The Puffer Forum

I came home from work this evening to find a neon tetra and ram swimming at an angle (almost vertical) as if they were trying to keep themselves down. My SAP was laid on the bottom of the tank with quite rapid gill movements. She keeps getting up from time to time and like the others is swimming in an almost vertical way. Has anyone ever experienced this before and know what it is? I did a 75% water change straight away and my water parameters are-
PH - 7.6
Amonia - 4.0
Nitrite - 0.25
Nitrates - 5

How big is the tank? What fish are in there? How long has it been set up? How was it cycled?

Ammonia 4 is absolutely deadly & nitrites should be 0 also. More water changes, right away, until it is 0 again. Your tank isn't cycled. After an 80% WC, go to the store & get Bio-Spira to add to the filter (call 1st, a lot of them don't carry it & you may have to travel to find it).

And do NOT let them talk you into buying anything except Biospira. If they don't have it, get Prime declorinator. It will help detoxify the ammonia and nitrites so they are less deadly to the fish. Do not get Stress-Zyme, Cycle or any other crap in a bottle, no matter how much they insist that they work just as well as Biospira.

Wow, yes, that is either an uncycled tank or a crashed biofilter.

You need to do lots of water changes, because its poisoning the fish.

Get some Biospira if you can (make sure the store kept it refridgerated), or if you can't, Amquel or Prime to help with the ammonia. If you can, get a nylon stocking or media bag full of gravel or filter media from a friend with a running fish tank or even from the store if you have to (although there's more risk of disease from the store).

Ok...tank info...
190l (50 US gallon) tank. Been up and running for about 16 months. Cycled using guppies.
Fish: 1 dwarf puffer, 1 leopard plec, 1 ram, 1 neon tetra, 2 clown loaches.
My SAP and a neon tetra died this morning
The ram seems to have more colour in him now (he was very dark and dull) and I have done another water change. Amonia level now reads at 2.0 and I will be buying what you have recommended to me tomorrow.

Get that ammonia down to 0. Do as many water changes as are necessary to do so.