Dangerous Ammonia Levels

So as some of you might remember, I'm the one that got the 10 gallon tank for a 7ish week old female betta. Yesterday I got some ammonia testing kits and the levels were marked as dangerous within her cup, so we spent about 3 hours acclimating her, adding and removing water from the cup, trying to remove all of the filthy pet store cup water and all the gunk that came with it. She has what is suspected to be ammonia burn on her gills as well. We got her added to the tank at about 4AM, I'm at work right now so there's nothing I can do immediately. The tank's ammonia levels were 0 before adding her and spiked to just below dangerous after adding her.

We added dechlorinator, stress coat, and beneficial bacteria to the tank long before adding her (about 10AM that same day). The tank is at 79 degrees with a heavy duty but low-flow filter (not strong enough to impact her swimming or take her away). She was doing relatively fine in the tank and has a healthy appetite (we're feeding her brine shrimp), but when I finally laid down to sleep for a couple hours, after I woke up she was hiding behind the filter kind of motionless. She perked up when we turned the lights off though.

I've researched and researched but the most I could find is info on how to resolve a small ammonia problem. This is a big one and I'm extremely worried. What can I do to lower these levels quickly? Live plants? If so, what kind do you recommend? And how often should I do water changes and for how much?

 

Well I’d recommend getting Seachem Prime. It’s a water conditioner that detoxifies ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Furthermore, stresscoat is a water conditioner, so you shouldn’t add that on top of your other water conditioner. So I’d get Prime and stop using the other two. You can do 25% a day, or even 50%, so long as you match the temperature of the tank and dechlorinate it.

 

Well I’d recommend getting Seachem Prime. It’s a water conditioner that detoxifies ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Furthermore, stresscoat is a water conditioner, so you shouldn’t add that on top of your other water conditioner. So I’d get Prime and stop using the other two. You can do 25% a day, or even 50%, so long as you match the temperature of the tank and dechlorinate it.

Okay. I'd looked for that brand at the pet store and couldn't find it, so I'll have to order it. Thank you!

 

No worries, for some reason a lot of places don’t carry it. API is great at marketing, they make Stress Coat look like it’s for stress, when really it’s just a conditioner.

 

Good luck! Make sure to keep us updated.

 

So as some of you might remember, I'm the one that got the 10 gallon tank for a 7ish week old female betta. Yesterday I got some ammonia testing kits and the levels were marked as dangerous within her cup, so we spent about 3 hours acclimating her, adding and removing water from the cup, trying to remove all of the filthy pet store cup water and all the gunk that came with it. She has what is suspected to be ammonia burn on her gills as well. We got her added to the tank at about 4AM, I'm at work right now so there's nothing I can do immediately. The tank's ammonia levels were 0 before adding her and spiked to just below dangerous after adding her.

We added dechlorinator, stress coat, and beneficial bacteria to the tank long before adding her (about 10AM that same day). The tank is at 79 degrees with a heavy duty but low-flow filter (not strong enough to impact her swimming or take her away). She was doing relatively fine in the tank and has a healthy appetite (we're feeding her brine shrimp), but when I finally laid down to sleep for a couple hours, after I woke up she was hiding behind the filter kind of motionless. She perked up when we turned the lights off though.

I've researched and researched but the most I could find is info on how to resolve a small ammonia problem. This is a big one and I'm extremely worried. What can I do to lower these levels quickly? Live plants? If so, what kind do you recommend? And how often should I do water changes and for how much?

What “bacterial booster “ did you use? Some of them are known to result in extreme water parameter readings. One betta in a TEN gallon tank would have to work unbelievably hard to spike the ammonia. Breathe. She is certainly much better than she was in her store cup.

 

Thank you, I placed the order for seachem prime and got express shipping so hopefully that comes soon because ANOTHER problem has come up. According to my partner, who I don’t live with yet, the water is foggy and became more foggy after he woke up. I asked for a picture so we’ll see how bad it is but this is stressing me out lol

I’ll have to double check on which bacteria we got. I really hope that wouldn’t be the case.



This has little to do with the issue but here’s a picture of her being comically tiny in her tank lol

 

Well I’d recommend getting Seachem Prime. It’s a water conditioner that detoxifies ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Furthermore, stresscoat is a water conditioner, so you shouldn’t add that on top of your other water conditioner. So I’d get Prime and stop using the other two. You can do 25% a day, or even 50%, so long as you match the temperature of the tank and dechlorinate it.

