Ive poisoned my fish and feel terrible. Need Help!!

Question
I'm new to fish keeping, and have made the typical rookie mistake.  I purchased a 10 gallon tank about a month ago and stocked it with (2) glowlight tetras (2) mickey mouse platys (2) whitecloud mountain minnows and (1) sailfin pleco.  After doing some serious reading (which I should have done before purchasing the fish) I now realize that the tank is totally overstocked.  Unsurprisingly, I tested my water three days ago and found an enormous ammonia spike (off the testing chart!).  I've been doing 30% water changes every day since, but the levels don't seem to be coming down, and I am terrified that I have irreparably damaged my fish, and feel terrible!  I have not added any ammo-chips or anything of that nature for fear of upsetting the tank even more.  I have since moved all the fish, except for the two tetras to another 10 gallon tank, which is also not yet established, but does not yet have any ammonia build up, hoping to give them a break from the extremely high levels of ammonia.  Was this a huge mistake??  I just purchased an additional 29 gallon tank, which I plan to use for the platys and pleco once I get it set up.  I realize that the fish will all have to go through a nitrogen cycle in their new tanks, but am hoping that since the tanks will not be overstocked, that the ammonia levels won't spike as high.  The platys appear quite red around the gills.  Can they recover from this, and what is the best way to help them?  I would appreciate any help you can give me on this matter.  I know I haven't had these fish very long, but am already quite attached to them!

Answer
Good evening Annette, thank you for your question.

I am very glad to see you have done some reading. That really is the best way to become a better fishkeeper. You seem to understand that - I see success in your future!

The reason why you are seeing these ammonia spikes is not due to the stocking level - which is a little high, but trust me, I have heard of much worse. You already have done the best you can do and purchased a bigger tank. Once you get it established, that 29 gallon tank is going to be much easier to keep stable. Water quality is generally better in a larger tank with more volume and surface area.

If you want a quick fix to your problems, you can add Bio-Spira. It's about $20 for 1 oz, which will treat your 29 gallon tank. It's the only refrigerated bacterial starter product out there, and is therefore the only one that can cycle your tank immediately. If you follow the directions, it will have your tank cycled in a flash.

Off-the-shelf bacterial starters such as Stability and Cycle have their merit, in my opinion (although this is under debate in the fishkeeping world) so you may consider one of these instead of the Bio-Spira. Not as effective and not instantaneous, for sure, but - you get what you pay for.

What you really need to be doing now is what you have been doing - performing some water changes with dechlorinated tap water of the same temperature. You can change 30% at one time and then another 30% at another time of the day safely. Don't worry, the levels will come down eventually!

The Ammo Chips are made of Zeolite, which will help in an emergency, but in a newly established tank will interfere with cycling. Prime will neutralize ammonia in an emergency, that and the ease of dosing (3 drops per gallon) make it my dechlorinator of choice. Pick some up, if you can.

An inhumane and unnecessary practice to be sure, but cycling with hardy fish is done by many aquarists *on purpose* - at least you didn't knowingly inflict this onto your fish.

Aquarium salt will help you with the nitrite poisoning, but will be disliked by your pleco, so dose conservatively - 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons. It does not evaporate, so don't keep adding more and more - just add another teaspoon when you have eventually replaced 10 gallons (100%) of your water. At your rate, it will be fairly soon! Rock salt or kosher salt works too, and dissolve it in a warm glass of drinking (or dechlorinated) water and pour it into the tank - this applies it faster and will distribute it more evenly.

I hope that helps. Check out this website, which describes your problem (an as yet uncycled tank, with fish in it):
http://www.fishforever.co.uk/cycling.html

Also, have a look at these two websites:
http://freshaquarium.about.com
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/

Both are packed with useful information. For beginner and more advanced aquarist alike!

Good luck to you, feel free to write again. I hope your 29 gallon tank is cycled soon! You'll really enjoy having it, it will be much less trouble to maintain, too.

Nicole