How much ammonia is Dangerous!? Help!

[Hogfish77]

Hey guys my qurantine has been running for 3 weeks now. I did use a bottle of biospira in the beginning. It's a 40g. First 3 fish were a pair of clowns and a naso tang. Last week the ammonia checked in at .25. I did a 25% water change 2 days ago. I also introduced a queen angel and a flame angel this past thursday. Yesterday I added prazipro and cupramine. Today I checked the ammonia and it's at .5
My naso tang has been acting weird...his body is looking blotchy. His fins are flared most of the time and he stays in one corner for the most part. What are my options? I don't really want to do a water change as it will delay my next dosage of copper. Should I add some kind of ammonia detoxifying agent? If so are there any safe to add since there's already prazipro and cupramine in the tank?

 

[Shane Hoffman]

I use kents amonia detox. I have used it in QT with copper. I would hold off on any meds unless you see signs of disease. About 75% of my fish require no meds......

 

[jayb12]

why are you putting so many fish in your quarantine tank?

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

any ammonia is a death sentence.

DO MASSIVE WATER CHANGES NOW, or your going to lose your naso, and probably the others too

 

[Ben_Im]

NH3 = VERY BAD

Get that tang out of there asap. Either do a dramatic water change (match the parameters as close as possible). Add some biological filtration (like some live rock). If I were you I'd just add the Naso to the DT.

Luckily, Naso tangs are some of the most resilient tangs, but you're putting him through a lot of stress in those bad water conditions.

 

[Hogfish77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15342143#post15342143 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jayb12
why are you putting so many fish in your quarantine tank?

I saw someone else on this forum do it lol. He had like 4-5 tangs in his QT. So I was hoping to do that as well. Guess it kind of backfired on me.


I can't put the naso in the DT yet cause I need another 4 weeks for the ich die off.

My LFS owner said it was ok to use AmQuel+. Is this correct? He said that probably the prazipro caused a higher ammonia reading?

I do have a seperate 10g I could put the naso in. Should I do that?

 

[Toddrtrex]

Hope that you have a very large DT, and that it is fully established, all those fish are going to be a huge increase in the bio-load. Queen angels get HUGE, easily over a foot and a half.

IMO, I would take back half of those fish. If that isn't an option, going to have to start doing multiple water changes per day, until your ammonia levels are at 0, and stay at 0. And keep a close eye on all those fish, sure there is going to be some fighting going on, which can lead to stress, which inturn will lower the strength of their immune system.

 

[jayb12]

i dont understand, your QT has only been up and running 3 weeks? seems like your tank has barley started to cycle, and then ontop of that you put a massive bio load on a system thats not even established yet....
ide put the tang back in the DT and get a small army of cleaner shrimp/ wrasse depending on what you have in there.
the natural method is always better then chemicals.

are all the fish you have in there getting sick from the DT or are you putting them in there for observation?

 

[snorvich]

Well, it is going to be a very expensive lesson. Slow down, read more.

 

[virginiadiver69]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15342447#post15342447 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hogfish77
I saw someone else on this forum do it lol.

You say your new to reef tanks so, this should be an easy habit to break.

 

[Imzadi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15342761#post15342761 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snorvich
Well, it is going to be a very expensive lesson. Slow down, read more.

More expensive on the poor fish.


+1... actually, +1,000,000

This is honestly kinda sad.

 

[Macimage]

Start doing massive water changes with aged water from your DT. Also, stop adding multiple meds, water purifiers and detoxers until you read up more on interactions.

You should return the Naso to the store, as you are probably going to lose/kill him until you slow down and read more on RC. I would also consider taking the Queen Angel back too.

Good luck,
Joyce

 

[Hogfish77]

I'll probably do a big water change. No way I'm taking the fish back for about half of what I paid. The DT is 4 weeks from the ich to die out. No way am I going to put the Naso in there so the ich can live again.

So yeah my guiltyness is hoping to have as many fish possible ready after the the ich is gone in my DT.

 

[Macimage]

Originally posted by Hogfish77
No way I'm taking the fish back for about half of what I paid.

Half is better than nothing when they die.

 

[jayb12]

so you pulled everything out of your DT?

healthy fish dont get ick.... if a fish gets sick with ick its probally due to stress or bad nutrition (im guessing stress seing how many fish you have together)
throw them back in your DT and get some cleaner shrimp or a cleaner wrasse to eat the ick away

 

[jayb12]

your better to have fish with ick then dead fish in a tank thats not ready to have fish even live in it.

 

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15343166#post15343166 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jayb12
so you pulled everything out of your DT?

healthy fish dont get ick.... if a fish gets sick with ick its probally due to stress or bad nutrition (im guessing stress seing how many fish you have together)
throw them back in your DT and get some cleaner shrimp or a cleaner wrasse to eat the ick away

Many myths abound about ich. One it is actually a parasite, akin to fleas, not a disease, so yes healthy fish can do get ich. Also cleaner shrimps and wrasses do not eat ich, they like something larger than ciliated protozoans

 

[jayb12]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15343270#post15343270 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by billsreef
Many myths abound about ich. One it is actually a parasite, akin to fleas, not a disease, so yes healthy fish can do get ich. Also cleaner shrimps and wrasses do not eat ich, they like something larger than ciliated protozoans

ive personally had cleaner shrimps and wrasses clean ick off my yellow tang before.

its my understanding that healthy fish are covered in a protective slime and when they are stressed or sick (just like humans) their defence systems take a decline, opening the door for the paracite known as ick!

 

[Toddrtrex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15343102#post15343102 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hogfish77
I'll probably do a big water change. No way I'm taking the fish back for about half of what I paid. The DT is 4 weeks from the ich to die out. No way am I going to put the Naso in there so the ich can live again.

So yeah my guiltyness is hoping to have as many fish possible ready after the the ich is gone in my DT.

Better then having them die, and not get any money back. So your display tank is fishless now? (( what size is it? )). Assuming that you are doing 8+ weeks of fishless because of ick, you are going to have a drop in the carrying capacity of your tank. Then you are going to add all those fish in your QT to the display at once?

Hate to say this, but I don't see this ending well.

What all did you have in the tank before ick?

 

[Hogfish77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15343398#post15343398 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toddrtrex
Better then having them die, and not get any money back. So your display tank is fishless now? (( what size is it? )). Assuming that you are doing 8+ weeks of fishless because of ick, you are going to have a drop in the carrying capacity of your tank. Then you are going to add all those fish in your QT to the display at once?

Hate to say this, but I don't see this ending well.

What all did you have in the tank before ick?

Yes I had an ich/velvet infestation that started with my hippo tang. Tank is a 6ft tank 24" wide. Wiped out juvie blueface, juvie emperor, blackcap basslet, potter's angel, cuban hogfish, bi-color angel, orange shoulder tang, and hippo tang, pair of black&white clowns. Only survivor was a small red coris wrasse. Once the QT is done, I will be adding some biospira to the DT as well. I know biospira worked wonders for me back in the freshwater days. I'll let you know how it goes.