Emergency :(((((((

[bkelizabeth]

I'm pretty sure my fish has ammonia burns!!!! I've been doing everything right.. I'm so heartbroken. She has a 2.5 gal tank, I change a quarter or so of her water every week, the temp is always fine.....

I have a testing kit, but the damn thing is messed up. It's one of the testers that stays on the tank wall. It's mostly yellow (safe) and 1/4 of it is light green (caution) ...ugh guys :'(

She has a little red blotch on both gills. Are they ammonia burns?

I really don't know what to do...

Help :( I don't want to hurt her...

[bkelizabeth]

I'm so frustrated! I tried so hard to do everything right. :'(

[bkelizabeth]

FIRST OF ALL, I'm taking the tester back to Petsmart. It's not giving an accurate reading, so how the heck am I supposed to make sure that the ammonia levels are safe? Ridiculous.

[GreenTea]

Hi, I'm sorry you're having issues with your girl.

If your tank has a filter that might be enough water changes, but if her tank is unfiltered then you should have been doing a minimum of 1 50% change a week and another 100% change about 3 days later. I would start doing daily water changes until her gills clear up. Can you post any photos? Do her gills look inflamed? Is she eating? If you fill out the sticky and post it here it will help us help you!

[Kytkattin]

Those testers are not worth a darn IMO. They lure people into a false sense of security. The API Ammonia test kit is the one people most frequently use and with most success.
GreenTea is also correct. It sounds as though you need to do a lot more water changes. However, on a 2 gallon, even with a filter you would still need to do about the same number of water changes. Anything less than 5 gallons cannot be properly cycled. I hope your girl pulls through!

[bkelizabeth]

She's eating fine. She's hyper, so, I think that's a good sign. I can take pictures tomorrow morning and post them on here. Ughhhh, yeah, I see that now! :( I'll definitely go find a kit. I just couldn't find one ANYWHERE (they must have been sold out..), so I settled for the one at Petsmart. I had a filter up until a few days ago, until the current setting took a crap and the current was wayyyyyy too strong for her. So, I have to find a new one too. This is just a mess.

[GreenTea]

If I were you I'd have your tap water levels checked for all the usual things, AND heavy metals - and then have your treated aquarium water tested too. Sometimes things are fine for awhile, but the water in our area can change will the seasons, pollution, etc. I had all my boys get bloated and lethargic once, only to find that there were metals present in my tap water that hadn't been there before..

Petco and petsmart will test your water for free...Hope this helps.

[GreenTea]

I never filter my 2.5 gals. I just do two changes a week and my fish are so happy and healthy. A filter for such a small tank is just a hassle imo, since you have to do the changes anyway.

[bkelizabeth]

ok, here's a pic. the little red blotch is what im talking about :/

[bkelizabeth]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm definitely taking everything into consideration. I have to figure something out. New testing kit. New water changing schedule.