Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jalen on May 28, 2012 at 9:46pm

Maybe your ammonia is off the charts high?

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Permalink Reply by Brian on May 28, 2012 at 10:44pm

yea i figured that, but i feed them the appropriate amount and its not over crowded at all...but thanks anyway

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Permalink Reply by Ryan May on June 4, 2012 at 1:24pm

was ur ammonia blue in the test tube or the tank

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Permalink Reply by Brian on June 8, 2012 at 9:55pm

in the test tube

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Permalink Reply by samsam24 on June 6, 2012 at 9:55am

Don't listen to what the back of the food can tells you to feed. They want you to over feed so you kill your fish and have to buy more, and have to buy more fish food. I feed my fish in my 40 gal 1 flake per fish per day (depending on the size) and mix in some blood worms every once in a while. Every fish lives and does great. It also really helps keep the ammonia down.

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Permalink Reply by Brian on June 8, 2012 at 9:56pm

ok thanks. i think ill try that

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Permalink Reply by Kearean M on June 9, 2012 at 12:04pm

feed once every two days at most and only a wee bit of food that they can eat in no more than 5 mins and do a water changes every two days until you levels are good and then continue with weekly or what ever your routen is and keep the feeding to every other day.

From experience

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on June 9, 2012 at 11:46pm

The above advice is very good.

People rely too much on filters. Filters are nice but they're NOT the answer. Its like using a compost heap in your backyard to get rid of all your garbage. I have a compost heap and love it, but most of my garbage is carted away every week. Do three 50% water changes in three days. In other words, REMOVE the ammonia. (or at least greatly dilute it)

Also throw in some floating plants like water cabbage and add stuff that grows at the surface like hornwart, wisteria, and cabomba. You don't even need dirt. If you add enough of these plants they'll absorb ammonia much faster than bacteria. And as a bonus, the surface area on a SINGLE strand of hornwart harbors tons of beneficial bacteria. Its like having a built-in filter that makes no noise and beautifies your tank at the same time.

Another note: If your water is acidic the ammonia turns into ammonium. Ammonium is a larger molecule that can't be absorbed into the fish's bloodstream easily. In other words its relatively harmless. But keep your water clean anyway. There are lots of reasons for this. 

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