did the water changes like I asked that never would have happened.
I guess I wouldn't rely on the additives but they sure do help in situations like this. Also I did not cycle my QT as it was a brand new QT tank, new filter, new everything. I had just purchased it all so that could have been part of my issues.
did you already put the copper in? maybe that increased the stress level of the fish and let the ammonia work faster...
I guess I wouldn't rely on the additives but they sure do help in situations like this. Also I did not cycle my QT as it was a brand new QT tank, new filter, new everything. I had just purchased it all so that could have been part of my issues.
did you already put the copper in? maybe that increased the stress level of the fish and let the ammonia work faster...
shuguley
New member
This statement is not entirely true, some Ammonia test kits are compatable with Amquel, this is in the directions. API and Seachem liquid test kits and the seachem ammonia badge are examples of tests that are compatible with Amquel. I have these test kits and I can vouch from experience that they do show the correct reading when using Amquel.
From the directions...
AmQuel+ is compatible with all nitrite and nitrate test kits, and ammonia test kits using salicylate reagents such as Kordon's AquaTru. Do not use an ammonia kit based on nessler reagents.
well when i got home i did a 30% water change and the i checked my ammonia and it was completely down almost at 0. I was happy. I also added Prime to it. I am going out of town tomorrow till monday so i am gonna pray that everything stays good. I know there will be an increase but as long as it does not get to 2.0 again i will be happy.
And yes copper has been in there for 1 1/2 weeks.
Also the Qt i got was a used freshwater tank, so i am guessing that it is sorta went through its cycle, but i am not sure.
I am just so happy everything is back to normal for now anyways.
And yes copper has been in there for 1 1/2 weeks.
Also the Qt i got was a used freshwater tank, so i am guessing that it is sorta went through its cycle, but i am not sure.
I am just so happy everything is back to normal for now anyways.
I agree with Amazon4. If you have copper in the QT, especially cupramine, they strongly caution not to use any water conditioner because it will make the copper much more toxic. Before you go you may want to check your copper levels. Perhaps you could put in some carbon to bind the copper.
