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Post by Lisa on Jun 22, 2003 20:13:35 GMT -5
My 5-year-old wanted a pet for his birthday in May, so we went the route of having a betta. Of course, I get to have the wonderful task of keeping the fish alive. =) We have him in a 5.5 gallon filtered tank. We've had him about 5 weeks, and has been well until now. I have run into two problems: 1) I changed half of the water about 3 weeks after having the fish. I did everything: Added StressZyme, Stress Coat, AmmoLock, EasyBalance... even let the water sit out two days before. I put the water in, and the fish was great. However, I have one of those ammonia sensors sticks to one of the windows of the tank and the thing turned bright purple (meaning TOXIC levels) the next day. I immediately removed the fish and did a full tank cleaning. About two days later, the ammonia sensor turned purple again. I have been cleaning the fish tank every other day, and everytime, the sensor turns purple after 2 days. I am even using AmmoChips in the filter now. What else can I do??? 2) I thought the fish was tolerating all of this really well -- no loss of appetite, he's very playful, and he's a big show-off. Then today, I was looking at him and it looks like he's losing the color on the two fins behind his gills (on each side). I took a picture: www.dzynbylisa.com/Nemo/nemo3.jpgIs that new growth? Is it the ammonia level doing damage? Wahhh! Please help! Thanks in advance!!! -Lisa |
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Post by Emerson on Jun 22, 2003 21:07:18 GMT -5
Hi,
I'm a newbie myself and not experienced enough to answer about the coloring, but here is something that I learned about our own water conditions that might be worth checking out. I have a 5 gallon, and kept doing a partial water change and kept coming up with elevated ammonia (not at the toxic level, but higher than I thought it should be). I ended up taking a sample of our water to the local pet store, and the pet store manager tested it. Turns out that the water coming out of our tap is DIRTIER than the water in the aquarium!!!! Particularly the ammonia. So even though I was doing regular partial water changes, I was just putting ammonia immediately back into the tank!
You might want to have your tap water checked and see if this could be part of the problem. We bought several gallons of natural spring water (with NO SODIUM) and have gradually replaced out the old water with the bottled stuff. That seems to have totally taken care of the high ammonia readings, as I've taken readings several days in a row now and the level is coming up 0.0!
Good luck,
sef
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AmberD
Junior Bubble Nester
Posts: 157
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Post by AmberD on Jun 22, 2003 22:37:02 GMT -5
Those fins are called pectorals, and it's perfectly normal for them to be different colors. At least one of my bettas has a colored pectoral on one side, and a clear on on the other. Another has kind of spotted pectorals. I don't think it's a problem  Amber |
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AmberD
Junior Bubble Nester
Posts: 157
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Post by AmberD on Jun 22, 2003 22:37:21 GMT -5
oh yeah, cute picture!
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Post by Lisa on Jun 23, 2003 0:26:17 GMT -5
Amber- Thank you for telling me what those fins are called! I am so grateful that nothing's wrong with them and that it's normal for them to be clear.
Sef- Thanks for the advice! I've had my tap water tested after putting all the StressZyme, StressCoat, AmmoLock, and EZbalance in it, and it came out perfect. It's something that happens in the two days after I put it in the aquarium that makes it toxic. It's frustrating! I keep wondering what I'm doing wrong. Scary that tap water is so gross, huh?
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Post by Emerson on Jun 23, 2003 6:26:31 GMT -5
Lisa, Hmmmm....is there anything metal in the bowl? To me (and mind you, I'm a newbie, too!) it almost sounds like you have a bad test kit. When you say that you have had the water tested after adding everything, did you use the same test kit? I just can't imagine that anything could go that drastically wrong with your water in only two days' time! Wow! Another thought: Could you be putting too much additive into the bowl? I'm not familiar with EasyBalance....what does that do? The StressCoat and StressZyme should be perfectly okay of course, but I'm wondering if the AmmoLock might cause a false reading? (if I'm remembering correctly, that is used to neutralize ammonia). The pet store owner that I go to said he wouldn't recommend using anything that temporarily neutralizes the ammonia, because it doesn't give you an accurate picture of how the tank is cycling and how well I'm keeping the tank clean. That's just a thought! Good luck with this! I'm sure it's very frustrating  sef |
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Post by Brandi on Jun 23, 2003 9:56:12 GMT -5
That's a good point Sef made about the AmmoLock. I'm not sure about it but I know the Amquel I used to use said on the package that it wasn't compatible with certain types of test kits and could cause false readings. You might check with your pet store and see if they know what kits are compatible with AmmoLock or quit using it entirely and change some of the water if the ammonia is high in order to lower it.
