Stinky smelly cloudy water...need help!

[Hannys_Papa]

Trying to answer a few of your last questions concerning the fish...

I believe zebra danios are very hardy and can survive a lot of "abuse" (toxic level wise) - i am not certain about the plecos.
Either way - toxic ammonia and nitrite cause the fish to be stressed as their body has to deal with the toxins. The longer they are subjected to stress the bigger the chance their immune system wont be able to fend of any bacteria, virii or other pathogens - and then they get sick or die.

Levels of Ammonia 1.5 and Nitrite 0.8 are already very dangerous and if you had more fragile fish they might already be dead. Usually when 0.5 Ammonia and 0.25 nitrite are present things start to get bad real fast.
Please i dont say this to make you feel bad - just stating the facts.

Its also important to note that other tank parameters (pH, temperature, oxygen content etc) also play a role in how problematic those levels are.

There are many signs of fish stress you should watch out for - unusual behaviour, not eating, clamped fins, heavy breathing, listlessness, faded colours and probably many others i cant remember right now.

 

[Waverider]

K, Just got home and tested everything again. The tank smells better, but it still doesn't look right. I add the Bio-Spira on Saturday evening and these are my current readings:

PH=8
NH3/NH4= 1.5
NO2=0.8
GH=5
KH=6
CO2=2.1

Thinking about a good sized water change. How much do you suggest I do?

edit The Tank is at 78.2 degrees

 

[carpguy]

K, Just got home and tested everything again. The tank smells better, but it still doesn't look right.

Doesn't look right in what way? Cloudy white? Something else?

I add the Bio-Spira on Saturday evening and these are my current readings:

PH=8
NH3/NH4= 1.5
NO2=0.8
GH=5
KH=6
CO2=2.1
The Tank is at 78.2 degrees

Ammonia (NH3/NH4) is the most toxic of the nitrogenous wastes. At higher temps and pH more of it will be in the NH3 form and thats the bad stuff. At lower temps more of it will be NH4 (ammonium), which isn't toxic. I'd ease the temps down into the low 70s. The ammonia is much worse for the fish than slightly cooler than normal water.

The ammonia is coming from the fish. The fish food gets digested and metabolized and the waste side of the coin is ammonia. Fish + fish food = ammonia. Since you getting rid of the fish isn't the general idea here, you can cut back on the fish food instead: fish + less food = less ammonia. Fish are cold-blooded: they don't spend lots of energy keeping their body temps 30 degrees above the ambient temp. They really don't need a lot of food. Most folks overfeed (and fish always act hungry). Reducing feedings will help while you're cycling. A little bit every other day won't hurt the fish… a generous portion twice a day could kill them.

Nitrate (NO3) is the end of the chain. Yes there is a test kit for it.

A good dechlorinator like Prime or Amquel will detoxify ammonia. It'll also mess up your ammonia test. If the fish begin to look stressed don't be shy about tossing some in the tank: this will not hurt the cycle. There should be dosing info on the bottle (at least there is on my bottle of Amquel).

Other than that, it seems like you're moving along. Nitrites mean you have ammonia eaters established and you should see those levels start to drop rapidly.

Thinking about a good sized water change. How much do you suggest I do?

I'd do a 50% waterchange today and retest. 50% twice a day isn't too much during the cycle. I like 50% once a week for maintenance. Water changes will not hurt the cycle and are awfully good for the fish.

A normally functioning tank doesn't have a bad smell or take this much effort. This is the hard part. Everything will settle down soon and this will get a lot more enjoyable. And I'll second HannysPapa from above: you should figure out what the sucker fish are… they (may or) may not be ideally suited to your tank.

Hope That Helps…

:dive2:

 

[Waverider]

Ok, Did A good sized water change and the water is looking a little better. I am excited that N02 means that the bacteria are gettting going. I decided to snap some pic of the tank and the test just for visual purposes. How often should I change out the water? Just until the Ammonia is lowered?

 

[Hannys_Papa]

You probably need to judge that by how much a 50% (as an example) waterchange had an impact on the levels.
If you do it in the morning - it brings the levels down to a safe range but in the afternoon they are back up to where you started - then you might have to do another.