Ammo Level @ 2.0 Angel and Tang still ALIVE?!!

[tranman777]

I'm very surprised and confused to see this happening.
I set up my 10 gal QT tank on the first of this month and placed my yellow tang and flame angel in it. I used my DT water which has ZERO ammonia.
I used filter material from my DT tank for bio filtration.
The QT tank is down at 13ppt right now going on it's second week of hypo.
Every day I check my ammo level, and every day I get 2.0 reading!!

At first, I panicked when is saw that high of a level and did 3 gallon water changes with fresh distilled water @ 13ppt for 3 days straight. (My qt is has only 7 gallons of actual water)
I used Prime, I used ammonia absorbing filter, and did water changes for three days straight.
Surely I thought it's over, my precious delicate fishes are gonna DIE!!

My ammo level is STILL at 2.0.
Everything reads zero w/ a 13ppt salt level @ 79 degrees.
Now I'm very confused and surprised.
Surprisingly my delicate fish are still alive and thriving with vibrant colors swimming and eating like crazy.
What's the deal here?
I thought the ammonia would kill them days ago.
But they've been thriving for nearly 2 weeks now with 2.0 ammo reading
help?!!

 

[tranman777]

I also like to add that I'm using the AP master test kit which is brand new and not expired. I confirmed with the company they expire 3 years from printed date.
I even double checked by testing my DT water. My DT water shows zero Ammo, but my QT shows 2.0, maybe even a lil' higher.
So there's nothing wrong with the test kit.
I thought Okay..maybe it's the water source I'm replacing with, so I checked the distilled water with 13ppt and that shows zero reading on Ammo too.
help!

 

[tranman777]

Nicetry, lion crazz, beth, sepulatian, terryb
:help: Help

I followed everyone's advice on Hypo. And even though everything is going great, its seems very very wrong with this high level of Ammo..and the fish are STILL LIVING!!!

It's mind boggling

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by tranman777
Nicetry, lion crazz, beth, sepulatian, terryb
:help: Help

I followed everyone's advice on Hypo. And even though everything is going great, its seems very very wrong with this high level of Ammo..and the fish are STILL LIVING!!!

It's mind boggling
I would say that you have been VERY lucky so far. It will not last. This is usually an issue when people do not have a cycled qt tank ready to go all of the time. You need to get more biological filtration into the qt tank. The constant water changes are necessary at this point because of your readings but the cycle is also being prolonged. Try to minimize the amount of ammonia going in by removing any excess food after feedings.

 

[tranman777]

These two fish are no where near sick or dying.
I checked all vital signs.
They are swimming normal, gills are not flapping hard, no heavy breathing, no gasping for air, no purple color around gills, and mouth is normal (not opening and closing).
sepulatian,
"by removing any excess food after feedings." - That was one of my plans to decrease the ammo, but the fish would eat EVERYTHING. They eat a lot more and more voracious in the QT tank than in the DT tank.
The rule is to feed as much as they can devour in 3 minutes?..well..these two fish eat everything in seconds!! I'm talking about half a minute, tops!
"You need to get more biological filtration into the qt tank." - Can I place the other Filter cartridge/materail from my DT to my QT for additional bact?
Won't the sudden drop of s.g. from .023 to .008 kill the bacteria?
Thanks!

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by tranman777
These two fish are no where near sick or dying.
I checked all vital signs.
They are swimming normal, gills are not flapping hard, no heavy breathing, no gasping for air, no purple color around gills, and mouth is normal (not opening and closing).
sepulatian,
"by removing any excess food after feedings." - That was one of my plans to decrease the ammo, but the fish would eat EVERYTHING. They eat a lot more and more voracious in the QT tank than in the DT tank.
The rule is to feed as much as they can devour in 3 minutes?..well..these two fish eat everything in seconds!! I'm talking about half a minute, tops!
"You need to get more biological filtration into the qt tank." - Can I place the other Filter cartridge/materail from my DT to my QT for additional bact?
Won't the sudden drop of s.g. from .023 to .008 kill the bacteria?
Thanks!
I am very glad they are still so healthy!!!! It is unusual that they have not reacted at all to the ammonia, but it is a good thing I guess! Adding more filter media is a good thing to do to get ore biological filtration in there. The drop in salinity will not kill the bacteria. Bacteria can stand lower salinity. If you are concrned then take a bucket with some tank water, place the media in it, and drip acclimate it so it isn't such a sudden drop.

 

[tranman777]

Sepulatian
"I would say that you have been VERY lucky so far. It will not last"
- Yeah, I've been VERY lucky until I got home last night around 10. To my surprise, my flame was lying on its side with a curled up stiff tail, the YT stayed in the corner and did not move. I jinxed myself by posting about this yesterday.
I was very very sad

So I went ahead and dip the net in the QT tank to scoop him out and...lo' and behold, he started moving and swimming again!! sideways tho.

I quickly took out 4 gallons of ammonia infested water and replaced it with 4 gal of fresh r/o water. (I tested the fresh r/o water, has 0 ammo.)
Before the waterchange, my ammo level was a good 4.0, after the WC, it's down at 1.0.
They are swimming and eating again.
I also dripped acclimated my DT filter over night and placed that in my QT tank. Don't know how much help that would be.

 

[tranman777]

Which would be the most effective product to use to "help" remove the ammonia?
Prime, Ammo-Lock, Amquel?
All the description on them sounds basically the same.
I tested the Prime product I have at home by placing couple drops in the test tube with the 4.0 ammonia water. In a few mins. the green water turned a nice clear yellow. It was neat.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by tranman777
Which would be the most effective product to use to "help" remove the ammonia?
Prime, Ammo-Lock, Amquel?
All the description on them sounds basically the same.
I tested the Prime product I have at home by placing couple drops in the test tube with the 4.0 ammonia water. In a few mins. the green water turned a nice clear yellow. It was neat.
Prime works well. When I first set up my tank I recieved horrible info (prior to finding this site) I added too many fish too quickly and ended up with a nitrite spike that lasted over a month. I used Amquel plus. It moved the reading down quite a bit. I would use them together. Do a large water change everyday then throw some of each in (recomended dose). I hate chemicals and products of any kind, but this is an emergency situation. For the health and gills (no ammonia burn) of your fish, run with some meds.

 

[sepulatian]

I quickly took out 4 gallons of ammonia infested water and replaced it with 4 gal of fresh r/o water. (I tested the fresh r/o water, has 0 ammo.)
I hope this was premixed with salt. A drop in salinity will harm your fish. Use this no ammo water to keep doing water changes. There is no reason to have your ammo all the way to 4!!! Keep mixed water on hand while this spike is going on.

 

[hot883]

tests kits have to be off if all that water has been changed. :notsure:

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by hot883
tests kits have to be off if all that water has been changed. :notsure:

I don't think so Barry, the ammo kit reads zero for the ro water.