2 weeks into my first tank. It is a twenty gallon. I was testing daily for everything except ammonia. A week in and I noticed my three zebra danios developed red gills. I tested for ammonia and it was through the roof. Did two 25% percent water changes and have done 10% daily changes since then. My ammonia is still a little high, but no trace of nitrates yet. Am I delaying the cycle by doing water changes?
2 weeks into a new tank
- Thread starter cmd22776
- Start date
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Bbush
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Are u the one that was using the strips to test w? To answer about water changes. U could be slowing the cycle, but I was told to keep doing them any way. What about nitrites?
butterfly_koi
Aquarium Advice Addict
cmd22776 said:
Keep up with the water changes, it will take a bit for the nitrates to set in. the red gills is a sign of ammonia poisoning. water changes will be your best friend at this point and time
Welcome to AA by the way!
butterfly_koi
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yes they are Hardy little fish but can be affected by the ammonia like any other fish could. Your ammonia is going to be high its the first step in the cycle. keep doing the pwc's, keep a close eye on the fish and test the water daily. Keep us posted and don't be afraid to ask questions 
librarygirl
Look It Up
The cycle won't be affected much by water changes no, but with fish in the tank you really don't have any other option. Ammonia is toxic and can cause burns and other illnesses. Depending on how high ammonia is, you might need to increase your water changes; 25% won't cut it if ammonia is over .25. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html
christine2012
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Just for the record, I did daily 50% pwcs during my 55g fish in cycle. Its what I had to do to keep my stock alive. My cycle was roughly 8 weeks long. It did not stall out at all. At this point, you have no choice but to do water changes. Good luck! !
tamtam
Aquarium Advice Addict
Is there a reason why you were testing everything but ammonia? In the beginning it's the most important thing to be testing for. As mentioned you are probably going to have to do more than 25% changes daily. Very little BB are in your water, changing it out isn't going to really upset anything.
Water changes are a necessary thing if you are doing a fish in cycle, if you haven't yet I'd strongly suggest reading the article that librarygirl posted. It really helps break things down in an understandable way! The redness is going away because you are starting to control your ammonia levels, you are probably going to have to continue with daily changes for a while.. couple weeks at least.Once you start getting nitrites keep in mind they are also harmful to your fish and you need to treat them the same way as ammonia.
Do you use anything like prime? If not you may want to look into it, it will help detoxify the ammonia and make it easier on your fish.
Water changes are a necessary thing if you are doing a fish in cycle, if you haven't yet I'd strongly suggest reading the article that librarygirl posted. It really helps break things down in an understandable way! The redness is going away because you are starting to control your ammonia levels, you are probably going to have to continue with daily changes for a while.. couple weeks at least.Once you start getting nitrites keep in mind they are also harmful to your fish and you need to treat them the same way as ammonia.
Do you use anything like prime? If not you may want to look into it, it will help detoxify the ammonia and make it easier on your fish.
I didn't test for ammonia due to the test kit I bought tested for everything but that. I guess the thing I need to do is continue with the daily water changes. The tank will begin to cycle eventually. Just use patience. Thanks for the advice everyone.
tamtam
Aquarium Advice Addict
ahh that sucks. Strange too. Yea it's a slow process you are probably looking at several weeks(6-8). The conversion to ammonia to nitrites is faster than the nitrites to nitrates too, lots of people get really frustrated in the final leg because it doesn't feel like things are moving at all.
good luck!
