How often can I do water changes to regulate high ammonia levels?

[Perseusmom]

It doesnt get rid of ammonia completely it binds it which means in 24 to 48 hours the ammonia will be released again so you either have to add more or do a water change and add more to bind the ammonia again. Adding the safe start was not a mistake its a good thing since it has BB in it.

If you could fill this out if will help us know how to help your fish better.

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=49233

Also here is the water changing guide

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread....+change+thread

[medusae]

Housing
What size is your tank? 2.5g Hex
What temperature is your tank? 78F
Does your tank have a filter? Yes
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? Yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? None

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? Aqueon Betta Food Pellets and Aqueon Betta Treat Bloodworms
How often do you feed your betta fish? Once a day

Maintenance
How often do you perform a water change? Twice weekly
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 25-50%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? I used to use Tetra Aquasafe Plus, but recently switched to Seachem Neutral Regulator. (I tested this to see if it what was raising the ammonia, alone, it doesn't seem so.)

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: ~0.25ppm after today's ~45% change.
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5.0ppm
pH: 7.4
Hardness: -
Alkalinity: -

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? Coloration very dull, fins have deteriorated, scales more defined, but not protruding.
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? He is up an down. Acts normally most of the time. Eats as usual.
When did you start noticing the symptoms? Two months ago
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? Most recent treatment was with Maracyn II.
Does your fish have any history of being ill?
Yes, upon initial appearance of fin rot I mistakenly used bettafix with caused him to become increasingly lethargic. I cut that out, did a water change an he seemed to be doing better. His fin rot began again, despite normal water changes so I started doing aquarium salt treatment. Did that for 10 days with daily 100% changes and he seemed to be doing better with a little regrowth, but it again got worse.
How old is your fish (approximately)?
I got him about four months ago.


Here you can see the extent of his fin rot. Dorsal fin is really, really tattered. Anal fin also deteriorating. Both have a little regrowth due to maracyn II treatment.



Here are his eyes. Now, when I first got him they were like that (hence his name - Steve Buscemi). Due to his reoccuring sickness, I'm now wondering if this is pop eye?



:(

[sarahspins]

Originally Posted by medusae

I now realize that may have been entirely counter intuitive sine the Neutral Regulator is supposed to get rid of the ammonia completely. Did I just make a huge mistake? :/

No, the nueutral regulator (or Prime, or Safe, or Premier, etc) doesn't "get rid" of Ammonia, it simply converts most of it to Ammonium (NH4) which is not as toxic to fish. Ammonium is still "available" to be handled by plants and your tank's bio filter.

There are some ammonia blocking products that bind it in such a way that it can't be used by anything, but as far as I know any of Seachem's products don't do that.

The eyes definitely look like popeye to me.. unlike goldfish bettas don't come in bubble eye varieties so I would treat for that (I have successfully treated it using Maracyn and Maracyn 2 together). I would also not keep using the neutral regulator - Bettas aren't particularly sensitive to pH, and you're adding more "stuff" to your water than you need to. I'd switch to just using prime.

As long as his fins look tattered and showing signs of fin rot I'd be doing daily 50% water changes regardless of what your test results look like - continuously clean water is really the only thing that will help that.

[medusae]

If I were to treat with Maracyn, would I need to take a break since I just completed a second round of Maracyn II yesterday?

[Perseusmom]

Espom salt can be used for the pop eye, it relieves the swelling. The unscented type and dissolve in warm water before adding to the tank. Its 1 teaspoon per gallon. Good luck he is a pretty guy I hope this will help with his eyes, keep us updated and ask all the questions you need to.

[medusae]

Should I siphon out some of the water in his tank, mix epsom salt in and dose him today? Or do you think the water change may have been enough stress for today?

Also, how much would you suggest I dose him?

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it. I love this little guy to death and it kills me he won't get better :(

[Perseusmom]

You could just just mix some up with warm water in a cup till it dissolves, for his size tank which is 2 and half teaspoons for his 2.5 gallon tank and then just pour in the tank.

[callistra]

Stop using Neutral regulator. It messes with ph and will cause even more problems. You need a real conditioner that removes, chlorine, chloramines and heavy metals. Aquasafe Plus is fine

You need to increase water changes. You should be testing daily and doing 50% change any time you see any ammonia or nitrites. You should never get so high as you have let this. This is the cause of his fin rot. So whatever else extra may be needed, two 50% weekly with siphon or turkey baster to clean debris from the gravel will always be needed.

The Maracyn II also toasted your cycle so now you have to start all over again and it will take up to two months.