Ammonia Burn Or Color Change ?

This is my first post on here so excuse any technical errors.


I have a 65 gallon goldfish aquarium that's been set up about 5 weeks. I've had an ammonia spike here or there but I do daily partial water changes and I've been usually a little aquarium salt, seachem conditioner, and add beneficial bacteria.

The middle picture is day 1 in the tank (I think s/he's still pretty young)

 

Are you referring to the change from orange to black?

I have 3 comets in a 45 gallon, All of them have slowly changed color over time.
When I bought them, I had one that was orange and black, and 2 that were orange and white.
NOW, 3 years later, one of my orange and white ones is ALL white. nd my orange and black one is all orange. It could just be that they're maturing. They look pretty healthy to me.

I will admit though...its not surprising to me that you're having ammonia spikes. Considering the tank is only 5 weeks old, you may not be 100% through your cycle yet. 5 large goldfish in a 65 gallon is about fully stocked (maybe 1 more later down the line), and at 5 weeks...is a lot of fish to add to a newer tank.

But nonetheless, if you're testing and keep up with w/c to remedy the spikes, EVENTUALLY, your ammonia should stop spiking.

I'm thinking your having ammonia spikes because the tank doesn't have enough ammonia oxidizing bacteria to naturally detoxify it all, and they will grow exponentially as long as they have ammonia to feed on so, the tank will cycle eventually but you will have to keep up with water changes to keep everything running smoothly until the levels do balance out.

Edit: Also hello! And Welcome to Fishlore!

 

Welcome to Fishlore! Very pretty fish - and what a pleasant change that you are not postiywhile keeping them all in a 5-10 gallon tank. I vote that the color change is growth. Ammonia poisoning would be red gills and maybe red stress lines along the body. Pretty fish! I hope you stick around!
FWIW - I watch Solid Gokd Aquatics on YouTube occasionally. She had a video about the color change in two of her fish - you might want to check that out.

 

Thank you everyone! Yes I'm definitely not fully cycled yet. I was really close but I had a pH drop that stalled everything, but I'm working hard to get it right! I think I'm going to get some stress coat for tonight's water change just in case


Here's a view of the whole thing. I ditched the little gravel after I learned it was a choking hazard and the water has been sooooo much easier to keep clear since

 

If you had a pH drop we may need to discuss the kH & gH of your water. I have borderline low kH which caused a pH crash that I thankfully caught & rectified without loss (thank you Fishlore friends!). This is one time having a chain pet store test your water would work. They use the test strips - which include kH & gH (but don’t test ammonia). Sometimes pH just fluctuates during cycling & sometimes it is an underlying kH issue. If it is a kH issue, might as well find out now & learn how to manage it.

 

If you had a pH drop we may need to discuss the kH & gH of your water. I have borderline low kH which caused a pH crash that I thankfully caught & rectified without loss (thank you Fishlore friends!). This is one time having a chain pet store test your water would work. They use the test strips - which include kH & gH (but don’t test ammonia). Sometimes pH just fluctuates during cycling & sometimes it is an underlying kH issue. If it is a kH issue, might as well find out now & learn how to manage it.

Thank you. I've tested it for the last week and it's stayed steady but I'll get that checked out

How does kH and gH really affect your water? And what would you say is a good range for goldfish?

 

I don’t know what is “good” for goldfish, but I am sure wild pH swings are bad for all fish. If you get the pet store to test it for you ask for the actual numbers with units (drops, ppm, etc)... not just “your water looks good”. Write down what they tell you. Hopefully your pH issue was just a side effect of cycling, but this way you will catch an issue if it is one.