Understanding water test/ lowering ammonia

[Amaray]

I recently started up a tank. I used to keep bettas with my grandma (mostly just helped her feed them lol) and didn’t realize what care went into fish keeping. That being said, I had an impulse moment and bought a betta. I had him in a ten gallon alone but wanted to start a community because he didn’t seem aggressive. Since the only thing I ever kept were single bettas at a time, I didn’t know I couldn’t add multiple fish at once, should let the tank cycle before adding fish and so on. The store employee also didn’t let me know so I found this out after I had added more to the tank a week after the betta. I got a testing kit and the ammonia has been high so I’ve been doing daily water changes. It seems like the ammonia just won’t go down. The fish don’t seem in distress, but I am still worried.

I have 2 guppies
3 small albino Cory catfish
1 male betta


These are the readings I’m getting based on api master test kit:
PH 7.6

Hard PH 7.4

Ammonia .25

Nitrate between 0-5.0

Nitrite 0

I have tried adding the AmGuard ammonia neutrilazer in hopes to get it to 0 along with water changes but I’m having no luck. What else can I do? I have the Fluval Nano filter with 2 sponges and some bio rings and a small air stone set on a lower low. Also many live Anubias variations.

 

[Colin_T]

Anything that breaks down in the water, be it fish food, fish waste, dead plant, dead fish, etc, produce ammonia. In a healthy tank with an established filter, the ammonia is eaten by beneficial bacteria and converted into nitrite. You get more good bacteria that eat nitrite and convert it into nitrate. You get rid of nitrates by doing water changes.

In a new tank the bacteria is not normally present and you get a build up of ammonia that harms and can kill the fish. A few weeks after the tank has been set up, you get the first colonies of good bacteria that eat the ammonia. A couple of weeks after that you start to get the other good bacteria that eat the nitrite. It normally takes about 4-6 weeks for an aquarium to develop the colonies of good bacteria that keep the ammonia and nitrite levels at 0.

When the ammonia and nitrite levels have gone up and come back down to 0, and the nitrate levels start to go up, the tank will be considered cycled (developed the necessary good filter bacteria) and you can feed the fish once or twice a day and do a 75% water change once a week. Until then you keep feeding down and water changes up. By reducing the food going into the tank, you help to keep the ammonia levels lower. By doing big water changes, you help to dilute any ammonia in the water.

In a newly set up aquarium, you should feed the fish to 2-3 times per week. Don't worry, the fish won't starve. You should also do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate 4-8 hours after feeding. And you should monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels and do a 75% water change any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm.
*NB* Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

The big water changes will not harm the filter bacteria or fish as long as any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.