help with ammonia ?

Question
i have had my tank about 6 weeeks its 30 gallons i have two gouramis,one dino eel, three barbs,albino(somthing),one tiger clown,striped catfish.i have learned a lot in 6 weeks i have water changed once and haven't lost one yet but i can't get the ammonia level to go down to zero the ph level is the same it to is high i have cut back on food to once a day i have added jungle ammonia clear tabs. what should i do? before my fish start dying? ph-7.2 ammonia-2.0-4.0 nitrate 0.25 thanks

Answer
Hi Sherli;

Your pH is just great, so don't try to change it. Changing the pH causes the fish more stress than letting them get used to one we think is "not quite right". Most tanks just have a certain pH they like to sit on. The fish we keep now have been captive bred for many generations and are very flexible. They can live just fine in a wide range of pH values. So, as long as the pH stays at about 7.2 all the time they will be fine. Again, fluctuations are what hurts fish. Keep up with water changes, don't overfeed or overstock and it will be just fine. A normal maintenance schedule is to replace 25% of the water every week. It is really important for the health of all your fish. It keeps nitrates down, helps their immunity and helps them grow.

It is possible that your ammonia levels are not elevated at all. When using products that remove ammonia you have to be sure your test kit does not have "nessler reagents" in it. Nessler reagents cause a false positive when ammonia removers are used. Check the label. It should tell you.

If the ammonia is indeed elevated, make a water change of 25% daily until it goes down and stays there. It was probably caused by overfeeding. We all do it from time to time, we just have to clean up after ourselves when we do. Check to be sure there isn't ugly crud in the gravel. If there is, vacuum it lightly to get some of it out. Don't overdo the vacuuming or it will cause problems in the biological balance that has been stabilizing for 6 weeks. Special bacteria lives there that consumes fish waste. Overcleaning will kill some of it and cause more ammonia problems. The same thing occurs if the filter is cleaned too often. The beneficial bacteria is killed and toxins rise. Filter pads should only be replaced when they are literally falling apart. In between, rinse them in a container of tank water to keep them flowing freely. Filter companies tell you otherwise, but remember; they want as much of your money as they can get from you in new filter material.

Here is a link to a good article about feeding your fish;

http://www.bestfish.com/overfeed.html

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins