# Water Test Results help plz.



## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Hi there I used the Tetra water testing kit today here are the results I only did the Amonia and the Nitrite and Nitrate at the moment.

I did a baseline first Here is my tapwater results..

Amonia..0ppm to 0.25ppm...(Something inbetween)

Nitrite...0ppm

NitrAte...20ppm


Fishwater results:-

Amonia.....0ppm to 0.25ppm (same as above results)

Nitrite....0ppm (same as above again)

NitrAte...40ppm to 80ppm Its deffinately in the red range but not the dark red right at the bottom  is this really bad?

Ive put in the whitespot treatment again yesterday this is the second dose after 4 days...Ive lost the instructions to it so I dont know what im supposed to do next, can anyone help me please..

Thankyou for any advice

Kyria.


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Looking good on all fronts - do not worry too much about the nitrAtes, a few plants in the tank will soak those up (even just some elodea or cabomba - the floating oxygenating weed you can buy). Looks like the water chemistry is in order, just keep testing every day for a few days to make sure. Don't change any water for a week, then do a large water change, but leave the filter alone (leave it running if you can whilst doing the water change, you might have to push it to the bottom so its still in the water). Then see how you are doing with the meds, and just do the water changes (about 30%) weekly with a gentle squeeze of the filter pads in the dirty water, and using the prime to condition any new water you add to the tank. Do not rinse any of the decor or substrate, just use the gravel cleaner to get the excess poo out. As soon as your fishy is healthy you can think about what to do next.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Phoenix24 said:


> Looking good on all fronts - do not worry too much about the nitrAtes, a few plants in the tank will soak those up (even just some elodea or cabomba - the floating oxygenating weed you can buy). Looks like the water chemistry is in order, just keep testing every day for a few days to make sure. Don't change any water for a week, then do a large water change, but leave the filter alone (leave it running if you can whilst doing the water change, you might have to push it to the bottom so its still in the water). Then see how you are doing with the meds, and just do the water changes (about 30%) weekly with a gentle squeeze of the filter pads in the dirty water, and using the prime to condition any new water you add to the tank. Do not rinse any of the decor or substrate, just use the gravel cleaner to get the excess poo out. As soon as your fishy is healthy you can think about what to do next.


Hi Phoenix 

Oh wow  I cant believe that the water is looking good. Gosh I must be doing something right here at last :shocked: Im so happy  I thought it was going to be bad news.

I dont have anything in the tank apart from a small ornament that he likes to hide behind I took everything out to give him more room to swim around. I may pop to pets at home on Monday and buy him some of that oxygenating plants you have mentioned.

May I ask you a couple of questions about what to do over the next few days whilst he has the white spot treatment in his tank:_

1...Do I add prime to his tank everyday, for instance should I put some in again today? I put some in yesterday.

2..Do I add aquarium salt to his tank everyday? I put some in yesterday.

3..shall I use the gravel cleaner to clean his tank a wee bit?

4...Ive lost the instructions for the White spot treatment and I dont know what I have to do next, do I just leave the tank alone now and do a water change after a week like you have mentioned in post and add the white spot treatment again or will Hardy be ok now?

I think his filter may need to be cleaned as I havent touched it atall for quite a while if there is any food ontop I just pour some of his tank water over the top of it but I havent touched any of the sponges or anything inside the filter. I cannot believe I used to take everything out and wash it all under hot tap water it makes me cringe just thinking about it now 

So sorry for all these questions, I hope im not driving you mad :mad2:

Thankyou so much again for all your help.

Kyria.


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Assuming you get a big box for him to move into, he will really appreciate some gravel. In the mean time, the gravel cleaner/shipon can still suck poo up from the bottom of the tank whilst removing some water into the bucket (remember to only wash the filter pads in the dirty water).

Make sure you give the plants a rinse before you use them as they might have beasties on them like snail eggs (if you treat a bucketfull of water with prime and use that to rinse the plants, the plants will have some bacteria on them that will aid the tank's cycle).

As for your questions:

1. Now that your nitrites and ammonia are looking good, you only need to add the prime to the new water when you do a water change (to dechlorinate). If you ever notice a spike in either nitrites or ammonia (you should be testing your water every few weeks routinly, you will need to do it daily for the next 3 days as well) follow the instructions on the bottle to add a 2 or 5x dose to detoxify. But normally you only need the standard dose in the new water.

2. It depends on how much salt you put in. If you are using the salt to treat his skin problem, and are building the levels up gradually, then you will be adding in a bit each day until you reach the therapeutic dose. if you have put a full therapeutic dose in already then don't put any more in. We don't normally use salt as these are freshwater fish, you are only adding it to aid his skin problem (you no longer need it for nitrite toxicity)

3. See comment above - yes use the gravel cleaner to suck up poo.

4. Which exact brand of white spot meds are you using? Does it not say on the bottle what to dose (they normally do)? However many mls per litre you put in the first time you normally have to repeat after 4 days, then wait a week, perform a 50% water change, then repeat if symptoms not gone.

Don't worry about asking questions that is what we are here for.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Phoenix24 said:


> Assuming you get a big box for him to move into, he will really appreciate some gravel. In the mean time, the gravel cleaner/shipon can still suck poo up from the bottom of the tank whilst removing some water into the bucket (remember to only wash the filter pads in the dirty water).
> 
> Make sure you give the plants a rinse before you use them as they might have beasties on them like snail eggs (if you treat a bucketfull of water with prime and use that to rinse the plants, the plants will have some bacteria on them that will aid the tank's cycle).
> 
> ...


Hi Phoenix and Thankyou once again for all your help :smile5:

Ive looked on the AntiWhiteSpot treatment (Interpet) and on the bottle it says to dose again on day 4 (which I have) than it also says after 7 days I can redose again I guess if he still isnt looking too good I can do it again when I change the water in a week? (I did look on the bottle before but my eyes must have scanned right over it lol) Thankyou anyway.

His tail is still worrying me, he has white long stuff on it its a wee bit like long thin cotton I guess that must be the white spot im not sure . Ill deffinately put some pics up later.

He must be much more comfortable now in good water I should think. Im not feeding him today as Ive read that to give them a day without food is good for the digestion? hope thats ok.

I will do a water test again later and if different from yesterday ill put results up.

Thankyou so much again


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Kyria said:


> His tail is still worrying me, he has white long stuff on it its a wee bit like long thin cotton I guess that must be the white spot im not sure . Ill deffinately put some pics up later.


This doesn't sound like whitespot - more like some kind of fungus possibly? Whitespot looks like tiny grains of salt - it can show up more obviously on the tail and fins, but shouldn't look like threads - more like tiny specks. When my goldfish had it I initially thought it was tiny air bubbles on his tail.

A pic would be really helpful when you can get one.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Here are some pics I took this afternoon, sorry they are not too clear. On one of his fins you may see a wee streak of red. Is that blood?
You can see the white spots on his tail fins but you cant see it so well in these pics but they look streaky as if there is something stuck on his tail fins  Also the fins are quite jagged looking too.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

The red streaks will likely be damage from the ammonia levels during the cycle, and the white patches do look more like fungus or finrot to me, though I'm no expert. It's common to get fungus/finrot as a secondary infection after there has been any injury or damage from anything else, especially if water quality's less than perfect, as the fish's immune system is weakened. I'd wait for someone more knowledgeable to confirm, but I'm not sure that whitespot meds will be doing any good - unless he has previously had tiny white specks and they dropped off?


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

NaomiM said:


> The red streaks will likely be damage from the ammonia levels during the cycle, and the white patches do look more like fungus or finrot to me, though I'm no expert. It's common to get fungus/finrot as a secondary infection after there has been any injury or damage from anything else, especially if water quality's less than perfect, as the fish's immune system is weakened. I'd wait for someone more knowledgeable to confirm, but I'm not sure that whitespot meds will be doing any good - unless he has previously had tiny white specks and they dropped off?


Hi Naomi :smile5:

Yes he had tiny whitespots on his body he had quite alot of weird marks too maybe it was burns from poor water quality but they seem to have gone, I think he is looking alot better today than he did last week. He had this weird stuff (as in pics) on his tail fin too at the same time but this seems to be the same no change atall, I was hoping his wee tail fin would start to look a bit more healthy ..looks shredded not good I guess 

Fin rot oh dear? can I treat him for this too? If so Ill pop into pets at home tomorrow and start him off on this medicine. My daughter has said today that he is looking a wee bit more healthy today so that has pleased me :smile5:

Thankyou again for your help and reply


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Hi guys,

I had a very bad headache tonight and had to lie down for a while I decided I would lay in my sons room and see Hardy. Was watching him in the dark of the room pacing back and forward in his tank, its incredibly quiet in my sons room and its very tranquil with the sound of the filter and watching him. I put my hand on his tank and he swam over to it believe it or not, I had a feeling he knew I was there, bless him. 

