Oh no.....disaster struck

:'(
When performing a water change yesterday, my filter tip got dirty and clogged up, a case of over-feeding I suppose, which I have hopefully corrected. I took that tip off for a minute to clean it off, then reattached it. This morning, I was looking for my silver spotted molly and you can probably guess where I found it. My heart sank and I got really upset when I found it in my filter tube.
Could that by chance, keep my ammonia and nitrite levels higher than I want them, a fish stuck in the tube?
Anyway, I cleaned it up and put the filter back in. I will unplug my filter before I do that again. This makes me want to give up my hobby, I really took this hard.

 

I'm sorry for your loss. Yes, a dead fish will start decaying very fast and spike the ammonia and nitrites.

 

Thank you for your input and "sorry". It was one of my favortie fishies. Hopefully my water will balance out now, and after a very hard lesson learned, I may be a little more smarter with my cleanings. Maybe that was the reason why my ammonia and nitrites were not dropping at all, regardless of what I did over the past 24 hours.

 

oh I am so sorry for your loss! ....but don't give up. I'm new, but I'll bet this has happened to a bunch of people..I've read about some of the members having many different mishaps..but they are some of the kindest and most helpful people because they, like you, share what can - and does - happen in fishkeeping. It is sad, but please don't give up! Denise

 

Oh, I won't give up, I will persevere. It is just a hard hit. I'll be fine.

 

good! I lost a fishy - I mean lost it - never did find it - so I'm thinking someone ate him...I didn't have him long enough to form a bond, but still I worried over him for days...Denise

 

It can happen to a lot of us.  I moved my little cave one time and the legs on it were hollow.  One of my Otos flew up inside the minute I lifted it unbeknowst to me and when I put it back he was trapped inside.  I did not find him until he had starved to death and was quite decayed as I do not move the cave every water change.  I felt terrible and guilty but had to realize that lessons are learned from these things and believe me I have never repeated this again.

I am so sorry for your loss and hopefully the problem with your ammonia and nitirite levels will be improved.

Rose
:'(

 

>
I lost two more fish today, my cherry barb and one glass fish. Ammonia and nitrite levels still slightly high. I am starting to get very frusterated with this because my fish are starting to drop dead at an alarming rate. I don't know what to do. I have been to about five different lfs and they all give me different advice and try and push different chemicals. I don't know what is right or wrong. I am ready to pull the plug on my tank and give up. The only thing I have gotten from here is to try Prime, which I cannot find, or have overlooked.

 

Few clerks at LFSes really have much of a clue. You can order Prime online, its currently on sale at You can also use Amquel+, but make sure its the PLUS version not the regular version. I've never used it but its supposed to do the same thing as Prime. Do another really big water change, minimum of 50%, more if you can. Bit ones every day until it comes under control. But don't be surprised if you lose more fish. Not many can survive ammonia or nitrite poisoning and those that do will have weakened systems.

 

Lost my last glass fish. However, from what I have gathered on the internet, they would have not survived long anyway. They were painted glass fish that my wife got because they looked "neat". I told her not to get anymore after what I found out about them and how they become painted glass fish.
I did a huge water change, about 75%. I had some water in storage, so I used that instead of tap water, also add some start-right. With a big water change like that, should I add a bit of salt to the water like I did when I started?
Anyway, going to let this go overnight and do some tests in the morning. Going to hit some fish stores and see what I can find for Prime or that other stuff. Thanks for you interest and help Boxermom!!!

 

I am using Amquel + on the advice of Gunnie to remove the Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites as well as Chlorine and Chloramines and have had excellent results with it.  I use it according to the bottle directions and my fish have improved dramatically and my water was deadly to them before I started using it.  

There is some information I do not see in your post though that would make it easier to give you coherent answers.  Do you test your water and if so what are the readings for Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrate?  How long has the tank been set up for and did you do a fishless cycle or just add the fish directly when the tank was set up?  It sounds like your tank is still cycling and if so some of the fish you have mentioned are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrites.  They are just not the fish to use to cycle a tank.  And if the tank is still cycling then you should not use any of the products that have been mentioned as they will just stop your cycle cold and make you start the process all over again.  You need to be doing water changes to lower the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates in the water until the cycle is complete and use something like StressCoat (which should be available in ALL pet stores or anywhere fish are sold) to remove the chlorine and chloramine from the water without disturbing the cycle process.  You may lose more fish unless you do the water changes to keep the levels of ammonia down as that is one of the major causes of losing fish in the beginning of the hobby.  You should be able to help those fish you have with massive water changes and constant testing of your water (not with the dipsticks).  Get your self a good Master Test kit if you do not have one and do testing every day and change the water any time the ammonia goes over 0.25 and the Nitrites go over 1.0 and the Nitrates go over 10.0.  This will help keep your fish comfortable without stopping the cycle.  Expect the cycle to take a matter of 4 - 5 weeks.

