Fish In Cycle Not Going Well

[Hulka9]

So Im one week into cycling my first tank and it seems its taking a turn for the worst. I have a 10 gallon with a heater and penguin 150 filter and 3 zebra danios. The water tests are showing .5 ammonia and 0 nitrates and nitrites. Ive been doing 1-2 water changes a day, usually 20% but I did a 50% tonight because the fish looked like they were struggling. One of them is swimming in place near the top and the other two are swimming spastically. Also Ive been feeding as little as possible. Water changes dont seem to be lowering the ammonia levels. Any suggestions?

 

[Hulka9]

Also i have been treating the new water with prime.

 

[jwh0818]

Your doing everything right except, danios need a bigger tank. Minimum of 20g and need to be in groups of 5 or more. What's the tank temp?

 

[Hulka9]

Yeah I read that afterwards. The guy at the local fish store recommended I used them. I keep it at 77F. Would adding 2 more possibly help? I though you want as little fish as possible during cycling?

 

[jwh0818]

Yeah I read that afterwards. The guy at the local fish store recommended I used them. I keep it at 77F. Would adding 2 more possibly help? I though you want as little fish as possible during cycling?

No adding 2 more is bad. The tank isn't long enough for even 1 to swim. I am gonna say do another 5g water change, temp match, add prime for sure and after its in the tank wait an hour and retest water parameters

 

[Mr Fisher]

Prime converts the ammonia to ammonium. The reading your seeing is for total ammonia and not free ammonia. It's actually recommended to use a test that can measure both free and total ammonia when using prime.

Since prime "locks" the ammonia it may also inhibit the growth of nitrifying bacteria. That along with frequent water changing will actually inhibit the cycling process.

I may catch flack for this but I would stop the prime and use a regular water conditioner , stress coat by API works good and do 50% water changes every other day. It will cycle

 

[jwh0818]

Prime converts the ammonia to ammonium. The reading your seeing is for total ammonia and not free ammonia. It's actually recommended to use a test that can measure both free and total ammonia when using prime.

Since prime "locks" the ammonia it may also inhibit the growth of nitrifying bacteria. That along with frequent water changing will actually inhibit the cycling process.

I may catch flack for this but I would stop the prime and use a regular water conditioner , stress coat by API works good and do 50% water changes every other day. It will cycle

Prime is water conditioner. It's used to condition water. He is doing a fish in cycle you can't expect him.to halt water changes just to let it run its course. He made an obligation when buying those fish to do a fish in cycle so now he must do water changes or they die.

Op keep up with the water changes and do like I said in the last post. That's what you have to do in order for the danios to survive. While .5 isn't horrible its still ammonia. OP can you test your tap water for ammonia?

 

[Mr Fisher]

Prime is water conditioner. It's used to condition water. He is doing a fish in cycle you can't expect him.to halt water changes just to let it run its course. He made an obligation when buying those fish to do a fish in cycle so now he must do water changes or they die.

Op keep up with the water changes and do like I said in the last post. That's what you have to do in order for the danios to survive. While .5 isn't horrible its still ammonia. OP can you test your tap water for ammonia?

The point of my post was depending on when he's testing the ammonia reading is not accurate when using prime. API master kits and most test strips measure total ammonia (Ammonia & Ammonium) This may lead to "false alarms" and too many water changes will inhibit the growth of the nitrifying bacteria.

I do indeed agree with water changing on a fish in cycle.

 

[jwh0818]

Th point of my post was depending on when he's testing the ammonia reading is not accurate when using prime. API master kits and most test strips measure total ammonia (Ammonia & Ammonium) This may lead to "false alarms" and too many water changes will inhibit the growth of the nitrifying bacteria.

I do indeed agree with water changing on a fish in cycle.

While it does inhibit the bacteria growth its still needed. The fish will suffer otherwise. That's why most people recommend a fishless cycle because its easier and normally doesn't last as long.

 

[Hulka9]

So tested my faucet water for ammonia and it came out 1.0! No wonder they're struggling.

 

[jwh0818]

So tested my faucet water for ammonia and it came out 1.0! No wonder they're struggling.

There ya go. I would honestly retest the tap to be sure. Let it run a for 30 seconds before filling your test tube

 

[Hulka9]

I tested the water out of my fridge water dispenser and it came out the same way. What should I do?

 

[jwh0818]

I tested the water out of my fridge water dispenser and it came out the same way. What should I do?

There isn't much you can do but I know someone here has a plan for that. Give it a bit of time and they will answer

 

[Mebbid]

Prime converts the ammonia to ammonium. The reading your seeing is for total ammonia and not free ammonia. It's actually recommended to use a test that can measure both free and total ammonia when using prime.

Since prime "locks" the ammonia it may also inhibit the growth of nitrifying bacteria. That along with frequent water changing will actually inhibit the cycling process.

I may catch flack for this but I would stop the prime and use a regular water conditioner , stress coat by API works good and do 50% water changes every other day. It will cycle

Ammonium in the water can be used by beneficial bacteria just like regular ammonia. Separate ammonia tests are completely unnecessary

While it does inhibit the bacteria growth its still needed. The fish will suffer otherwise. That's why most people recommend a fishless cycle because its easier and normally doesn't last as long.

Water changes on a cycling tank wont inhibit bacterial growth at all. If there is any detectable ammonia in the water no number of partial water changes will remove it all.

I tested the water out of my fridge water dispenser and it came out the same way. What should I do?

There's a couple things you can do. There is an ammonia removing resin you can add to your filter, you can mix your tap water with ro water, or you can return the fish.