# Ammonia spike after treating tank with Rid-ich plus. Fish are NOT doing well!



## Richbinduga (Apr 4, 2013)

My previous thread was about 4 of my danios struggling with a mouth fungus. guy at lfs recommended rid-ich plus. been treating tank with it for a week. gradually, nitrite was starting to spike and pH was dropping. i did a 50% water change after every treatment before retreating the tank each time. last night all 4 of my danios died and so did one of my 8 tiger barbs and a catfish (i dont remember what kind, its long, eats algae, from the amazon, not a pleco though). did 50% water change after all of that. i decided to stop treating my tank with the rid-ich plus. maybe not the best decision but i believe it killed my bacteria. ive been aerating the tank, dropped temps, and added some beneficial bacteria booster. my tank has gone to **** within less then 2 weeks. i used to take pride on it. my remaining 7 barbs look spooked, still have a good appetite though. its my bushfish im worried about (as always). he stays at the bottom a lot. he does swim still, hes still very alert. does not have much of an appetite though. base of fins are pretty red though and eyes are getting cloudy. this has happened to him before. it was a nitrate problem then though. treated that with some heavy water changes and vitamins. i cant give him vitamins now though since he wont eat and i already did a large water change. my ammonia levels are between 1.0 and 2.0 and my nitrite is at .25. nitrate is at around 10. pH went back up to 7. I'm stuck here, i just dont know what to do. im thinking of getting some duckweed to eat up any extra ammonia, nitrates, whatever they do. other then that i cant think of anything. i guess just keep up with my water changes? i really dont want to lose anymore fish. its just to heartbreaking for me and 6 in one night was just wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to much at a time. and i usually dont lose fish at all! any thought? suggestions?


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

Assume that you are starting your cycle over!! Follow the link to a fish in cycle and water change as needed to keep levels down.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I have used Rid-ich and similar med (Quick Cure) and it does not harm bacteria colonies. The ammonia spike you are getting is either from you have ammonia in your water source and the abundant water changes have caused an issue, you are feeding way too much, or this tank is not an established tank and it is still going through the nitrogen cycle.

How long has the tank been going? Has it had fish in it the whole time? Have you tested your tap?

I think you may have had some compatibility issues going on also. About the only thing that works with Tiger Barbs is other Tiger Barbs or snails. They cause stress to the other fish, this makes them susceptible to disease and other issues and the tank starts to degrade. Funny how they all appear to be doing well. Seems like par for the course to me.

I would test your water source and see if you have something going on there or not. You need to determine if you have a ph issue also, which if it is fluctuating can cause the same stress issues as the butthead fish you have. Test your ph at your tap and then take a sample and set aside and test again 24hrs later and see if there is a difference. Test the ph once a day and see if it is going up and down. Feed no more than once per day and watch the food being eaten to not feed in excess and try skipping a day or two in there...fish will be fine.

Report back what you find in your water testing. How big is your tank and what all is in there now? Filtration?


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## Richbinduga (Apr 4, 2013)

Yes the tank is cycled. its been running for pretty close to a year now. its a 55 gallon community. and yes i know the barbs are a problem. i plan to sell them back to the lfs as soon as my tank clears up. currently i have 1 leopard bushfish, 7 tiger barbs, 1 corydoras, 1 freshwater flounder and 1 spiny eel. and a horseface loach that nobody ever sees.


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## Richbinduga (Apr 4, 2013)

Dalfed what link are you talking about?


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## Richbinduga (Apr 4, 2013)

i tested my water source. pH is at 7 which is normal. ammonia is at wow, a 1.0. nitrite is at 0. thats weird. never had that happen before. im not sure what to do about this.


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

Richbinduga said:


> i tested my water source. pH is at 7 which is normal. ammonia is at wow, a 1.0. nitrite is at 0. thats weird. never had that happen before. im not sure what to do about this.


If on town water call your water authority and get them to check in on ammonia levels. For now if possible use other water for your water changes until tap is corrected if not possible make sure you are adding an ammolock to your water.
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f66/fish-poop-you-primer-8310.html is the link I was referring to but I don't think it applies, knowing your tap water readings.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Quick fix is to use prime for now if you have no other water available.Read directions but I believe it can overdosedX5 for ammonia and nitrites.
I'm not convinced your filter is not functioning.It seems clear the ammonia reading is from your source.If your filter is functioning it should in a day or so completely convert the ammonia.The use of prime will NOT stop the ammonia or Nitrites from registering on your test so measure and use it wisely.Don't keep adding it because of test indications.
Vacumm tank when doing waterchanges as I like jr don't think the rid ich has killed your bio,but may have caused some decay of something that is also adding to your test results.If fish aren't eating as much feed less.
If you can't change enough water or the quality of it won't allow quick improvement this would one of the few times I would use carbon for maybe a week or 10 days along with whatever water changes you can make.
I'll add I like rid ich for many things ,but not so sure it is a cure for fungas(works on parasites),and you should read up on columnaris as it is often mistaken for a fungas ,but is bacterial.
Good luck,hope things get better!


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