AMMONIA!!! Please help! Tank water change did not help!

[Dragonfin]

I changed Phineas's water fully today because I took the API master kit reading and it said it was .5-1 (hard to tell the difference)

I did a 50% water change two days ago because it was saying .25

Well, after I changed the water, about 5 min. later, I took the Ammonia test again and it is saying .5-1 again - same as before!

WHY?

I use tap water, water conditioner, washed everything well, 3 gallon heated tank, etc. If you look for my other thread from two days ago you can see more details about his environment.

WHY is it so high?

I got lots of poop (reddish and pussy looking) and some food out of there. Rinsed and rinsed it until the water was clear, etc.

He is now acclimating to the big tank in his little bowl, but I am afraid he will die. He barely moves his gills or swims around unless I bug him or feed him. He will eat still.



Can I get a false reading with that test? Twice?

There are two bottles for it - 8 drops from bottle one, then 8 drops from bottle two - I have noticed that the drops coming out of bottle 2 are much BIGGER than the drops that fall out of bottle one.
Could that skew it?

Thanks!

[Tikibirds]

Test the water directly from the tap and see what it says. You may have ammonia in the tap - I do at .25

His poop should be brownish and in the shape of a cinnamon bun. If it is white, that is an indication he may he internal parasites.

[Dragonfin]

Good idea to test at the tap. If it is high, should I buy spring water or get some Ammonia Block (just read that it exists on another site).
I am not sure we can afford the 7-10 gallons a week of spring water he would need for one full and one partial change of his 3 gallon tank. I just took a 75% pay cut. Tap water is obviously more affordable.
For tonight, I put him in there, and that is the best I can do this late. Then I work until 2pm, but then I can test the water, buy something else needed for him, whatever.

If he had parasites, how do you treat that? His poop was like little reddish brown strings with white fuzz around them, kind of like a fungus on his poop look. Hard to explain, but different then my previous fish.

Thanks

[Tikibirds]

What conditioner do you use? prime will neturlized ammonia. Tap is better then bottled anyways as it has minerals and such the fish needs.

As for parasites - how is his behavior? Is he loosing weight?
If he does have parasites - epsom salt can help flush them out but you should also use it with some kind of medicine for internal parasites. I know of several for external but not sure if they would work for internal ones as well.
Jungle's anti parasite clear fizzy tabs may be the cheapest - walmart should have it.

[callistra]

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

And yes first step is test the tap

[Dragonfin]

And yes first step is test the tap[/quote]


Okay - I tested the tap - and it said .5-1

Then I tested the water from my Primo/Culligan water machine/cooler - it is purified, reverse osmosis, UV lit, all that good stuff - and it says it is .25

Soooo, I am suspicious that the test may be wrong? I do refill the Prima jug at Walmart, which uses the same water as my home, but it is supposedly going through a lot of purifying before it goes into the big machine that I refill from.

So, I guess there is the off chance that the big purifier is not getting the ammonia out? But why would there be ammonia in it in the first place? It comes partly from a river and partly from a well, but is purified for out tap before it even goes to the purifier at the refill station at Walmart.

I am so confused.

I did not used to get high ammonia readings from my tank until it had been 7-8 days without a change.

So, maybe the test went bad or they changed our water or . . .

I DON't KNOW! But if it is really that high, my fishy will not do well.

[Tikibirds]

I would just use Seachem's Prime for a water conditioner as it will remove the ammonia from the water. I think it changes it to ammonium? which is not toxic. Its pretty concentrated so you only need 2 drops of it per gallon

[tekkguy]

Did you say in your first post that you rinsed your gravel? If so, you might have (and probably did) kill off your bacteria colonies ...

[Dragonfin]

Originally Posted by tekkguy

Did you say in your first post that you rinsed your gravel? If so, you might have (and probably did) kill off your bacteria colonies ...

I have glass rocks, no gravel, and yes, I rinse them because food and poo get stuck in them. I have no filter or live plants, so do I have bacterial colonies?

[Dragonfin]

So Sechem Prime can be used in my 3 gallon tank that I clean weekly (100%)? Will the ammonia test still read high?

Thanks!