Sick Fish

Briko03

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Sep 20, 2004
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I recently just started a new aquarium. It was a 10 gallon kit. I sadly made the mistake of not doing my research before hand and made a few mistakes. Some of these were my fault and others the pet stores. Now I have at least one sick fish. (Tetra) He has been on his side for at least one day. I went and got my water tested immediately and ammonia is high. I was then instructed to do a 50% water change immediately.

After Completing the water change i saw a drastic change in the behavior of the fish. All of the fish are more active. I was wondering if there is anything else i can do to increase his chances? And also is there a way to remove debris from the bottom that I should know about (vacuum maybe?).

Your help is greatly needed.

BRIKO03
 
Yes. I have a 20 gallon and before I can vacuum all the gravel I took like 50% of the water already. I still don't know what to do with that. Others said to use something that can clean the gravel but dont suck water. I forgot what it's called.
 
Continue to do daily water changes to keep ammonia levels low. Vaccuming the gravel will certainly help, as well. Minimize feeding--no more than a small amount each day, one feeding only. Wait 20 minutes after the feeding and then do the daily water change and clean the gravel as well. Getting your own test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and GH/KH would be advisable as well, so you can more quickly determine when a water change is needed.

With a cycling tank, medications are not a great optin as they will impair the bacteria colonies you need. Adding salt (1/2 tsp per gallon, dissolve in a jar of tank water, pour in wait 15-20 minutes, repeat, up to a total of 1 tsp per gallon of tank water) will help the fish get through the nitrite spikes, but won't assist in the ammonia and won't replace the need for water changes.

Read up on cycling using fish.
 
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