Need Help Badly - Ammonia Spike

[aquafox]

I am getting an ammonia reading of 2.0 on my 46 Gallon tank. I am completely at a loss as to what to do. I have in the tank a porcupine puffer, a volitan lionfish, a cinnamon clown, and a sebae anemone along with two small choc chip stars and many hermit crabs and snails. This spike has occurred sometime in the last two weeks. I have got to find something that will drop this ammonia level some until I can figure out where it is coming from or I will lose my fish. The clown and anemone are showing no ill effects yet but the puffer and the lion look bad. The tank has been set up since July and I have not recently added anything. I did use a treatment about 2 weeks ago for four days that my local LFS recommended to get rid of that pesky red algae that was taking over...I don't remember exactly the name of it but it contained amoxicillin....and when I was treating the tank with it I had to turn the skimmer off for about 6 days because it made it foam. Could that have caused my spike? And what can I do about it immediately to get the level neutralized and down? I did a 10 gallon water change and there was no difference in the reading. I really don't want to lose my fish but I don't know what to do! Help!
I do have on the tank a 330 bio wheel filter, a uv sterilizer and a protein skimmer....up until the last two weeks my water readings have been very consistent and very good...my LFS actually said at one point that the water was almost too clean for the anemone. My other readings are ph 8.2, Nitrites 0, and Nitrates 20 ( I think that's how the test read - working from memory here as I am at work). All normal for my tank...so please help with the ammonia.....

 

[007]

You used an antibiotic in a marine tank?
You pretty much wiped out ALL of your filtration . . . you need to get some of that liquid bacteria and add that ASAP, do a good sized water change, and reduce feeding to a minimum. If you can get your fish out and have them held for you somewhere I would do that too.
Your tank is going to go through another full cycle.

 

[aquafox]

You are kidding me??? The LFS I got the medicine from is normally dead on with their recommendations...I have been dealing with them since the beginning. They know everything I have in the tank and have never given me bad advice. I questioned them extensively about the medication they were recommending to get rid of the algae...they assured me that it was completely safe for my marine tank! Oh this really makes me angry. I have a hospital tank but it is only a 10 gallon and I cannot put them all in it for long...I have a divider for it but I don't think that will give them enough room!

 

[broomer5]

I agree.
If the only thing that has changed is the 4 days of amoxicillin treatment - then it's possible that you lost your biological filtration. The antibiotic may have killed off your bacteria.
Something to consider.
Go get a large rubbermaid like container, or larger glass tank.
Fill it with new saltwater of correct specific gravity, temperature aerated saltwater.
If you have a HOB power filter on your hospital tank - see if it will fit on the rubbermaid container or new glass tank.
Hopefully this filter has active bacteria in the media.
This is a case where I would try bacteria in a bottle like "Cycle" for the new hospital tank.
Move/Acclimate the fish to the temporay larger hospital tank.
Drain the water in the main tank - and do a complete water change. Although the amoxicillin may be present in the substrate - I don't know how long an antibiotic remains active in our tanks ???
this is just an option to consider, as would be moving the fish to the LFS or some other tank.

 

[aquafox]

Thanks for all the helpful info. I talked to my other reliable LFS ( I have two that I deal with very regularly) and she agreed with you guys that the bacteria has possibly been wiped out. She also recommended stress zyme or cycle and said that the reason my Lion and Puffer are showing the signs of trouble so severely is that they are scale-less and the antibiotic is eating their slime coat. She indicated I could be getting a false high ammonia reading from the test kit due to whatever ingredients were in the antibiotic treatment. She recommended another 20% water change immediately and that I add some stress zyme or cycle to my tank to replace the coating on the scale-less fish....does that sound about right?

 

[007]

With a 100% waterchange, then refilled tank, I think that carbon would greatly expedite the removal of the antibiotic.
Many times antibiotics such as penicillian and the likes are active cultures themselves. As a result, if they have nothing to feed on then they too will die.

 

[cprdnick]

Just a comment, Everyone has their brain farts occasionally, you LFS guy(s)/girl may have been having an off day. But I agree, antibiotics (aka amoxicillin (sp) ) are used to kill bacteria in the human body, I can't imagine why it wouldn't do the same in a closed aqua environment.
Clint
BTW good luck