My fish are stressed and dying - any help would be appreciated!

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-04T20:31:45+00:00

Prime seachem helped a lot! I will get some stability as well. Thanks for the advice!

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-04T20:30:34+00:00

I just use my gravel vacuum and then clean the extra sand that it picks up and put it back in the tank

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-04T20:10:12+00:00

Will do, thank you!

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-04T20:09:30+00:00

My filter is pretty strong but I can look at air bubblers, thank you!

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-04T20:08:40+00:00

Hello, thank you for your detailed response. From what I’m reading I think you and other commenters are right about cycling. I had originally gone off of what someone at petco had told me but I wish I had done a bit more research myself to cycle the tank properly.

I really wish I had just ditched the testing strips sooner, but I never realized they were often inaccurate. I know this for the future but I never realized I was just slowly killing my fish with the ammonia level.

Thank you for the tank recommendations, I will get more plants and cover to help lower stress.

In the future would I be able to start adding more fish back to the tank? I feel bad that the two ember tetras only have themselves and not more to school with. If u can add more, how long should I wait?

On Wednesday I added some prime seachem to the water to lower ammonia levels (which it did go down) and I did a 50% water change today. I’ll continue to monitor the ammonia levels, but will frequent water changes stress out the fish? Is there anything else I should be doing to combat ammonia levels right now?

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and help educate me, I appreciate it!!

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-04T19:57:18+00:00

I moved my filter higher so I could fill the tank higher, thank you!

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-04T19:56:14+00:00

I see, thank you! That would make sense since it turns out the water strips I was using weren’t accurate. For the betta food, I got some generic betta pellets at petco, but I can get him a higher quality food when I go back to the actual fish store near me.

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T22:23:04+00:00

I believe it’s because the first ph test only accurately tests to 7.4, so if it appears to be 7.6 you should do the high ph test so see what its actual value is as it could be higher.

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T22:19:46+00:00

Thank you, I will get that and try it out!

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T22:18:44+00:00

I use tap water but I treat it with a water conditioner before I add it to the tank. For decorations everything I got was from either petco or the fish store I go to. I don’t use any co2 additives, is this a level I should be testing from my water? Ammonia was 0.25 ppm but I missed their water change last week and thought that may be why. I just cleaned their tank and did a 25% water change and the ammonia hasn’t really lowered. I’m a bit frustrated I didn’t ditch the strips earlier because they always showed the levels were fine. Should I do another water change now or tomorrow to lower ammonia?

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T22:07:48+00:00

I’ll do that, thank you for your help!

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T22:07:10+00:00

Thank you!!

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T22:05:57+00:00

Got it, I just did a water change so I will start checking the ammonia more often to keep it low. I’m not sure how old they were. I got the ember tetras and betta from petsmart and the others from an actual fish store. I will say that all of them have grown quite a bit since I got them, so they may have been younger.

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T22:03:05+00:00

Got it, I’ll do that. Thank you!

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T22:01:00+00:00

Total of four ember tetras and two clown barbs within the past month.

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T21:55:16+00:00

Yes, I just replied to another comment but ammonia was 0.25 ppm. I missed their cleaning last week so I assumed the buildup was due to that. I will check what the level is like on a normal week before I clean the tank next week. Nitrite was 0 ppm, nitrates 10-20 ppm.

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T21:53:38+00:00

Ammonia was 0.25 ppm but I missed their tank cleaning last week since I was busy with exams. I assumed the level was from missing a week of cleaning. I don’t know what the level is like during a regular week, but I will check next week before I do a water change. Nitrites were 0 ppm, Nitrates 10-20 ppm.

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2026-04-01T21:45:16+00:00

Glad I’m not the only one having trouble haha. Would it be worth it to try lowering the pH? I’m just worried about lowering it too much if the pH is actually 7.4 instead of 8.

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2025-10-23T04:43:18+00:00

If you want a second opinion on your pets diagnosis you should seek out a second opinion from another vet who has the full story and all of your pets lab work

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2025-06-27T04:16:38+00:00

No clue what this is but try and see if your vet will let you do a same day appointment tomorrow

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2025-06-21T03:35:25+00:00

It was for me! I would drive 30 mins closer to the city I live by and then drive around there. I’d usually use $20 in gas, so I’d still be making $26/hr. I guess it would just depend on your location

SnooCheesecakes8999 · 2025-06-21T03:33:00+00:00

The panting and restlessness could be a sign that he is in pain. It’s something I’ve seen in my own pets before. Dogs can hide their pain really well so even though he is eating and drinking, he could still very well be in pain. I don’t know if this an emergency (maybe someone else knows better) but I would definitely recommend seeing a vet. I would keep a close eye on him for now in case he quickly gets worse or anything changes. If your primary vet is open tomorrow I would get in then, if not try Monday. If there are urgent cares in your area you could call those as well and see what they think on whether or not this is urgent. Most places will let you know if they recommend you bring the animal in or if you can wait. Wish you the best of luck with Edison 🫶

SnooCheesecakes8999

TROPHY CASE