Crazy Ammonia Spike!!!

[Jonny Steele]

So i tested my water today only to find this.....

Way to high of ammonia. Not sure what is causing it, i cleaned my Eheim 2217 filter a few weeks ago, it was a lil dirty, not to bad. I have a 55g with the following fish..

1 blood parrot
2 electric chiclids
1 pleco
1 goldfish
4 small baby fish, not sure whos babys they are.

Also just bought a Black Knife fish today in hopes he will eat some of the debri on the tank bottom.

Here are more pics....

 

[Laticauda]

OH EM GEE DUDE! Why'd you get another fish? That is the exact OPPOSITE of what you want to do in this situation. I would change as much of the water as possible, and not feed the fish for a day or two, it's quite obvious you are overfeeding? Is that what you meant by "got him to clean up the bottom"?

 

[NCStateFisher]

is that all crap on the bottom or food or what? looks like somebody needs some quality gravel vac time

 

[Richie_ELP]

Holy Jesus

 

[Richie_ELP]

If you actually managed to keep ammonia/nitrate/nitrite in check to begin with; did you maybe rinse media in tap water? Vac the fish turds up. I'd suggest a water change, and fix that stocking.

 

[SCGeordie]

Had a similar (but lot smaller) amm spike in a 6g tank I was using to hold some male endlers (7). Turned out a RCS that had been living in there since she hitched a ride on a filter I used to seed the tank, had died and was rotting hidden away in some moss. Ammonia only hit 1.5 ppm (in two days) but it was enough to kill 6 of the seven Endlers. The surviving male Endler is in my 10g fry tank untill I get another setup to separate the sexes again.
Any chance you had more than 4 babies in there and the rest got sucked into the filter?

 

[ar0wan]

/facepalm

 

[Jonny Steele]

OH EM GEE DUDE! Why'd you get another fish? That is the exact OPPOSITE of what you want to do in this situation. I would change as much of the water as possible, and not feed the fish for a day or two, it's quite obvious you are overfeeding? Is that what you meant by "got him to clean up the bottom"?

I dont feed them much, that is all crap on the bottom

is that all crap on the bottom or food or what? looks like somebody needs some quality gravel vac time

its all crap

 

[sweeed]

Did you rinse the bio filter media in tap water? If you did that you probably killed all the beneficial bacteria.

 

[derekp]

well vac it up.