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Post by Betta MVP on Jun 23, 2003 15:12:45 GMT -5
Lisa,
Your tank is cycling right now so it is normal to see ammonia readings until your biological filter establishes itself. Stop cleaning out the tank (substrate and filter media), you are interrupting the nitrifying bacteria and causing the cycle to keep restarting. Keep an eye on ammonia levels and keep them under control by doing partial water changes. I would take the ammo chips out and stop using the Stress Zyme too. The Ammo Lock is okay to use, it will not interupt the cycle, but it will give you false ammonia readings on your test kits.
When you introduce fish to a new tank, ammonia immediately starts to build up in the water due to fish waste, uneaten foods, etc. Soon after this happens, good bacteria will begin to grow in your tank that will convert the ammonia into nitrites. Nitrites are also bad for your fish, so soon after the bacteria start producing nitrites, another good bacteria will start to grow which will convert your nitrites into nitrates. Nitrates are not good for your fish either if there is too much, but these we can manage using partial water changes and/or live plants.
It usually takes about a month for your tank to cycle. You will know when it is finished when you have no ammonia, no nitrites, only nitrates. You can purchase test kits for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates at practically any pet or fish store, they are not that expensive and could save you a lot of grief.
Once you start seeing nitrites, a little aquarium salt in the water can help your fish deal with them better.
If you don't want your tank to cycle, do 100 % water changes weekly. If you let your tank cycle, you will only need to do partial water changes weekly and use a siphon to clean any poo out of the substrate.
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Post by Lisa on Jun 23, 2003 22:14:37 GMT -5
BettaMVP- Thank you sooo much! I will take out the Ammochips and leave the tank alone. The EasyBalance I have is some type of bacteria to help condition the tank, so maybe I should use that every week too. I will go get a siphon and some test kits.
Sef- Actually, the thermometer is metal -- I wonder if that is helping add to the fray. I'll take it out and buy a plastic one! Good thinking!!!! For a newbie, you sure are a blessing to me and this forum! Thank you!!!
Brandi (and Sef)- You're right the AmmoLock says it will give a false positive on most ammonia tests because it just changes it to a non-toxic form. I didn't even think of that! Thank you for your input!
Thank you everyone. This really helps out a lot!
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Post by Emerson on Jun 23, 2003 23:03:37 GMT -5
Lisa, Glad to be able to help a little! The people here on this board have been a LIFESAVER to me. I've had numerous panic attacks so far (as you can see from my previous posts!  ), and these kind people have helped me through each and every time. Much better than a book; the interaction here is invaluble. Good luck on the water situation, and keep us posted! sef |
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Post by Betta MVP on Jun 24, 2003 10:17:34 GMT -5
Lisa,
Most of the stuff you buy that is labeled as bacteria that helps your cycle start is useless. I have heard good things about biospyra though (I think this is what it is called), but I think it is kind of hard to find.
Keep using your stress coat as that removes the bad stuff from your tap water. I'm not sure about the easy balance, what does the label say that it does exactly?
Be very diligent about doing partial water changes because cycling can be pretty hard on your betta. Partial water changes shouldn't really interfere with the cycle since the bacteria will grow on surfaces. Siphoning the substrate is good, but during the cycle, I would try not to disturb it too much. If you have to clean the filter, swish it around in some water that you remove from the tank so that you don't kill the bacteria that is growing there.
Good luck!
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ana
Egg
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Post by ana on Jun 24, 2003 14:26:35 GMT -5
i cycled my tank quickly and its perfect doing nothing but adding aquarium salt and a dechlorinator, with added control for about 3 weeks, being very careful no one was splashed with it and using only the amount recommended for the amount of water im replacing. im not sure why you waited so long for a partial, i did 30% once a week on mine, it cycled within a couple of weeks. i continue to do 30% partials but now every 2 weeks. the corys help with a lot of waste matter too, i was doing it once a week til they started eating left overs from the bottom
i add an ammorid to my filter media since i have so many fish in that aquarium
im cycling a 2 and half filtered right now, its a little more slow but i hesitated to add control to it, i restarted it and did add the control and it seems to be doing well, i also do partials on it, but because of its size, i do 2 per week
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Post by Lisa on Jun 25, 2003 16:29:06 GMT -5
BettaMVP & Sef- I changed the water (25%) on Monday just using the AmmoLock and some StressCoat, I removed the AmmoChips and got a new plastic thermometer, and the ammonia sensor is still yellow (safe). This is a record-breaking event! My son's fish and I thank you VERY much!!! [ |
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Post by Rachel - old on Jun 25, 2003 17:14:08 GMT -5
Aww, your tank is adorable with the hand drawn picture!!  |
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Post by Emerson on Jun 25, 2003 18:09:25 GMT -5
Yay!!!! That's very good news! Great picture. |
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), and these kind people have helped me through each and every time. Much better than a book; the interaction here is invaluble.
