text: Thousands of animals have died overnight at a commercial fish farm in southern China's Guangdong Province after the lake became polluted. More than 100 tonnes of dead fish were found floating in the water near Huizhou City on Friday morning by devastated farmer Mr Zhang. Workers had rushed to clear the lake, using plastic baskets and nets to scoop them out, creating a huge mountain of rotting fish on the shore. Thousands of fish, weighing 100 tonnes, have been found dead at a lake in Huizhou City in southern China's Guangdong Province . A mountain of rotting fish: A team of people have been working to clear the dead fish from the water by piling them up on the nearby shore . Others were sent to spread 2.5 tons of edible salt to try and restore the chemical imbalance of the lake which had become contaminated with ammonia, reported The People's Daily Online. It may save the few remaining live fish but Mr Zhang, who founded the business in 1996, admitted he was not optimistic. The shock death of thousands of fish means he could be facing financial ruin. Staff at a commercial fish farm based at the lake found the water had been polluted with an excessive quantity of ammonia leading to the death of the fish . Mr Zhang believes the ammonia which polluted the lake and killed his fish came from a nearby farm which which had been using the chemical as fertiliser . While some employees worked hard to remove the thousands of dead animals from the lake in Huizhou City in southern China's Guangdong Province . The farmer stands to lose over 1 million RMB (£110,000) in potential sales, and claimed he would need at least a decade to recover. 'It's the first time that my fish farming has had such a problem since I started in 1996. I'll need another ten years to make up for this loss,' said Mr Zhang. 'It has taken me years to build the fish numbers up and my one source of income has vanished almost overnight.' Mr Zhang claims the source of the ammonia may have been fertilizer being used at a nearby farm. Other workers spread 2.5 tons of edible salt to try and address the chemical imbalance and try to save the few live fish that remained . The lake had been turned into a commercial fish farm in 1996 by owner Zhang Feng who says the devastating loss will cost him over 1 million RMB (£110,000) Two workers in protective waterproof trousers and jackets, help heave out another box of lost profits from the lake onto the shore . Bags upon bags of salt are emptied into a bucket ready to be poured into the water in an attempt to restore the chemical imbalance . The dead fish were discovered floating in the polluted lake on Friday morning by the devastated farmer who claims he is facing financial ruin .
target: Thousands of dead fish were found at a lake in Huizhou City in southern China's Guangdong Province on Friday .
  Owner of a fish farm which operates from the lake says he found evidence the water was polluted with ammonia .
  He claims the loss of 100 tonnes of fish overnight will cost him over 1 million RMB (£110,000) in potential sales .
  Employees are working to save any live animals by adding salt to the water to restore the chemical imbalance .