He deffinately needs to be in a big tank he must be so lonely in there and in such a small space, if only I had noticed it earlier  Just need to get him healthy to rehome him asap.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

OK I'm with you now. If he did have white spots and they dropped off, you need to continue treating for whitespot before you can treat the fungus/finrot (it's generally the same treatment for both fungus and finrot, but you can't normally add it at the same time as the whitespot meds, unless you can get a fungus/finrot treatment by the same company that makes your whitespot treatment and that SPECIFICALLY says on the label that the two are compatible and can be used together. For example, eSHa exit whitespot treatment can be used in conjunction with eSHa 2000 fungus/finrot treatment, but I'm not sure how effective the eSHa meds would be in your case as whitespot is harder to treat in coldwater tanks so you're probably best sticking with a goldfish-specific medication).

The way the whitespot parasite works is that it has various different life stages which go in cycles. Often it starts with a dormant phase where no symptoms will be apparent, it's just there lurking in the tank, but invisible. Then when your fish's immunity drops due to stress, poor water condition, injury etc, it strikes and the fish gets covered in the characteristic white specks. You may also see other symptoms such as lethargy, clamped fins, and/or the fish rubbing itself against the glass/ornaments due to the irritation of the parasite. At this stage the disease is untreatable.

After a while, the parasite enters the next phase, known as the free-swimming stage. The white dots will fall off and your fish may appear better. But the parasites are still there, lurking in the tank and in the substrate, waiting to attack again with even greater force. This is the stage at which they can be killed with meds. So it's very important to keep up with the treatment at this phase, even though it may look like the problem has gone. For coldwater fish the life cycle is slower, so you have to keep up with the meds over a longer period of time to ensure you've got rid of all the parasites. Thorough cleaning of the gravel with a gravel vac/syphon can also help as you'll be hoovering up some of the parasites, but it's unlikely you'll get rid of them all by this method alone.

So to sum up, yes you need to continue with the whitespot meds, and unfortunately you probably won't be able to treat the other stuff till the whitespot is definitely gone (and you'll need to do several large water changes in between, to clear out the remnants of the whitespot meds before you start adding something else).

Just keep a close eye on his tail/fins in the meantime to make sure they don't get any worse. Keeping up with the aquarium salt can't hurt either - it helps with all sorts of problems, and goldfish (unlike many other fish) are OK with a low concentration of salt over a sustained period of time.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

NaomiM said:


> OK I'm with you now. If he did have white spots and they dropped off, you need to continue treating for whitespot before you can treat the fungus/finrot (it's generally the same treatment for both fungus and finrot, but you can't normally add it at the same time as the whitespot meds, unless you can get a fungus/finrot treatment by the same company that makes your whitespot treatment and that SPECIFICALLY says on the label that the two are compatible and can be used together. For example, eSHa exit whitespot treatment can be used in conjunction with eSHa 2000 fungus/finrot treatment, but I'm not sure how effective the eSHa meds would be in your case as whitespot is harder to treat in coldwater tanks so you're probably best sticking with a goldfish-specific medication).
> 
> The way the whitespot parasite works is that it has various different life stages which go in cycles. Often it starts with a dormant phase where no symptoms will be apparent, it's just there lurking in the tank, but invisible. Then when your fish's immunity drops due to stress, poor water condition, injury etc, it strikes and the fish gets covered in the characteristic white specks. You may also see other symptoms such as lethargy, clamped fins, and/or the fish rubbing itself against the glass/ornaments due to the irritation of the parasite. At this stage the disease is untreatable.
> 
> ...


Hi again :smile5:

I cant really see any white spots on him at the moment, so I will dose him again in a week I guess. Oh dear, I feel like im getting out of my depth again here. So scared im going to make things worse for him..Ill keep checking his fins and the water too. Ill ask at pets at home if I can add the fin rot at the same time as the white spot. The guy who worked there seemed quite knowledgeable about the whitespot maybe it will say on the box if I can add both, Ill have a look tomorrow. Otherwise I will leave it until the whitespot is safely gone and Hardy is clear and then deal with the fin rot...oh dear ..

Thankyou again for your help, sorry if I come across as really stupid just never had to deal with all this stuff before, im learning a new thing everyday I guess.

Kyria.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

No probs, not stupid at all, it's always a steep learning curve at first. It's only 1 1/2 years since I got my first tank and 2 goldfish, and I also ended up learning an awful lot in a short space of time, though unfortunately it came too late for my two. Well done for all you're doing for Hardy - it's always good when someone takes advice onboard and doesn't just take the attitude of "Oh well, it's just a fish".


