Yellow Tang

[Brew12]

We've heard two different opinions on this - one said to do it, and another said not to because it's a new tank and not fully cycled.

A water change would be good at this point based on your specific situation. Normally people don't do water changes during their cycle to be able to monitor the conditions more closely. Since you have fish in your system already, normal doesn't apply.
Just make sure you mix your saltwater at least a few hours, and preferably a day in advance. Saltwater doesn't mix as well as it visibly appears and could add yet another stressor to the fish. The Ammo-lock was a good first step that will buy you time. Just keep adding it every other day until you can get your ammonia down to zero.

 

[Humblefish]

Last night the ammonia was 1.5.

This is a HUGE problem, as ammonia is toxic to all marine animals. How long was this tank setup before adding fish?

 

[tj w]

Those fish look really stressed. I'd ask the lfs if you can return them until your tank is ready.

 

[DebL]

Just ran the ammonia again at it's still at 1.5. The tank was set up for about 2 1/2 weeks before we put fish in it under the advisement of a lfs who told us as soon as the salinity was good and the other elements tested sound it was okay to add them. I don't have a relationship with any local shops that I could go to asking them to keep the fish but I guess I could make some phone calls.

 

[Joey waid]

Just ran the ammonia again at it's still at 1.5. The tank was set up for about 2 1/2 weeks before we put fish in it under the advisement of a lfs who told us as soon as the salinity was good and the other elements tested sound it was okay to add them. I don't have a relationship with any local shops that I could go to asking them to keep the fish but I guess I could make some phone calls.

You can do it... you need to change the water now and keep it changed until he tank can hold its own.

 

[DebL]

A water change would be good at this point based on your specific situation. Normally people don't do water changes during their cycle to be able to monitor the conditions more closely. Since you have fish in your system already, normal doesn't apply.
Just make sure you mix your saltwater at least a few hours, and preferably a day in advance. Saltwater doesn't mix as well as it visibly appears and could add yet another stressor to the fish. The Ammo-lock was a good first step that will buy you time. Just keep adding it every other day until you can get your ammonia down to zero.

If we were to get a smaller aquarium and store bought saltwater, could we keep them in a smaller tank until our tank cycles?

 

[Joey waid]

If we were to get a smaller aquarium and store bought saltwater, could we keep them in a smaller tank until our tank cycles?

Then you have two tanks cycling. Smaller is way worse than bigger.

 

[Swoody]

I would at least do a partial water change to dilute the ammonia in the mean time.

 

[DebL]

Then you have two tanks cycling. Smaller is way worse than bigger.

I thought of that too - so why stress them more by moving them into another tank? We will do a water change first thing tomorrow and hopefully that will alleviate some of my little ammonia stricken critters.

 

[Joey waid]

I thought of that too - so why stress them more by moving them into another tank? We will do a water change first thing tomorrow and hopefully that will alleviate some of my little ammonia stricken critters.

If I was you I would do it now. They are on borrowed time. The ammonia is only going to increase.

 

[Joey waid]

If I was you I would do it now. They are on borrowed time. The ammonia is only going to increase.

What I worry about is they already look sick. How good are you at testing ammonia and your other parameters? It could be way worse than you think?

 

[Brew12]

I thought of that too - so why stress them more by moving them into another tank? We will do a water change first thing tomorrow and hopefully that will alleviate some of my little ammonia stricken critters.

I think that is a wise course of action. I would agree that your major issue right now is high ammonia and you have mitigated that threat with Ammo-lock. I still recommend getting Biospira tonight as that will be your long term solution.
You know your fish are in bad shape. I feel that stressing them more at this point wont help. Keep your tank lights off and hope for the best.

 

[aythatguy26]

Can't believe a lfs would tell you to add livestock that soon!! Honestly though I choose to buy natural sea water offline. Especially with a larger tank.

I started a 29gallon 3 months ago with natural sea water and live rock I transported in water to help prevent die off.

My tank had very little to no cycle. I added one damsel 2 weeks after. Now 3 months later I'm still not having any ammonia readings and now have 2 clowns, 1 Bangaii cardinal, 1 skunk cleaner shrimp, some snails and hermets

Best of luck to you and your critters! Hope the tang gets better!

 

[Brew12]

The one thing I will add is that I believe there is a treatment recommended to help fish exposed to high levels of ammonia. I just don't recall what it is. Maybe someone else can jump in with a recommendation along those lines?

 

[aythatguy26]

Best I can advise is about 30% water changes daily. Which can get expensive. And get something to get your bacteria up. Or grab some live rock from the lfs (make sure it's live) and without letting it expose to air (very small amount of time is ok. Such as taking it out of the bag and placing it in your tank) just to prevent die off.

 

[Humblefish]

I still recommend getting Biospira tonight as that will be your long term solution.

+1 Seachem Stability or Dr. Tim's Nitrifying Bacteria are two other readily available "bacteria in a bottle" options.

However, until the bacteria gets seeded & established doing daily water changes will be the only practical solution for keeping ammonia under control. Constantly dumping in ammonia reducer will only work for so long.

 

[melypr1985]

The one thing I will add is that I believe there is a treatment recommended to help fish exposed to high levels of ammonia. I just don't recall what it is. Maybe someone else can jump in with a recommendation along those lines?

A methyline Blue dip will help with treating ammonia burn.

 

[melypr1985]

I agree. Daily water changes are needed to keep the ammonia down. This will be treated like an emergency qt that get's set up on the fly. The tank will cycle with the water changes, it's just a slower process. You'll need to get bacteria into that tank and keep adding it for a bit. You can still use Prime or ammo-lock, but that won't solve your problems... it just puts them off a bit longer.

 

[DebL]

I bought the only two bottles of Bio-spira that my Petco had - looking online now to see if I can order it on Amazon Prime. So far the Tang is hanging in there. Did anyone come up with something that actually treats the fish for ammonia poisoning?

Water change number one will commence shortly. Wish us luck!

 

[melypr1985]

I bought the only two bottles of Bio-spira that my Petco had - looking online now to see if I can order it on Amazon Prime. So far the Tang is hanging in there. Did anyone come up with something that actually treats the fish for ammonia poisoning?

Water change number one will commence shortly. Wish us luck!

A methyline Blue dip will help heal damage from ammonia poisoning. Methylene Blue