helppp ammonia to highhh

Question
IVE HAD MY TANK FOR ABOUT 2 AND A HALF YEARS ITS A 75 GALLON.
ITS CAME WITH 2 FISH IN IT ALREADY A  PARROT FISH AND A JACK DEMSEY, THOSE 2 FICS ARE LIKE 5 YEARS OLD GOING STRONG.. I ADDED 2 MORE PARROT FISH, 2 (FIRE OR RED THROTS) MY PLECKO DIED AND A CATFISH.BUT I GOT ICH BECAUSE MY HEATER BROKE AND I DIDNT REALIZE.... BY TOM. THE TREATMENT I DID EVERYTHIN SHOULD BE FINE I HOPE... BUT MY AMMONIA LEVEL IS SKY HIGH AND THE PH WAZ LOW I BUT BAKING SODA FOR THE PH AND THATS FINE NOW... IN THE PASSED FOR DAY I USED (JUNGLE AMMONIA CLEAR TABLETS) BUT IT DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING PLEASE I NEED ADVISE. COUPLE PET STORES GAVE ME IDEAS NOTHING WORKING... PLEASE HELPP

Answer
Hi George;

The first thing to do when ammonia spikes is to make a water change. Replace 25% of the water and vacuum the gravel at the same time. Do it every day that the ammonia is elevated until it finally drops as the tank balances biologically again.

Ammonia is from fish waste. If I understand correctly, you added four new fish at one time. That's a lot to ask of your bio-system. Every time new fish are added to a tank the beneficial bacteria that controls the ammonia needs to grow larger colonies to consume the additional waste of your new fish. It can take several days to a couple of weeks to do that. The stress of the whole thing brought on the case of ich, most likely. Adding a small amount of fish and waiting at least a week to add more is a much healthier way to do it.

If the pH was exceptionally low it is possible that the beneficial bacteria colonies were not thriving as they should be, or they were even killed. The beneficial bacteria does not do well at levels below 6.0 so if it was there, that's probably what happened. The struggling bacteria colonies would lead to elevated ammonia. Even so, it is best not to be altering the pH with adjusters of any kind, especially when ammonia is high. It is very stressful to the fish and stressful to the beneficial bacteria too when it is changed abruptly. It is better to keep the pH under 7.0 when ammonia is present anyway. When pH is below 7.0 the ammonia is less toxic to the fish. Raising the pH creates a more dangerous ammonia and it also stresses the fish as the pH fluctuates. What we try to have is a pretty stable pH, not a certain reading. When our fish are accustomed to a certain pH they will go into shock when you try to alter it. Excess waste from infrequent water changes will easily cause a chronically low pH. It is far easier on the fish to simply improve water quality by making more frequent water changes and reduce wastes by vacuuming the gravel. It will usually gradually bring the pH to a more acceptable reading and is much healthier all the way around. All tanks need a 25% water change and gravel vac at least once a week anyway.

Please avoid typing in "all-caps". Capitalization on the internet is considered YELLING and not good "netiquette" (Internet etiquette), as well as being very hard to read. I know you probably weren't trying to yell at me though. Just wanted you to know so you can avoid possible future problems from people more sensitive than I am. ;-)

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins