I have a 29g QT set up that I tried to cycle with microbacter 7, dr Tim’s one and only, and a third off brand of bacterial starter my LFS sold me on. I started the tank and ghost fed it and added de tims ammonia chloride. I tested for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate with salifert. Got nitrate after a couple weeks and kept ghost feeding lightly, maybe five PE mysis pellets a day.
First batch of three firefish I did a water change on after a couple weeks and got what looked like cloudy white stinky water I believed was a bacterial bloom. I started losing some fish so I took out the biggest one and transferred it to the new DT since he looked good. I felt that somehow my biological filter had died so I wanted to save it. The ammmonia read “safe” on my seachem in tank monitor and 0.25 on salifert (just discernible as not white).
I’m on my second batch of fish in it. Got two replacement firefish and a flasher wrasse. Had the firefish in there for a week and added the wrasse. I was probably feeding too heavy but it was hard to coax the firefish out to feed without blowing food past their hiding spots under PVC. My mistake. So Sunday I did a water change. I pulled out the sponge filter Monday morning (the only filter, and a very large one) and tried to add carbon to its internal chamber cuz it looked like the bacterial bloom was coming back and thought I ought to add something to counter the organics buildup since the water change hadn’t been sufficient. The sponge and carbon size weren’t compatible and I had a full blown carbon volcano as soon as I added the rinsed carbon filled sponge back to the tank. Then I scooped it all out and siphoned the remnants out and all the leftover food. [emoji1751][emoji3603]
So later in the day one fish is near dead so I do ammonia tests and nitrite trying to figure out what’s going on. It had one small brown indentation on his stomach that looked like perhaps the PVC had crushed him when I was siphoning the carbon and he was trying to hide. Anyways... the ammonia reads maybe 0.25 on salifert but my Seachem monitor looks like “Safe” still. But my nitrite reads 4!! The fish begin gasping at the surface and white stuff is coming off the wrasse in little white strips and specs (thought it looked like his mucus but it was almost like small dead ich parasites... i really couldn’t tell).
So I figure there must be ammonia and my water change the previous day upped the pH and caused it to go toxic form. I add Amquel and some more Microbacter 7. The fish seemed near dead all night but seem a little better today with both actively swimming to the surface again though taking turns lying in corners. Just added another capful of Amquel and more microbacter 7.
First, what is causing this issue? Why does my ammonia look near zero and show safe on seachem if it’s killing them?
Second, what can I do to save these fish? Methylene blue?
First batch of three firefish I did a water change on after a couple weeks and got what looked like cloudy white stinky water I believed was a bacterial bloom. I started losing some fish so I took out the biggest one and transferred it to the new DT since he looked good. I felt that somehow my biological filter had died so I wanted to save it. The ammmonia read “safe” on my seachem in tank monitor and 0.25 on salifert (just discernible as not white).
I’m on my second batch of fish in it. Got two replacement firefish and a flasher wrasse. Had the firefish in there for a week and added the wrasse. I was probably feeding too heavy but it was hard to coax the firefish out to feed without blowing food past their hiding spots under PVC. My mistake. So Sunday I did a water change. I pulled out the sponge filter Monday morning (the only filter, and a very large one) and tried to add carbon to its internal chamber cuz it looked like the bacterial bloom was coming back and thought I ought to add something to counter the organics buildup since the water change hadn’t been sufficient. The sponge and carbon size weren’t compatible and I had a full blown carbon volcano as soon as I added the rinsed carbon filled sponge back to the tank. Then I scooped it all out and siphoned the remnants out and all the leftover food. [emoji1751][emoji3603]
So later in the day one fish is near dead so I do ammonia tests and nitrite trying to figure out what’s going on. It had one small brown indentation on his stomach that looked like perhaps the PVC had crushed him when I was siphoning the carbon and he was trying to hide. Anyways... the ammonia reads maybe 0.25 on salifert but my Seachem monitor looks like “Safe” still. But my nitrite reads 4!! The fish begin gasping at the surface and white stuff is coming off the wrasse in little white strips and specs (thought it looked like his mucus but it was almost like small dead ich parasites... i really couldn’t tell).
So I figure there must be ammonia and my water change the previous day upped the pH and caused it to go toxic form. I add Amquel and some more Microbacter 7. The fish seemed near dead all night but seem a little better today with both actively swimming to the surface again though taking turns lying in corners. Just added another capful of Amquel and more microbacter 7.
First, what is causing this issue? Why does my ammonia look near zero and show safe on seachem if it’s killing them?
Second, what can I do to save these fish? Methylene blue?