Ammonia not going down & no nitrites

[Spaullba]

Hey guys-

I am 4 weeks into a fish-in cycle. 5 Zebra Danios in a 20g tank.

For the last 2.5 weeks or so I have been running ammonia between .25 to 1ppm. I have been doing daily 20-25% water changes for the past week or so, and the ammonia is not going down at all. I figure this is okay so long as it doesn't go up. We want some ammonia for the cycle. However I am a bit surprised I am still getting nothing on my nitrite readings.

Is this normal? How long until I should expect to see them? I am worrying that this means that I am not getting bactria growth for my cycle, and the water changes are the only thing keeping ammonia down.

Thanks.

 

[coralbandit]

How much does the ammonia increase daily?
Are you keeping feeding to a minimum ?

 

[Spaullba]

Feeding once per day for the last week; previously twice. I have only been measuring once per day so I cannot say how much it rises. It is usually around 0.5ppm.