how long will they last?

TripDs · Jan 20, 2005

ive been feeding my ps a lot of krill lately but theyve been eating it right up. i dont let the krill rot in there? but seeing as how ive been feeding them a lot, i decided to check the ammonia and it is about .5?! will my ps be okay until i get home from school later today to change the water?

i change my water every week 33% every monday and always check the ammoniaand it may be .25 by monday but its usually 0. but today is thursday and it is already high?! think its just because ive been feeding them more or there is some krill decomposing somewhere? can i feed them before school or wait till i get home?

LOON · Jan 20, 2005

I am not sure what .5 ammonia will do if anything to them. Makesure when you get home have a good gravel vac and look under driftwood etc to see if you got any rotting food anywhere. I found a fish head when I last lifted my driftwood !

I hope your P's are ok.

TripDs · Jan 20, 2005

thanks for the fast reply. they are acting fine. nothing would lead me to believe anything was wrong except it seemed that they wouldnt stop eating. maybe its because they are getting used to me.

can i still feed em before i go to school? byw ive been feeding them freeze dried krill if that makes a difference

smithgrind_who · Jan 20, 2005

Hey iwantapiranha, I would suggest doing 20% water changes every other day until the ammonia is back to 0.0ppm. There might be a piece of krill some where in the aquarium rotting, making the bio-load to exceed the biological filter. Piranhas are messy eaters so maybe your biological filter is just trying to catch up, and the fact you have been feeding them more krill will increase the amount of decomposing food. Since you have an ammonia spike, I would check your nirtrItes and see what level that is at. You might, but not certain, get a nitrIte spike too.

As for feeding them, try to feed them less food until the water's parameters have reached better levels. This will help get your water at better numbers, and the fish won't get to stressed out from rising ammonia and nitrItes.

acidWarp · Jan 20, 2005

Do small water changes every day or two nd you may want to add some ammonia detoxifying product like ammo-lock or something until the levels reduce back down to zero.

Dr. Giggles · Jan 20, 2005

Is it it a Nessler or Sallicylate based ammonia test kit ????

Guest · Jan 20, 2005

iwantapiranha said:
I think its just because ive been feeding them more or there is some krill decomposing somewhere? can i feed them before school or wait till i get home?

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There are some good suggestions in this thread.

The food doesn't have to decome in the tank to produce ammonia. Ammonia can be produced as the fish digests protein. It's the amine group deaminated from the amino acid as the fish metabolizes the protein.

Another possibility is that the pH dropped too low and is causing the nitrifying bacteria to slow down.

Until you find out what went wrong, You may want to reduce the amount your feeding them and see if it makes a difference.

TripDs · Jan 21, 2005

thanks for the advice. i just gravel vaced and what not. i also removed the bio-bag cartidge from my filter and cleaned it off and put it back in? am i not supposed to do this? also when should i change it?

o yeah im going to test the lvls tomorrow morning. im sleeeepy.

Fido · Jan 21, 2005

I would also get ammonia rocks, and amqueL + TO HELP

TripDs · Jan 21, 2005

bah i just tested my ammonia this morning. and its still not 0! i dont see what the problem is. even after i gravel vaced and everything there was not a lot of waste @ all! someone help me!

would this have anything to do with it?: the fact that before i feed my ps with the freeze dried krill i dunk it in the same cup of water to remove any small pieces (it says to presoak)?

TripDs · Jan 21, 2005

someone help me! im scurred!

Fido · Jan 22, 2005

Change the water ASAP. It seems like your bio-filtration is little to none. Do a nice water change to bring those levels down.

TripDs · Jan 22, 2005

Filo said:
Change the water ASAP. It seems like your bio-filtration is little to none. Do a nice water change to bring those levels down.

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as i said i did a 33% water change. i should do another? there was little to no debris.

also is it bad that that i cleaned the biobag?

once more: would this have anything to do with it?: the fact that before i feed my ps with the freeze dried krill i dunk it in the same cup of water to remove any small pieces (it says to presoak)?

Fido · Jan 22, 2005

Well the biobag could have been holding a lot of good bacteria. But if ammonia is still high, I would water change again. Even if you cant see debris, you can still have ammonia.

TripDs · Jan 22, 2005

Filo said:
Well the biobag could have been holding a lot of good bacteria. But if ammonia is still high, I would water change again. Even if you cant see debris, you can still have ammonia.

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alright ill do a water change again. but as i said before: would this have anything to do with it?: the fact that before i feed my ps with the freeze dried krill i dunk it in the same cup of water to remove any small pieces (it says to presoak)?

also what happens had i removed the bacteria from the biobag??!

Fido · Jan 22, 2005

iwantapiranha said:
alright ill do a water change again. but as i said before: would this have anything to do with it?: the fact that before i feed my ps with the freeze dried krill i dunk it in the same cup of water to remove any small pieces (it says to presoak)?

also what happens had i removed the bacteria from the biobag??!

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The feeding shouldnt cause such a huge ammonia spike...

the biobag could have been holding a lot of your good bacteria, that bacteria helps convert the ammonia that fish make, into nitrite then nitrate.

TripDs · Jan 22, 2005

Filo said:
The feeding shouldnt cause such a huge ammonia spike...

the biobag could have been holding a lot of your good bacteria, that bacteria helps convert the ammonia that fish make, into nitrite then nitrate.

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i cleaned the biobag after water change

Mack · Jan 22, 2005

Add Bio-Spira.

smithgrind_who · Jan 22, 2005

iwantapiranha said:
i cleaned the biobag after water change

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I hope you cleaned it in old aquarium water and not in tap water.

Mack · Jan 22, 2005

Pff. I clean my filter cartridge in warm tap water all the time and I have never had an ammonia problem.

how long will they last?

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