Hello,

I started up a new 29 gallon a week ago with BioSpira and I currently have 2 goldfish in the tank who are quite happy and active. I have been testing the water every other day and have found that the nitrates started to come up after the tank was up for a day. The nitrates have been slowly but steadily been coming up (tonight they were at 8ppm) and the nitites have been at 0 ppm. My question is this: A few days ago, the ammonia went up to 0.25ppm frpm 0 ppm and it was 0.25ppm again tonight. Is this level of ammonia ok? I know that it is best to have ammonia at 0 ppm. Is 0.25 ppm normal for a cycling tank that has been treated with BioSpira...or maybe am I overfeeding my fish? Again, both of my fish seem to be doing quite well. Thank you for your help and advice.

Ammonia shld always be keep as low as possible, best at ZERO... This ammonia may not be toxic to your fishes at the moment, but the ammonia definitely stressing your fish out or damaging them slowly in many ways.. If the ph of the water is more than 8.5, then ammonia is more toxic will can wipe out ALL fishes overnight...

Reduce feeding or simply remove excessive poop or introduce water change more frequently.. I change my water almost every 2 - 3 days jus to keep the ammonia low to zero, for I can't bear to see my fishes begging for food and I enjoy feeding them.. I am training them to eat from my hand too!!

Oh, Best to have plants in the tank.. This will keep nitrAte down (provided ample lighting is given).. Otherwise, you will also need to change water very frequently too...

It is normal for the ammonia to waver a little in a brand new tank, even one cycled with biospira. It'll take a couple of weeks to settle down completely. However, during this time you should only feed sparingly - once a day, as much as they can eat within 2 minutes and no food left floating afterwards - is best.

As a rule of thumb, goldfish can tolerate ammonia levels up to 2 or 3 - although it certainly isn't good for them - depending on the tank pH and the breed of goldfish; some are hardier than others. Above this level however is when they begin to get burned and suffer badly. A nitrite level of above 2 is similarly toxic. Nitrates are
far less toxic however and it is normal for these to rise over time (hence doing partial weekly water changes). Just try to keep them under 20 ppm.

Hope this helps.



Water-quality is not the only problem which arises from over-feeding by the way; digestive problems and obesity can also be highly dangerous to fish over time. Many fish nowadays die from fatty liver disease, whcih is caused by overfeeding or feeding incorrect foods, so don't be too tempted to stuff your fish! Remember that in the wild fish eat only very tiny amounts which they have to search for continually through the day - they certainly don't have large regular meals supplemented by snacks delivered straight to them. Your fish will keep begging for food even when they are not actually hungry because this constant browsing instinct is very strong, but that does not mean you should keep feeding them.

Thank you so much for all of your advice. I am going to cut back on feeding my fish once a day and see if this helps. I've also been looking into putting plants in the tank as well. Another question for you:

Should I do a water change in the tank to help with the ammonia even if the tank has only been cycling with Biospira for a week?

The man at the fish store told us we should wait about a month before doing a water change with Biospira in the tank. Does this sound accurate?

Thank you again for your help!

As long as the ammonia does not rise above .5 at most, then there is no need to change any water. The cycle will gradually sort itself out and the ammonia will drop. If the ammonia DOES rise above .5 however then yes - do water changes immediately to bring them back down.

What is the temp and pH of your tank? I wouldn't do a water change for only .5 ammonia. Even if your pH and temp were on the high end, this level wouldn't kill your fish. If you tell me your pH and tank temp, I can advise you on what your "safe" limit is.

I wouldn't suggest you do a water change just yet, but if you find the ammonia is rising a bit higher than you'd like, use an ammonia binder. This way the ammonia won't be damaging to your fish, but it will still be available for those biobugs the BioSpira added to your tank.

If you're having a problem with ammonia, feeding even less, once every few days rather than once every day, would be even better.

Good luck.

The pH of the tank is about 7.6 and the temperature is 68 F. I have been feeding my fish less and tested the ammonia again tonight and it has gone down slightly to 0.15 from 0.25 ppm.

Thank you everyone for your help!

Glad to hear conditions are improving, SminiFish. With a pH of 7.6 and a temp of 68*F, you want to keep your ammonia below 2ppm. Sounds like that won't be any problem now.

Good luck.

Thank you everyone for your help!