Would these levels be fatal for new introductions?

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fishman256

fishman256

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 1, 2007
885
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England
Hello,

After the recent loss of some fish due to old age, I have left the tank for a couple of weeks before thinking about any new introductions.

Tonights tests gave a nitrate level of between 0 and 0.6 mg/l and ammonia at 10 m/l.

Would anyone consider the above ammonia level firstly too high for the current inhabitants and if not, could I safely intorduce more stock?

My tank is a 48"x12"x15" tropical freshwater with two fluval 3 internals. Stock is an old congo tetra, 3 spotted sd's - 2 at 2" and 1 at almost 5", 1 6" sd and a 4" sd.


Thank you in advance.
 
I would get ammonia to zero before adding fish. Adding more bioload is only going to compound the problem. Any ammonia is too high. Ammonia should be zero, because it's extremely toxic, and its presence sickens fish. So, yes, it's bad.
 
The ammonia levels are too high for the fish in your tank. Is this tank newly set up?
 
The tank is either overstocked or underfiltered, or the biological cycle has been somehow disrupted. You should research the nitrogen cycle. You'll see that the ammonia should be converted into nitrite, and then into nitrate, and that's the only thing you actually have to remove with water changes. By doing the water changes, you are keeping your fish alive, but you're also slowing down the cycle. If you are concerned that the tank is overstocked, why in the heck are you asking us about adding more fish?!? Just take some time, before you buy any more fish, and really get to understand what's going on in the tank and what your biological filter is doing for you. Then, examine your maintenance and upkeep and try and determine what has interrupted the process. It could be something as simple as washing the filter media with tap water, or overfeeding. But, if you don't get it figured out, you'll be posting next about your sick, listless fish, so it's really important to get it under control.
 
Are you reading the tests correctly? You must mean Nitrite of .6, not Nitrate. And ammonia at 10 m/l is lethally bad. Unless your Ph is super low, all you fish should be dead...
 
fishman256;3548290; said:
The tank has been setup for years.
Click to expand...

Then your first step would be to get the tank properly cycled again. You then need to figure what/why the beneficial bacteria colony has been wiped out.
 
justonemoretank;3548189; said:
The tank is either overstocked or underfiltered, or the biological cycle has been somehow disrupted. You should research the nitrogen cycle. You'll see that the ammonia should be converted into nitrite, and then into nitrate, and that's the only thing you actually have to remove with water changes. By doing the water changes, you are keeping your fish alive, but you're also slowing down the cycle. If you are concerned that the tank is overstocked, why in the heck are you asking us about adding more fish?!? Just take some time, before you buy any more fish, and really get to understand what's going on in the tank and what your biological filter is doing for you. Then, examine your maintenance and upkeep and try and determine what has interrupted the process. It could be something as simple as washing the filter media with tap water, or overfeeding. But, if you don't get it figured out, you'll be posting next about your sick, listless fish, so it's really important to get it under control.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the information. I will be cutting right back on feeding for a few days to see if it makes a difference. All filter media is washed in tank water.
 
SimonL;3548193; said:
Are you reading the tests correctly? You must mean Nitrite of .6, not Nitrate. And ammonia at 10 m/l is lethally bad. Unless your Ph is super low, all you fish should be dead...
Click to expand...

I just got the testing kit yesterday. Just a quick thought, I vaccumed alot of the sand during the last water change. Could that have upset the cycle?
 
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