I was gonna say the same think about prime which has been a godsend for me at times.

What “bacterial booster “ did you use? Some of them are known to result in extreme water parameter readings. One betta in a TEN gallon tank would have to work unbelievably hard to spike the ammonia. Breathe. She is certainly much better than she was in her store cup.

most pet stores sell kick start as a beneficial bacteria and yes I’m pretty sure it does have ammonia in it to feed the bacteria while it’s in the bottle , I forget where I read it but there was a pretty informative article on it

 

most pet stores sell kick start as a beneficial bacteria and yes I’m pretty sure it does have ammonia in it to feed the bacteria while it’s in the bottle , I forget where I read it but there was a pretty informative article on it

Hm. The thing that kicks me is her CUP was the initial high ammonia level, and we hadn't added any bacteria to it (just conditioner when we did the small water change upon first buying her). I did the test before we started acclimating, which my tank read 0 on ammonia before adding her to it so we were putting water in her cup that had 0 ammonia in it.

And of course post-adding her they spiked. So I don't think the bottled bacteria is the problem, since the water she came to me in is what was off the charts.

Okay, so the brand we got was Topfin readistart.

But I still don't think that's it because the ammonia was at 0 in the tank before adding her.

 

Hm. The thing that kicks me is her CUP was the initial high ammonia level, and we hadn't added any bacteria to it (just conditioner when we did the small water change upon first buying her). I did the test before we started acclimating, which my tank read 0 on ammonia before adding her to it so we were putting water in her cup that had 0 ammonia in it.

And of course post-adding her they spiked. So I don't think the bottled bacteria is the problem, since the water she came to me in is what was off the charts.

The bacteria doesn’t initially release these readings until a couple of days later but who knows it may just be her waste , however I do know that once you get your prime you will get some relief knowing that it detoxifies a lot of that harmful stuff Oh and by the way a lil goes along way with prime. I usually only use to to three drops a gallon and it works wonders. Oh and one more thing . Think of a nice big FART right before you open the bottle and then come back here and comment lol

 

The bacteria doesn’t initially release these readings until a couple of days later but who knows it may just be her waste , however I do know that once you get your prime you will get some relief knowing that it detoxifies a lot of that harmful stuff Oh and by the way a lil goes along way with prime. I usually only use to to three drops a gallon and it works wonders. Oh and one more thing . Think of a nice big FART right before you open the bottle and then come back here and comment lol

It's surprising she can produce that much waste with how tiny she is lol. Then again who knows how long she was suffering in that god-awful cup.

 

It's surprising she can produce that much waste with how tiny she is lol. Then again who knows how long she was suffering in that god-awful cup.

Yeah true..... where did you get her ?

 

Prime is your best friend

 

Yeah true..... where did you get her ?

Sigh, Petsmart. She’s the second Betta I’ve gotten from them but my first guy didn’t have nearly as much issues with this. His ammonia levels were still high in the cup but they don’t compare to hers.

 

Did you add the water from the cup to the tank? Do the instructions on the bacterial booster preclude water changes? If not - go ahead and consider a 50% water change.

 

Sigh, Petsmart. She’s the second Betta I’ve gotten from them but my first guy didn’t have nearly as much issues with this. His ammonia levels were still high in the cup but they don’t compare to hers.

Better than purchasing them from Walmart lol

 

Did you add the water from the cup to the tank? Do the instructions on the bacterial booster preclude water changes? If not - go ahead and consider a 50% water change.

Yes I did, but we were acclimating for 3 hours so I think we removed most of it, it just kept affecting our water.

Better than purchasing them from Walmart lol

No really. They have their bettas sitting on the shelf like a product. Every time I go there I bust open food and feed them and give them water changes, the employees don’t seem too bothered about getting out of their job lol.

Also, according to my partner, she didn’t eat yesterday and he tried to feed her two different times. Think we’ll try flakes instead of the brine shrimp, they might be too big for her, but this whole situation is almost making me lose hair lol

 

Also, according to my partner, she didn’t eat yesterday and he tried to feed her two different times. Think we’ll try flakes instead of the brine shrimp, they might be too big for her, but this whole situation is almost making me lose hair lol

Hahah don’t stress to much .

