inari

ok yesterday i started to notice some Ammonia so i am concerned the LFS says that it is normal even with bio-spira however i should start to worry when it hits 1 ppm and do a 50% change that is my current plan.


My current concern is the Ammonia two days ago it was at 0 ppm, yesterday spiked to .25 ppm, and today when i tested it, the ammonia was at 1.0 ppm *scream* so my plan is to change out about half to reduce that amount any other suggestions?

Inari

fish_r_friend

it look like your bio-spira was not alive

chickadee

Yes I would definitely continue to watch it very closely and do a 50% water change. *There is a chance that the Bio-Spira you got was bad if you continue to get high readings. *Are you sure it was Bio-Spira that you got and not another brand? *There are other things out there on the market that say they will cycle your tank and some of them even have names similar to Bio-Spira but they are a different type of bacteria that does not need to be refrigerated. *If you were able to find this on the shelf then it is either 1) not Bio-Spira or 2) the shop did not take care of the Bio-Spira correctly and allowed all the bacteria to die because it was not refrigerated. *If it was refrigerated, then continue to monitor the tests at least daily and change the water as needed to keep the level below 1.0 .

Rose

inari

what about my pH its really high at the moment i was told that a perfect 7 is nice but won't happen however at 8.2 or 8.4 i think that is abit high what can i do about that or will the pH lower as i change the water??

chickadee

Do not do a thing with the Ph of your water. The fish is much more capable of adapting to a high or low pH than being able to cope with a swinging Ph when a person tries to change it. It is too hard to get a constant pH when you use the products that say they will raise or lower it. If the fish is having to adapt to a constant change it will sicken very quickly and possibly die as a result. Bettas can live quite well at an 8.2 or higher if it is a CONSTANT 8.2. A 7.0 may be considered a NEUTRAL (not perfect) pH but not necessarily the best one. Some fish actually need to have a slightly higher or lower to be the best of conditions. If you begin to use any product you may mix a 7.0 one time and a 7.4 the next and some of the 7.0 water that is mixed is unstable depending on the product you use and can convert to an 8.0 before long. Please, just leave the water as it comes from the tap and let Inari get used to it.

Rose

inari

alright so the pH is fine but what about ammonias ideas besides water change?

chickadee

Do not add chemicals. Just do the water changes and give the Bio-Spira a few more days to kick in. If it hasn't in a week then we will look at the situation again. It should start to be better soon.

Rose

inari

alright well idk if i said anything yesterday but the Ammonia was only at .50 not great but I know Inari has dealt with worse I also have a Java moss in with him, he loves it and I have been told that it is like an ammonia sponge i really hope it is
thanx all

~Inari

inari

belated update on his specs

I have watched them drop from these water changes to a solid 0 accross the board now i'm also concerned does this mean he isn't doing his business craping and such i sure hope not thanx

brent

chickadee

No it means the bacteria are doing their job. Neutralizing the ammonia and stuff. If Inari starts to clamp his fins, or hang around the bottom or not eat or swim with a shimmy or something like that then break out the peas, but the water parameters will not tell you that he is constipated. You will have to watch Inari for hints on that score. You have seen how he behaves when he is constipated and you will recognize it I am sure.

Rose

inari

alright i was just wondering on such things just because well it seems that these Ions are always present i just didnt' realize how present they should or should not be

chickadee

They should not be if at all possible. you are doing great. Now stop worrying, okay

Rose

inari

yeah I have its just as i tested and these Ions are well non-existant, i saw my plants start to look like well death warmed over if u know what i mean and there are a few selected plants that I don't want to kill like a certain hydra 'cause Inari loves to hide in it and sleeps on it at night usually he hides in it when its around meal time and he is trying to get my attention 'cause i've waited 1 minute too long lol anyway thanx alot

brent

Gunnie

If your plants are not low light plants and you don't have special lighting for them, they will tend to look sickly. There are exceptions to this. The java moss is a low light plant and should do well in just about any tank. I'm not sure about the hydra you mention. Can you post a picture?

inari

sure pics are fine i have two good extremes one that is doing pretty well and Inari loves and the other that well looks like it will soon contribute to the ammonia concentration and Inari just stares at it like are these two the same plants??!? just ignore the crypt in the foreground of the second pic pls

O and the hydras are supposed to be low light plants u don't need a special bulb

Attached Images

	hyrdra1.JPG (82.7 KB, 15 views)
	hyrdra2.JPG (80.8 KB, 15 views)

chickadee

Is this what the plant looked like to start with?

http://www.plantgeek.net/images/plantpics/wysteria.jpg

If so this plant needs a moderate light and a little bit of plant food. You could get some plant food tablets to put one at the root of the plant. It looks like your tank sits by a window so maybe it does get light but maybe it the plant food doesn't fix the problem then more light is needed.

If this isn't the plant then I suggest going here and finding the right one and then when you do it will tell you how to take care of it and if it needs to have more light or if it is hard to grow. This is a great site about plants. Just look at the Plant Guide and it will tell you a lot about a LOT of plants.

http://www.plantgeek.net


Rose

inari

umm well yeah that looks like my plants except i think mine were a bit darker maybe just a variation...anyway i can accept that they are moderate light but i can't help but wonder, why is one don't REALLY well and another looking like it will become ammonia anytime now... :S

chickadee

Plant tissue does not usually become ammonia, animale tissue does. Rotting plant tissue is more likely to cause a rise in the Nitrates.

The reason I asked you to go to the http://www.plantgeek.net site is that they list a great many plants that are similar to the one you have and they are all unde "stem Plants" if you could identify it for us exactly if really would be easier to help you with it.

The one thing I can tell you is that plants with a color to them other than plain green do take more light as they need more than the regular amont to keep their color.

Rose