How Long Before Fish Recuperates From Excess Ammonia ?
by Aquaboy on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 | 2 Comments
Hi. We have a Betta in a 5 gallon tank and he’s been doing great for almost 1.5 years. My son recently cleaned out the whole tank and the fish has been listless and not swimming around as much as usual. He would also lie on the bottom of the tank and then quickly dart to the top like lightening!
We couldn’t figure it out. The PH was his usual. Then we were told to check the ammonia and the ammonia was high. I added this fizzy pill that says it takes the ammonia out instantly.
About how long would it take the fish to get back to normal?
It;s been about 3 hours now and he is still acting the same.
Thanks!
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I would say at most a day or two. As long as the ammonia is low or at none, he should stay healthy. I would suggest going to PetSmart or Petco and testing the water’s pH and ammonia every two weeks. And the lieing on the bottom then darting to the top is what my three Bettas do. Good luck and I wish the best!] of luck keeping your Bettas healthy!
If your son cleaned out the whole tank, as in changed all the water, cleaned all the gravel, scrubbed down the tank and stuff that most likely means the ammonia eating bacteria in your tank have been killed off. You should only be doing partial water changes at a time, and not at the same time that you clean the tank. The ammonia should go down after a few days when the bacteria come back.