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

The reason why the white spot meds say to dose again on day four is because of the life cycle of the parasites as Naomi has explained. It will be worth you performing a second round of treatment to be on the safe side, but likely you will have to then wait a week, perform a large water change and then start with the fungus/fin rot meds. I think the fungus/fin rot is quite difficult to deal with - more so than the white spot - but you have to deal with one thing at a time. Water chemistry was problem one, that seems to be resolved, whitespot is problem two which you are treating, and the fungus is next.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Thanks again for your replies and helpful advice 

Today I shall clean his tank using the gravel cleaner as I havent used this for a few days. 

The water I take out with the cleaner which wont be very much, I will replace but shall put appropriate amount of prime in it before I add it back to his tank. I know I cant take alot of water out because of the meds but Im scared the water is getting dirty because I havent cleaned it for a while.

Maybe ill add a wee bit of the salt too?

He is very lively and swims very fast all around which hopefully is a good sign for him as he is a poorly fish ...Im determined to get him better. I hate it when people say "oh its only a fish" I think that is a terrible way to look at animals unfortunately there are people like this  Ive had it said to me this last couple of weeks.
Im hoping im doing my best to make this goldfish well again and back to his former glory. Its weird how he went downhill since I found his little companion dead in the tank 

Thanks again both of you for all you help.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Hi just a quick update.

Last Friday I added the second dose of whitespot to his tank.

I have bought the Fin rot/fungus medicine. Ill put it in the tank this Friday.

Today I decided to do a wee water change, ive been testing the water and there has been no change its all been good 

I think I may have did a really stupid thing today though. I took the filter out and took one of the sponges out and squeezed it into his tank  It was the wrong thing to do I know I got confused his tank got filthy..

Total panic, I quickly cleaned the filter and sponges in a bucket using the water from his tank put filter back in and topped the tank up with a couple of pints of fresh water with prime in it...

I feel so mad with myself. I hope I havent ruined the water now. Ill leave it a bit and test it later.

Apart from that silly mistake he seems fine Ive put an oxygenating plant in his small tank with him which he seems to like I see him nibbling it I hope that is ok. His tail still has those stringy bits on but hoping once I start the new meds on Friday this will clear it up.

Im still looking for tanks for him and I keep questioning myself shall I keep him or give him away..If I decide to go ahead and keep him I have to find room for the tank and the only place is my sons bedroom or the landing...maybe not an ideal place but it is under a window...anyway we shall see have to try to get him looking better and healthy than will decide for sure


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I wouldn't worry too much about what you did with the filter sponge - you'd have had much floating round in the water for a while, but nothing that wasn't already in there (just that it was in the filter before!) so it shouldn't affect water chemistry, and the filter should pick most of it back up. To be on the safe side, do daily water tests for a couple of days, and give the gravel a good clean with a gravel vac/syphon on your next water change.

Before using the fungus/finrot meds, do a couple of large water changes (say 50% each time) to remove the whitespot meds from the water. If you have some activated carbon media, sticking this in the filter for 24 hours or so (the day before) will also help - just remember to remove it before adding the new meds


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

NaomiM said:


> I wouldn't worry too much about what you did with the filter sponge - you'd have had much floating round in the water for a while, but nothing that wasn't already in there (just that it was in the filter before!) so it shouldn't affect water chemistry, and the filter should pick most of it back up. To be on the safe side, do daily water tests for a couple of days, and give the gravel a good clean with a gravel vac/syphon on your next water change.
> 
> Before using the fungus/finrot meds, do a couple of large water changes (say 50% each time) to remove the whitespot meds from the water. If you have some activated carbon media, sticking this in the filter for 24 hours or so (the day before) will also help - just remember to remove it before adding the new meds


Hi Naomi 

Thankyou for your reply...Such a relief to know water will be ok..

Im sorry I really dont understand what you mean about Carbon Media ..I just have a small filter I cant remember the name its the shape of a stingray I got it from pets at home. Inside it has two plastic things that has balls inside is that the carbon? It also has 3 small sponges, thats about it.

Sorry for not knowing what you mean.

When I went into Pets at Home to get the Finrot meds I spoke to the same guy who helped me with the whitespot. I told him I have to treat the fish for finrot now and he just laughed, and said oh it never ends...didnt even ask if Im cycling the tank or anything. Thankgod I have you people on here to help me otherwise my fish would have no hope atall.