No please do not use the Prime or Amquel + or you will stop your cycle process.  Your tank has to have some small amount of ammonia for the bacteria to build on or it will not grow and go through the cycle process.  Use StressCoat to treat your water and do the water changes.  Please.

Rose

 

No please do not use the Prime or Amquel + or you will stop your cycle process. Your tank has to have some small amount of ammonia for the bacteria to build on or it will not grow and go through the cycle process.

Neither Prime nor Amquel+ interfere with the cycliing process. Neither one removes the ammonia or nitrites. They just detoxify them so they aren't deadly to the fish.

From Seachem's website: "Prime™ converts ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily removed by the tank’s biofilter. Prime™ may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity. Prime™ detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. ... Prime works by removing chlorine from the water and then binds with ammonia until it can be consumed by your biological filtration (chloramine minus chlorine = ammonia). The bond is not reversible and ammonia is still available for your bacteria to consume. Prime will not halt your cycling process."

Amquel+ works the same way, as I understand it. Please use either one to prevent further poisoning of your fish.

 

Sorry but on all my containers of Amquel+ it states "Removes" not Detoxifies.  I still would hesitate to use the product but use your own judgement,

Rose

 

I had myself a 10 gallon tank and was going to cycle the 30 gallon tank, but the 10 started to leak, so I had to get the 30 going sooner than I wished.  I test my water using tubes and solutions.  My ammonia seems to be down to .5 ppm this morning after that huge water change.  
I know the fish are not the right ones to use when cycling.  I think I have finally convinced my wife of that.  She was seeming to go out and buy a couple of fish every day last week.  I work graves, so she sneaks off while I am sleeping.  I tried to explain that you can't add fish like that every day, you have to go slowly, even when the water is balanced out.  The fish have to adapt over time.  Atleast that is how I understand it.

 

I've never used Amquel+ and don't know much about it, so I defer to your knowledge of it. Prime, however, is all I use and I know its fine for cycling with. I think I'll stop recommending Amquel+, as I learn more about it, the less I like it. Some reports say it does not detox nitrites and nitrates as it claims. Sometimes things aren't worded correctly on the packaging though. The product sheet states that it detoxifies, not removes. "Among AmQuel+ benefits are that it is easy to use and equally effective in fresh and salt water, and it does not affect the beneficial bacteria of the biological nitrogen cycle."

 

Okay, I found some Prime at Petsmart and bought some of that. Removed my filter, so I won't be using those ammonia-removing chips anymore. Added the prime and later I will put in a new filter. I don't like to run treatment to the water with the filter in it.
An interesting note, while browsing fish at Petsmart, I noticed about three different aquariums with a dead fish. This can't be good can it? Thanks for your help all.

P.S.
Ammonia was sitting at .5 ppm this morning, so it has lowered. Still need to check nitrites. Think I will do that now.

 

Removing your filter is a bad idea. Guess where the vast majority of good bacteria resides? You should NEVER remove the filter from the tank unless you are treating the tank with medication for a sick fish. Removing it for the Prime is not only not necessary, its a bad idea. Replacing the filter at this stage will start your cycle all over again.

 

Oops, should I do another treatment of Prime with the filter in? Arrrghhh. Doesn't specify on the bottle whether to leave it in or take it out. Instructions are pretty vague.

Ammonia levels at this mornings test was near 0, but my nitrites are still kind of high.

 

You may want to read this to understand the process that is going on.  Ammonia becomes Nitrites when the bacteria act on it.  Then Nitrites become Nitrates when they act on the Nitrites.  Nitrates are the last stage of the breakdown of the Ammonia in your tank.  When you have Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, and Nitrates less than 10.0 the tank will be cycled.  It sounds like the tank is progressing from the Ammonia spike to the Nitrite spike now.

https://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Rose