Toxins rose significantly after adding first fish

Hi, I have recently finished cycling my tank using LR, live sand, and adding fish food once in a while. I watched the Ammonia spike to crazy levels then go to zero as Nitrites spiked then reached zero. I have some ornamental macro algae in the tank to deal with the other stuff. I thought that since Ammonia and Nitrite had risen then fallen I would try to add a fish. I went to my LFS and picked up a pretty onyx clown and added him. I was pleased at how peppy he was and how friendly his demeanor was after being in the tank for a few hours. I went to sleep with him swimming around actively at all levels of the tank. This morning I woke up and he was hanging around in the very upper levels of the water, still swimming actively but he refuses to go lower than the top 3 or 4 inches in his low current corner of the tank. I checked the levels and both Ammonia and Nitrite have spiked to the 1ppm level which freaks me out. I havent fed him or anything like that :-/ I am going to take him back to my LFS this morning to save him before things get worse as they are friendly and maybe will hold on to him while I get things under control. I just don't understand. The tank has been operational for a month or so now and I know for a fact that it cycled as the toxin levels all held steadily high for weeks before the bacteria took them down to zero. Should I do as I planned or let him stay and see how the bacteria are able to react and overcome? I don't want to needlessly kill my first little denizen

I'm getting very frustrated at this point and don't know what I am doing wrong

 

When you cycle a tank the way you did, bacteria levels fluctuate because they don't have a steady/continuous source of "food" as they would have if you had cycled with a fish. My advice is to leave the fish in there and let the cycle complete.

 

I would let him stay and don't panic. Returning the fish to the LFS may stress it out even more. Also, be sure to feed (not overfeed) him today. Water isn't as stable when you first finish your cycle so as you add livestock you can expect it to jump around a bit. 1 ppm is pretty high though. I would test again and keep your eye on that amount.

As a side note, clowns are pretty crazy and will sometimes pick a place in your aquarium to "host" if there is no anemone and just hang out there all the time. So check the ammonia levels a few more times today and see if it's going up at all.. Any higher than 1.5 or so and I'd start to worry.

 

If you haven't already, get lots of water flowing around in your tank. The more flow around your rocks the better.

 

Rushing a marine system always ends in frustrations and lost money.. I cycle all my tanks over the last 45 yrs for 3 months with a single yellow tail damsel then at 3 months I will add a nicer fish then wait 2 to 3 weeks in between all new additions to allow the bacteria to build up to keep the denitrification process level and steady and allowing time for the bacteria to grow in numbers .

I've never had any problems in the past so I'll never change my process ..

 

Ok, will do on all of that. I also checked the skimmer and it was all messed up and not bubbling. I unplugged it then plugged it back in and its foaming like mad now. Water seems to be clearing up a little and he's starting to swim further from his little nook. He is a lot more active than he was earlier

 

Yeah, I didnt think I was rushing it and was actually proud of myself for trying to cycle without throwing a fish in there for a month. I guess it goes to show how little I know huh? Next time I will wait much longer.

 

I fed him a few pellets and he got a lot more active. I had redirected a lot of the water towards the glass cause I thought before I tested that maybe he didnt like the current. I moved them back to where they were pointing now. My skimmer is filling with such crazy gunk now. I have to assume it wasnt working properly before this morning when I unplugged it since I find it hard to believe it could have accumulated as much waste in one night as it is all of a sudden removing. He's slowly starting to venture to other regions now.

 

If you're going to feed your fish pellets, soak them in some tank water so that they fully expand before you feed them. This will keep them from expanding in your fish's stomach

 

Ah, ok thanks for the tip. I really hope he makes it. Levels of toxins havent risen any so thats better than the alternative I guess. The ammonia looked like it was a slightly lower level and nitrites about the same.