Ill do the water changes as you have suggested before adding the Finrot/fungus meds.

Thankyou again for all the help you give me


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I know the filters you mean (not the greatest filters by all accounts, sorry  ) but have never seen inside one so don't know what they normally come with. Carbon media will either be a black sponge or little black balls - not all filters have it and it's not good for much other than removing unwanted chemicals/meds. (You should always take it out before using any meds.)

If you don't have it, no worries - several large water changes spread over 24 hours or so before adding the new meds should do the trick.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Hi there,

Yes this filter has these two small plastic things on each side of filter that can pop out and inside these tiny containers are tiny black balls..ALso it has 2 small sponges one at the front of the stingray in the nose and one in the middle.

Was I supposed to have taken those small black ball things out for the white spot  If so I didnt and maybe it hasnt worked properly  but he does look ok so it must have done something 

The guy in pets at home told me to leave everything inside that filter when I bought the white spot medicine.

Basically I have to take these little black ball things out of the filter before adding the other meds on Friday or Saturday is that what you mean and just leave the sponges inside?

Sorry again for questions I hope you dont think im daft..Im going to test his water now. Hope its all ok.
My husband said his skin looks more shiny today and actually I think it does.
I went to buy him some frozen blood worm but pets at home didnt have any so I may pop to my nursery place tomorrow. Also may give him one pea a week is that ok...I saw it on another thread that its good for fish and I have got a few different foods that im giving him now instead of the same everyday. 

Just finished Water test:

Ammonia 0.25ppm

Nitrite 0.ppm

NitrAte 40ppm to 80ppm. 

No change atall.

This is the filter I use :Stingray Underwater Filter Pets at Home.


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Yes those plastic things with balls in is the carbon (I used to have a stingray filter) and yes you always take carbon out before medicating (in fact, you only ever put carbon IN after medicating to remove meds, then you take them out again). Pets at home are notorious for being TERRIBLE at giving advice. They (as in many pet store staff) want you to use carbon because it is finite - it only lasts 2 weeks and then needs replacing, therefore you have to buy more. And you don't even really need it for meds, like Naomi said water changes does the same thing, and many meds are only active for 24 hours (hence why you tend to have to add them again on x number of days).

That ammonia looks a little high, too, but I suspect its just the batch of test kit - sometimes it doesn't go pure yellow even when there is no ammonia. You can get a baseline reading by either using another ammonia tester or ask your pet store do check a sample. If its a true reading, then you need to add more Prime to detoxify it.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

Phoenix24 said:


> Yes those plastic things with balls in is the carbon (I used to have a stingray filter) and yes you always take carbon out before medicating (in fact, you only ever put carbon IN after medicating to remove meds, then you take them out again). Pets at home are notorious for being TERRIBLE at giving advice. They (as in many pet store staff) want you to use carbon because it is finite - it only lasts 2 weeks and then needs replacing, therefore you have to buy more. And you don't even really need it for meds, like Naomi said water changes does the same thing, and many meds are only active for 24 hours (hence why you tend to have to add them again on x number of days).
> 
> That ammonia looks a little high, too, but I suspect its just the batch of test kit - sometimes it doesn't go pure yellow even when there is no ammonia. You can get a baseline reading by either using another ammonia tester or ask your pet store do check a sample. If its a true reading, then you need to add more Prime to detoxify it.


Hi Phoenix

Ive never changed the carbon in that filter because I didnt know you had to. Ive had it for quite a few months too..I used to just wash it and put it back so it probably doesnt even work anymore will have to go and buy some for it.

Going to pop up to that Nursery tomorrow and take a small sample of the water with me for them to test the Amonia. Just when I think Im getting somewhere with him it seems to go all wrong again 
Ill be so glad when he has finished these next lot of meds and I can get him into a massive tank or rehome him he deserves a better life than he has at the moment bless him 

Thankyou once again for all your help much appreciated


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I wouldn't bother buying more carbon. Get some ceramic beads/rings instead (any brand) and put them in the baskets the carbon was in. It will increase the biological filtration, which is the important part. (You may lose a bit of the good bacteria at first when you take the carbon out, but it will soon catch up - just keep an eye on ammonia/nitrite levels for a few days afterwards.)


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

NaomiM said:


> I wouldn't bother buying more carbon. Get some ceramic beads/rings instead (any brand) and put them in the baskets the carbon was in. It will increase the biological filtration, which is the important part. (You may lose a bit of the good bacteria at first when you take the carbon out, but it will soon catch up - just keep an eye on ammonia/nitrite levels for a few days afterwards.)


