QT tank ammonia spike dead fish

[doubleshot00]

Anyone setup a QT tank only to have the ammonia spike like crazy in 12 hours?

I tested all levels last night around 8pm. And they were all pretty good for a QT tank.

Ammonia was around .0-.1

this morning I checked on the fish. Happy swimming around.

i get home around 1 and everything was good looking. I go up around 5 and cant find my new tang. He’s upside down behind a piece of pvc. Two fire fish acting weird now.

So i go get the fish out and start testing. Ammonia was at least 2.

I did add a new filter today but washed it with fresh saltwater before adding.

Anyone have a clue. Because im literally speechless.

I drained the tank 20 gal to 5 gal and dumped in 5 fresh gallons of salt. Then I decided to take the fish out. They are drip accumulating from my main tank now.

 

[doubleshot00]

Oh and i had an Ammonia Alert badge and it says good/no ammonia. Face palm

 

[DeniseAndy]

Ammonia will spike quickly in a small tank especially if a fish dies. My guess is fish died from some issue and it spiked ammonia. Sucks, sorry.

 

[Spare time]

Was the QT cycled?

 

[doubleshot00]

Idk what to do.

Was the QT cycled?

10 gallons from my main tank and ten fresh. So no I guess.

 

[vetteguy53081]

.1 was already a warning sign and as much as I hate to say. . . Ammonia badge is virtually worthless as to accuracy as it is also used in freshwater and is as Unreliable as API test kits. Your ammonia is likely higher than shown.
To confirm, take a water sample to a reliable and trusted LFS that does not use API test kits and see what reading they come up with.

 

[Spare time]

Idk what to do.

10 gallons from my main tank and ten fresh. So no I guess.

Ah that is the problem. The cycling bacteria do not live in the water column. They are on the rocks, sand, etc.

I would buy a big bottle of cycing bacteria and dump the whole thing in along with some sort of sponge filter or ideally a hang on back with a biosponge (add a filter pad underneath to keep it clean after a day or two of adding the bacteria).

 

[doubleshot00]

.1 was already a warning sign and as much as I hate to say. . . Ammonia badge is virtually worthless as to accuracy as it is also used in freshwater and is as Unreliable as API test kits. Your ammonia is likely higher than shown.
To confirm, take a water sample to a reliable and trusted LFS that does not use API test kits and see what reading they come up with.

I am using a red sea test kit.

 

[damsels are not mean]

Ammonia at toxic levels in 12 hours sounds crazy to me, more likely the fish died for another reason and caused it to go higher.

 

[doubleshot00]

So i did it wrong??

Very confusing as I followed the guidelines you see everywhere online and my LFS to set this up.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am using a red sea test kit.

The Badge is my concern but glad to hear main source is Red Sea.
<.025 is safe range. . zero better yet. Reading of .1 high

 

[doubleshot00]

So should i not put these fire fish in my main tank?

I do have a 13.5 fluval in my wifes office.

 

[Spare time]

I am not sure why no one else is responding regarding you needing to cycle it and have some sort of biosponge. Seems like the most obvious thing before any other possible issues could be addressed.

 

[doubleshot00]

I just checked my wifes tank and it’s ammonia is high to. Im loosing my mind right now. And it was cycled. Facepalm

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just checked my wifes tank and it’s ammonia is high to. Im loosing my mind right now. And it was cycled. Facepalm

I suspect false readings. get that second opinion with a water sample. You have nothing to lose

 

[DeniseAndy]

First off, you are going to hear many ways to do quarantine tanks. I do not cycle my tanks for qt. In fact, I will set them up right when I know I am getting fish. I have done this from day one and have not lost fish due to ammonia poisoning, only disease. So, that is not necessarily your problem if done right.

The problem was the tang may have been too large for the qt and when it dies, it spiked ammonia and killed the other fish. The disease probably took out the tang. Disease seems to be rampant in our hobby right now. It was not this bad back when I started.

First, you need to be confident in where you get the fish. Check the salinity of the bag they come in. Check the temp. Also, ask the store what they treat the water with in the shop.

Next, have lots of water mixed up to have on hand for very regular water changes. Especially with fish that are eaters and heavy waste build up. If I have tangs or foxface or similar in qt, I do water changes every day. They need lots of food and have lots of waste.

Then, have meds on hand to treat if needed.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I would maybe suggest, if you can, buy pre-quarantined fish. There are many places to do this now. I have not personally tried them yet.

 

[Matty Ice]

I just checked my wifes tank and it’s ammonia is high to. Im loosing my mind right now. And it was cycled. Facepalm

Any chance that someone cleaned the tank glass? Lots of glass cleaners have ammonia in them.

 

[timry2]

Don’t forget possible over feeding. 20 gallons is not a lot of water. I use a all in one, skimmer/filter on my 10 gallon QT tank. I’ve used a coralife skimmer/filterfor about 5 years at least with no problems