OK- it is still hard to read your colors as displayed. But before you start doing a lot of thing not needed and which will slow any cycling, lets consider some info.
Ammonia (
NH3) when dissolved in water turns mostly into ammonium (
NH4) which is nowhere near as toxic as ammonia itself. Most hobby kits measure Total Ammonia (
TA) which is the sum of the two forms.
How much of any TA is in each forms depends upon the pH and temperature of the water. In your post above you reported the pH as 5.8. From what I can tell from your pic it is possible it is actually higher. But lets be safe and call it 6.5. Also, I consider ammonia to be starting to do harm to some things at 0.05 ppm and by 0.10 it is doings so for sure the longer a fish is exposed.
So I ran the pH pf 6.5 and the temp. of 76F. Since I am not sure of your
TA reading, I ran several different concentrations.
TA NH3 NH4
.50 .0009 .50
1.0 .0018 1.0
2.0 .0035 2.0
3.0 .0053 3.0
5.0 .0088 5.0
Now think about this- the actually level of toxic ammonia is not harming your fish at even 5.0 of
TA. However.
NH4 is not harmless. I suggest one can have fish in up to 2 ppm of NH4 as long as the toxic component of
NH3 is under .05 ppm. But NH4 can still cause external burns and do harm to gills if it is allowed to get too high or, even at lower levels, to persist for any lengths of time.
As for Nitrite, unlike ammonia, it can be blocked from enter the fish's system. When it can here is what it does:
Fortunately, there is a way to prevent nitrite from entering the fish. it normally enters through the gills. However, the presence of chloride in the water blocks this from happening. Chloride is cheap and easy to get and to use as it is part of ordinary table salt aka sodium chloride. So, instead of a disruptive to fish water change because of nitrite , one can add a small amount of salt to a tank until the nitrite is handled. The article to which I Iinked you in my earlier post details exactly how to calculate the amount of salt you need. It is a step-by-step easy to understand set of directions.
As far as I am concerned your tank doesn't need a water change at this time. The only number which can become a problem would be nitrite which should be kept at 20 ppm or less. But if it has to be a bit higher for a number of days to get the cycle right. That would be OK.
I am one who believes that some of the problems caused by having to cycle with fish present it that the ammonia and nitrite, when present above specific levels are stressful to fish which weakens their immune system and their ability to fight things off. Most fish tend to hide when we do our regular maintenance and water changes. They hide because they are scared. This magnifies the effects of exposure to ammonia and nitrite. It also tends to extend the time it takes to complete a cycle.
I have paid for my hobby from breeding plecos. How can you say this is ugly?
(In order, nitrites, ammonia, nitrates)