 

Thank you, I placed the order for seachem prime and got express shipping so hopefully that comes soon because ANOTHER problem has come up. According to my partner, who I don’t live with yet, the water is foggy and became more foggy after he woke up. I asked for a picture so we’ll see how bad it is but this is stressing me out lol

I’ll have to double check on which bacteria we got. I really hope that wouldn’t be the case.

View attachment 445880 View attachment 445881 This has little to do with the issue but here’s a picture of her being comically tiny in her tank lol

Looks exactly like the one I just brought home!

 

I have a 55g tank with an Electric Blue Acara, 5 Panda Corys and one very tiny Clown Loach. Usually my tank reads 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates but today it’s reading 2 ppm ammonia! All my fish are fine, they eat well and they are very active during the day. No signs of ammonia poisoning or burns. I’m very confused as to why my test kit is reading such high ammonia but my fish are fine. I’m also getting some trace amounts of nitrites. Any ideas why this is happening and how to fix it? Last water change was 19 days ago. My tank doesn’t need many water changes as I have a large filter with multiple medias.

 

What are you using to test?

For whatever it’s worth, 19 days is too long between water changes. Partial water changes are important for reasons other than controlling the things we test for, including the need to replace important minerals that are lost.

 

What are you using to test?

For whatever it’s worth, 19 days is too long between water changes. Partial water changes are important for reasons other than controlling the things we test for, including the need to replace important minerals that are lost.

I use the API Master Test Kit. I plan on doing a water change tomorrow since it’s reading so high. I didn’t think about mineral replacement and things like that, I’ll keep that in mind.

 

Usually if *my* tanks start to run ammonia, my ph has dropped due to depletion of kH. This may never happen to people with different tap water than me, and it may happen more often to others.

What is your pH? Any nitrite/nitrate readings? You wouldn't happen to have a kH drop check or test strip would you?

 

Usually if *my* tanks start to run ammonia, my ph has dropped due to depletion of kH. This may never happen to people with different tap water than me, and it may happen more often to others.

What is your pH? Any nitrite/nitrate readings? You wouldn't happen to have a kH drop check or test strip would you?

pH is sort of high but my fish seem to do fine with it. The reading is around 8.2. I do have test strips that test for gH and kH. Very small amounts of nitrite and very small amounts of nitrates.

 

pH is sort of high but my fish seem to do fine with it. The reading is around 8.2. I do have test strips that test for gH and kH

Just my opinion, but I wouldn’t wait until tomorrow to do a water change.

 

Just my opinion, but I wouldn’t wait until tomorrow to do a water change.

Gotcha. I can get onto that now.

 

Gotcha. I can get onto that now.

Do you have Seachem Prime?

 

Just my opinion, but I wouldn’t wait until tomorrow to do a water change.

This all day. If you had depleted buffers the ph would be low, and ammonia less toxic. With pH over 8 at 80 degrees the ammonia is very toxic and you do need to keep it below 1.

.75 would be the safe change out level until your cycle evens out.

Your cycle is definitely adjusting to something since you have trace nitrite. Don't add anymore fish until you are back to 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and gaining nitrate.

 

Do you have Seachem Prime?

Yes that’s what I use to dechlorinate my water. I’ve been periodically dosing it into my 55g so maybe that’s why my fish seem fine.

This all day. If you had depleted buffers the ph would be low, and ammonia less toxic. With pH over 8 at 80 degrees the ammonia is very toxic and you do need to keep it below 1.

.75 would be the safe change out level until your cycle evens out.

Your cycle is definitely adjusting to something since you have trace nitrite. Don't add anymore fish until you are back to 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and gaining nitrate.

Totally agree. Just finished the water change but I’m going to let the new water sit in the tank for a little bit until I test again so I can get an accurate reading. Temperature is around 78 but that should lower a little bit soon. I usually keep it at 75 or 76 Fahrenheit.

 

You need to change the water for at least once a week.

 

Just my opinion, but I wouldn’t wait until tomorrow to do a water change.

Just checked the ammonia levels in the tank. At around 1 ppm now so a little better. Should I change the water again today?

 

I would...

 

I would...

Got it down to .50 ppm!