High ammonia levels are a normal and unavoidable occurrence
in new tanks. Other common causes of high ammonia levels are overfeeding,
adding too many fish, or medications that reduce the effectiveness of the tank's
natural ability to break down waste (nitrifying bacteria). The best method of
dealing with high ammonia levels in an aquarium is prevention. The obvious
being stated, let's tackle a course of action for those times when it is too
late for that brilliant advice.
Quick Relief
There are numerous ammonia removal products available that
will provide almost immediate, temporary relief for the inhabitants of the
tank. We use and recommend Prime from
SeaChem Labs. Ammonia will be altered to a non-toxic chemical, but will still
fool any Nessler Reagent based ammonia test kit, thus giving a false positive
reading. Use a sodium salicyliate ammonia test kit (Sea-Test or Dry-Tab) to
obtain an accurate reading.
The use of an ammonia remover only provides short term
emergency relief, but may be very helpful if the fish are obviously stressed
out. Partial water changes can also be used to provide quick, short-term relief
of high ammonia levels. Be aware of the fact that city water sources may
contain ammonia levels as high as the water you are trying to correct. Reverse
osmosis or de-ionized water is ideal. If you use city water we suggest that
chlorine/ammonia removers be used at 2 - 3 times the manufacturer's recommended
dose.
In freshwater tanks zeolite (Ammo-Chips), an ammonia
removing resin, may be used in the filter as a slow, steady source of ammonia
removal. This is only effective for freshwater tanks. The resin does not have
unlimited capacity to remove ammonia and when levels are high it may become
exhausted quickly. There is no way to tell when it has reached this point, so
replace or recharge frequently in high ammonia situations.
Now What?
The long-term goal in ammonia reduction is to build up the
biological filter, which is composed of the good bacteria, which break down
ammonia. We can help to accelerate this process with additives that are enzymes
and nitrifying bacteria cultures. They are available in many different
concentrations and prices under such brand names as Bacter-Plus, Bacta-Kleer,
Cycle or Fritz-Zyme. These products may be used generously and regularly in
periods of high ammonia.
Reducing the amount of waste being produced in the tank is
very important at this time. This will allow the biological filter to catch up
faster and get the ammonia levels down. Feeding is the key here. Overfeeding
is the most common cause of ammonia problems! Skip one or two days feeding completely, then
feed only one or two flakes per fish, once a day. Continue this pattern until
ammonia levels drop to zero and remains there. Many people are concerned that
the fish will starve, but this is an unnecessary worry. Most fish (except for
very young babies) can handle missing a few meals without a problem. Lowering
the ammonia levels is a priority at this time, and it will do more for the
health of the fish than food will. When the tank is stabilized you can slowly
increase feeding as long as ammonia levels remain at zero.
Don't Forget
these Things!
1.
Never add fish when ammonia levels are high. This would be a death sentence for them and decrease the
odds for all the other inhabitants of the tank.
2.
Do a body count.
Make sure there are no dead fish hidden around. Decaying bodies will make
ammonia levels soar.
3.
If the tank has live plants, remove any decaying or dying
specimens.
4.
Vacuum the gravel bed.
If there is uneaten food lying around (from your old feeding habits) or if
you stir the gravel and clouds of detritus occur, this may be the source of an
ammonia problem. If you are not familiar with gravel cleaning techniques, check
with one of our aquatic people and they will be glad to explain them.
Important notes on ammonia and pH
Often, when ammonia levels rise in an aquarium, the pH will
drop. It would be a logical assumption to attempt to correct this situation by raising
the pH to normal levels. This would be logical, but it is far from correct and
in fact could be deadly to your fish.
Ammonia takes two forms in water, free ammonia and ammonium ions, with
free ammonia being the more toxic form. A pH increase of one unit causes the
percentage of free ammonia to increase by about ten times. Put simply, as pH
increases ammonia becomes more toxic to the fish.
It is usually best to leave a low pH alone while fighting
high ammonia levels. The fish in the tank have slowly become accustomed to the
lower pH and you are not about to add any new fish at this time! It is
difficult to try to maintain the normal pH levels when ammonia is high. This
means the pH drops, then you raise it, then it drops again and you raise it
again. Can you see another problem here? The constantly changing pH is further
stress on fish that are already lining up for some Valium. This leads us to our
new logical conclusion, leave the pH alone until ammonia levels drop, then slowly (.2 every 12-24 hrs.) bring the
pH back to appropriate levels.
When you are faced with high ammonia levels, use some or all
of the methods outlined here. Then, be patient! Well-established tanks will
usually respond quickly and ammonia levels drop off in days. In new aquariums
ammonia will be present for several weeks. This is normal. You can minimize
problems by starting off with a light load of fish and feed lightly. I cannot
stress this point enough. With young children, be sure to supervise feeding
time until you have established a proper routine. When the new tank has
stabilized and ammonia levels are zero you may safely begin increasing the load
on the tank. Load is biological load, or
the amount of waste that needs to be
broken down. Adding fish or increased feeding is additional load on the tank.
This is where patience will save you from lots of problems!
Stress from poor water quality wears down fish's immunity.
If the poor water quality itself does not kill the fish, it will leave them
open to any number of diseases by weakening them. Always monitor fish closely
during a period of high ammonia for symptoms of common illness. Good water
quality is the best prevention there is.
The staff at