Hi Naomi

I dont think you can open up the small cages of carbon in the stingray  so should I just buy 2 replacements to put in after ive finished with all his meds finrot/fungus.

I just fed him half a pea, he seemed to enjoy it.

Could you please tell me how long I can keep that oxygenating plant in their with him before I have to replace it.

Im unwell today so I cant get to the nursery. I will however do a water change and and put some aquarium salt in there too as im feeling worried about the ammonia I want to get the tank prepared for Friday and his new sets of meds..poor fishy 

Thankyou for all you help (again)


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Like I said, I'm not familiar with the inside of that filter, so maybe Phoenix can advise more, but if you can take the cages out completely and replace them with filter sponges (such as the Juwel ones), I imagine this would be better. The carbon really is just a marketing ploy more than anything else, as Phoenix has said, and I've heard that in some cases it can actually end up leaching nasties back into the water if not replaced regularly.

Sponges serve the same purpose as ceramic media - to provide a large surface area for nitrifying bacteria to colonise, and therefore encourage a larger amount of this bacteria. Hence ammonia and nitrite will be processed more effectively if you have more of this media in the filter.

Regarding the plant, do you know which plant it is (I'm guessing possibly elodea)? If it's planted in the substrate and given sufficient light, nutrients and CO2, it should keep growing and won't need replacing. Do regularly trim off and discard any dying/damaged leaves, though, as they will rot and produce ammonia.

If you're worried about trace ammonia levels, stick in a whole-tank dose of Prime when you do the water change, and this should deal with it. That's what I do any time I suspect there may be a minor problem with water quality (or even in anticipation of one, such as when there's a bad storm and I'm worried the power might go off while I'm away/asleep and leave the tank without filtration for a while!)


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

NaomiM said:


> Like I said, I'm not familiar with the inside of that filter, so maybe Phoenix can advise more, but if you can take the cages out completely and replace them with filter sponges (such as the Juwel ones), I imagine this would be better. The carbon really is just a marketing ploy more than anything else, as Phoenix has said, and I've heard that in some cases it can actually end up leaching nasties back into the water if not replaced regularly.
> 
> Sponges serve the same purpose as ceramic media - to provide a large surface area for nitrifying bacteria to colonise, and therefore encourage a larger amount of this bacteria. Hence ammonia and nitrite will be processed more effectively if you have more of this media in the filter.
> 
> ...


I do have some spare sponges for this filter  Shall I just take filter cage out and squeeze these two sponges in its place? I could cut them to size??

Its quite hard trying to figure out how much prime I should put in his tank as quite often I only need a tiny wee bit in comparison to the litres of water. Would probably be much easier to work out in a big tank.

Ive no idea what the plant is but I know it isnt elodea as that is what I asked for at [email protected] but they didnt have any actually he said to me "I dont do latin names"  and he gave me a plant that apparently oxygenates the Water. Ill keep any eye on it and if I think its looking a bit funny ill take it out.

I think he is actually enjoying having this plant in the tank he swims around it alot maybe it just gives him something different to do in such a boring tank.

He is very a friendly fish if there are such things, he always comes to greet me when I walk into the room. When I feed him he tends to swallow alot of air which I worry about even with the sinking food he is always in such a hurry to swallow it and you can hear him gulping the air/water. Anyway alls well with him at the moment. Im thinking maybe he is a comet Ive put another pic up on another thread if he is does that mean he will have to go in a pond..he seems too small for a pond bless.

Thankyou again Naomi for all your help


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Oh dear. 'I don't do latin names' is absolutely terrible thing to hear from staff at pets at home! The majority of aquatic plants go by latin names (elodea IS a latin name) and just highlights the utter incompetence of many of the staff there, especially those in the aquatics section. 

Yes its fine to cut some sponges to size and put them in the filter instead of the carbon. I did the same thing with my spare sponges (before upgrading to a better tank and filter).

What size bottle is the Prime? The tiny bottle (50ml I think) says 2 drops per 4L of new water, the big 500ml bottle said something like 5mls per 200ml. If you can get yourself a 1ml syringe it will help a lot with the small volumes (you can see why Prime is really good value - tiny amounts used goes a long way!).


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## alina11 (Jun 25, 2014)

The level of ammonia and nitrites should be 0 and nitrate level should be less than 40 ppm but if it is less than 20 ppm, even better.


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