Ammonia Issue!

I know it's a common topic but I know it's also specifics for a certain tank and fish and not everyone has the same.

I have a 40g tank, 2 small fan tails, 1 black moor, 2 lionheads, and 1 common.

The ammonia is extremely high and dangerous for the fish. I've put ammo lock in the tank per the directions on the bottle and for the past 2 weeks and I have failed to get the ammonia down even with water changes, and siphoning and feeding fish once a day.

The ammonia is at an 8.0 but I did just remove a carcass of a ghost shrimp. I am aware this level of ammonia is unruly...

WHAT DO I DO ?! I've done everything that I can think of to help alleviate this issue...

Also how often do I need to be cleaning out the filter? What is the process in that? I know not to use chemicals and rinse under water from aquarium but any other advice would be great.

You may be over feeding the fish... if you run your hand over the gravel really fast does a lot of food come up? Also is there anything else decaying in there?


And I haven't cleaned my filters since i got them I only change the cartridges.

Ammonia (NH3) is the most toxic nitrogenous waste found in the aquarium and is capable of quickly killing fish, or causing them to become diseased. It's produced in the breakdown of organic materials, and by the fish themselves as a by-product of their metabolism. In fact, the vast majority of ammonia is excreted from the gills of your fish.
What causes the ammonia level to rise?
There are lots of different reasons why ammonia levels might rise. Here are some of the most common things you need to investigate if you detect ammonia in your test results.

•New tank with insufficient bacteria.
•Filter has been washed in tapwater or an old sponge has been replaced.
•Disease treatments have killed the filter bacteria.
•Overfeeding.
•Overstocking.
•Insufficient filtration.
•Tapwater has not been treated correctly (chlorine or chloramine).
•Too many fish added too soon.
•Dead fish decomposing in the tank.
•Uncured living rock.

to free ammonia-->
How you tackle the problem depends on the cause. You may have to do a bit of detective work to find out what you've done wrong. But first undertake an immediate large water change. Make sure the new water is dechlorinated and of the same chemistry and temperature.

If ammonia continues to increase, monitor the tank closely with your test kits and do additional water changes to keep the levels low.

Nitrite levels may also rise following an ammonia problem, so be ready to dose your aquarium or pond with salt (at about 1-3g per litre) to reduce its toxicity to your fish.

It helps considerably if you can add something to the water, or the filter to remove or neutralise ammonia.

I think it's because I may be over feeding, or it might be because the tank hasn't fully cycled.

I did do a 25% water change tonight and I siphoned the rocks out and a lot seemed to come out of the rocks. So I am thinking it might be too much food.

I did use ammo lock to help with neutralizing the ammonia, and I always make sure to make the tap water safe for the fish.

I'm going to reduce the feeding to once a day to see how that works, and I will keep on doing water changes.


Thanks for the information. I'll keep trying, the fish seem to be OK, no hanging out at the top of the tank for oxygen, and no fish have died besides the shrimp and I think that had to do with my husband by accidentally trapping it underneath a fake plant.

I siphoned the rocks out today and there seemed to be a lot of junk coming up from the tank. I will reduce feeding amounts and times a day.

I also did a 25% water change.

it is not force feed once a day.i do feed my discus thrice but also say that i feed them not too many,i also see whether the extra food go bottom of tank or not.
and ok, you did whatever precautions you have to do.i think for a better future for your aquarium.

Goldfish tolerate ammonia much better than other species, but they also make more of it because of their metabolism. When setting up a new aquarium, it's a good idea to make sure the tank is fully cycled before you add fish. You can read more about the nitrogen cycle in some of our blogs, or just use the Site Search button at the top of the page. With regard to feeding, fish that are stressed by the presence of ammonia rarely have an appetite. Feed them no more than they eat in a couple of minutes. To avoid even higher ammonia levels, you can use a turkey baster to suck up uneaten food. If your aquarium is not yet cycled, you need to do a partial water change every day until ammonia stays at zero.

Great, thanks for the advice! I am going to do a water change in a few minutes here. It's pretty high so I just want to make sure to take all precautions before I do anything. So checking this forum has helped a lot!

a good compliment for our forum!! what are our respected mr john said is absolutely true....go ahead with his advice...

After we keep doing water changes daily until it gets down to 0ppm what are the steps to take after that?

Do we just continue to do weekly, bi-weekly water changes? Do we need to add anything?

I keep writing in here but it may help others to diagnose and me figure it all out...

I've found that there is a low level of nitrites and low level of nitrates. Still high levels of ammonia It appears as if the tank isn't fully cycled.

Thankfully I have fancies and they can tolerate it, I am putting in ammo lock to help keep the fish safer/per say... and I am doing daily water changes to help keep levels down. I'm assuming ammo lock is giving us false test results, but I'm assuming the ammonia is still high...

So I guess just keep letting it cycle. I'll keep reading other ammonia issues and the nitrogen cycle articles to help me with completing the cycle!

You might have to stop using the ammo lock to let your filter make the bacteria needed to remove the ammonia naturally. Just do alot of water changes and make sure you are using some type of chlorine remover with ever water change. Also finding a new place for the gold fish would help. They are ammonia raisers.

then i think you should go for a biological filter,biological filter is one that can form biological colony and prevent the growth of NH3 or nitrite...you should do 40 % water change in every 7 days...

I have the aqueon power filter which has a 4 stage filtration system including a biological filter.

Are you suggesting I get a different one?

I'm hesitant to stop using the ammo lock because I don't want dead fish but I will let the ammo lock clear and test again in a few days.

I cycled my tank without chemicals and I have no experience with ammo lock so letting it sit and testing again in a few days sounds like a good plan. Also I use the same filtration, which is a bio filter, that's all you need as long as it's big enough for your tank. Hope that helps and good luck.

Ammonia test kits have different reagents, and some do give a false reading when you use things like ammonia locking chemicals. That's because the ammonia is still there but in a less toxic form. After the aquarium is fully cycled, one type of bacteria converts ammonia to nitrite, and another converts the nitrite to nitrate, which is much less reactive. A third, anaerobic, bacteria breaks down the nitrate. If you still have ammonia or nitrite, the tank is not fully cycled, and you will need to keep up with the daily, partial water changes until the cycle is complete. After that, weekly partial water changes help keep things under control. Remember that most natural water systems have a constant flow-through, while an aquarium is a closed system.