tropicalfishlovers

Hi, we are in desparate need of advice from experienced fish keepers. We have a 190l Fluval Bow front, and for the last week our ammonia has been reading 8, we have reduced pH to 7.0 and done a 50% water change with daily 20% changes for the last week, another 50% change today as fish still not happy and ammonia level still 8. 6 hours later the fish are back at the top gasping for air. We have tried Ammo Lock but this hasn't appeared to work.

What else can we do?

dee34

hi there i had the same problem whan i started ,keep doing water changes because at the moment thats what is keeping ur fish alive .go to the pet store and get some API bacteria for the filter , put plenty of stress coat in with ur changes .... let me know howw u get on

tropicalfishlovers

Thanks dee31, we have just put some bacteria in, lets hope this will help. The tank has been running for 6 months and we keep on top of water changes and cleaning, so we were shocked that we are experiencing this problem. thanks again.

dee34

no problem hope everything goes well....

Lucy

Hi welcome to Fish Lore

Many members have started out on the wrong foot, so don't worry about that.

Persoanly, I wouldn't recommend api's bacterial additive. Many bacterial suppliments contain the wrong type of bacteria. It dies off quickly and never allows your tank to cycle.
The only additive that I've heard many members recommend is Tetra SafeStart.
The best thing you can do for your fish is to continue to do 50% water changes and use prime or Stress Coat+ until the cycle is complete. Your readings will be 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, with 5-10 nitrate. Prime and Stress Coat+ are water conditioner that detox the ammonia making it safer for you fish but still available for the bacteria to develop.
You might want to consider adding an airstone if you don't have one already.

To better understand the cycling process, please read this link:
Nitrogen Cycle

What was your ph before lowering it? Many fish can adapt to your ph without altering it. It's best to have a stable ph, than try and mess with it.
Do you know your readings for nitrite and nitrate?

Good luck.

Sharkitty

With an ammonia level of 8 I'd probably change more than 50% of the water, but that's just me. Seems that if you do 50% you're still at 4, which is super high.

Personally I'd take out almost as much water as possible and dump in a bottle of Tetra SafeStart. It's not cheap but it will get you off the water change hook for 10 days.

AlyeskaGirl

I agree with Sharkitty. You need to be doing a larger water change with the ammonia being that high.....and using Prime or Amquel+ for your water conditioner. They both detox ammonia for 24-48 hours until you can do another water change. Make sure gravel is clean, filter media is rinsed in bucket of tank water and feed once a day or skip a day.

If you go the Tetra Safestart rought.....you need to get the ammonia below .50 before adding it or it wont work properly I believe.

tropicalfishlovers

AlyeskaGirl

Glad to hear all is well.

Sharkitty

Excellent.