Need some urgent help!

[Pearson Design]

id agree with what annabel said

leave it as it is for now, let the filter do the work and things should settle down.
try not to feed too much, maybe have a few days without and see what happens aswell

[annabel]

Originally Posted by Snailgirl

I don't have the betta yet, it's only the the harlequins in there.
Thanks for the info! I just don't know what to do as I'm stuck at home at the moment. Is there any point in doing 50% daily water changes if the water's getting higher in ammonia (according to the kit) each time? :/

Also thanks for the reassurance
I don't know what I'm going to do next week, I'm going away for three days :/ I've got someone to feed them but they won't be able to do water changes or test the levels :/ Just hope it's evened out a bit by then.

I personally favour 1/3 water changes, but if your readings are really high then 50% might be neccessary.

It's very important to keep on top of ammonia at this stage - basically the ammonia is coming from your fish's waste, and your substrate hasn't yet built up bacteria to properly break it down.

Cycling is essentially the period of building up bacteria.

So YES, keep doing 1/3-1/2 water changes, or your new fish unfortunately will die - but honestly, with time & patience, it will become stable.

Another point is not to overfeed - your fish can do without food for a few days with no harm coming to them - as it will encourage ammonia as waste food breaks down.

EDIT - Pearson Design, great minds think alike eh! I waffle so much that you manage to pip me to the post each time though :-p

[annabel]

Sorry to double post but have a look at the thread 'Help!' - Morgan Freeman has explained it far better than I ever could!

[Snailgirl]

Wth?!

Just tested the water I was gonna change over, it had amquel and a small amount of the tetra safestart in it as intructed... the ammonia reading came in CRAZY HIGH. About 5.0. What is going on?
Shall I stop adding amquel? Or the tetra safestart? What am I supposed to do? I'm majorly confused!

[Pearson Design]

Originally Posted by annabel

Pearson Design, great minds think alike eh! I waffle so much that you manage to pip me to the post each time though :-p

i have far too much time on my hands, so those hands have become masters at typing fast might sometimes spell things wrong but thats the keyboards fault for not keeping up

saying that i almost lost part of my hand a minute ago when i was feeding my snowflake moray, he doesnt have the best eyesight lol. also have to watch out for the crazy lionfish, always goes straight for my arms

[Pearson Design]

Originally Posted by Snailgirl

Wth?!

Just tested the water I was gonna change over, it had amquel and a small amount of the tetra safestart in it as intructed... the ammonia reading came in CRAZY HIGH. About 5.0. What is going on?
Shall I stop adding amquel? Or the tetra safestart? What am I supposed to do? I'm majorly confused!

ok, there is obviously something wrong with either the water or the additives.

try testing water without the additives in, and then test same water with additives.

it may be a bad bottle or batch

[Snailgirl]

Water without additives = 0 Ammonia
Water with additives = about 6.0 Ammonia!

[onemanandhisfrog]

i use stress coat, very good conditioner + dechlorinator and has been good for me so far

[Pearson Design]

Originally Posted by Snailgirl

Water without additives = 0 Ammonia
Water with additives = about 6.0 Ammonia!

ok, for now dont use any additives at all.
just use the standard water, see how it goes.
if you get a chance go back to the shop you got the additives from and ask them to do a test of their water to show them, then get a refund or new bottl

let us know how you get on

[Snailgirl]

No additives at all? Even with all the crap in the tap water?
I got the amquel + online, and the tetra safestart in my LFS, so might cause a problem :/

Can I get stress coat from pets at home or something?