Q&A: Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ph? | Tampa Bay Florida Fishing Guide
You aren’t going to be able to have very many fish in a 5 gallon – they say the rule of thumb is “1 inch of fish per gallon” but I don’t think that’s entirely accurate considering some fish have a lot more girth than others of the same length... Nitrite is more harmful in smaller levels to your fish than ammonia, so it’s even more crucial to keep an eye on your tests for it. Same principle… when the nitrite is readable on your test strips, do a partial water change. Your partial water changes will help keep these chemicals at healthy, low levels for your fish, and are important even after your tank has cycled. The ammonia at first may reach scary levels, and when it does, (actually, when it increases at all you should do this), that is when you need to do a partial water change to reduce the levels so your fish doesn’t suffer. NEVER clean the bucket with soap, and when you add water back to the tank, never use a container that has had soap used in it. I suggest Prime water treatment… You have to remove chlorine from your water usually, and the great thing about Prime is... You cycle the tank by adding a SMALL number of fish. MAKE A PRACTICE OF RINSING YOUR FILTER AND YOU CHARCOAL WHEN YOU DO A WATER CHANGE AND THEN CHANGE ATLEST EVERY 2 MONTHS MOST CASES MONTHLY BUT WITH A BETTA BI-MONTHLY WILL BE FINE WITH RINSING IN BETWEEN IF YOU HAVE CITY WATER(CHLORINATED) PUT IN... Be sure before you add that fish that you have allowed the new water to “age” for about 24 hours. Ammonia occurs as a result of fish waste and uneaten food, but is necessary to start the biological “cycle”. with a 5 gallon, I would only add one fish at first. You just remove however much water you think is needed (use your own judgement… if your ammonia levels are through the roof, 50 – 75% may be needed, if it’s just a routine maintenance and you do frequent water changes, you may be able to get away... IT’S LIKE YOUR BATH WATER, WOULD YOU WANT TO ALWAYS USE THE SAME BATH WATER. Eventually (a few weeks, usually), both ammonia and nitrite will be at 0 or close to it, due to the new production of nitrATE, which is typically not harmful and means your tank is “cycled”. GET SIMPLE TEST STRIPS FROM YOUR PET STORE AND CHECK WEEKLY, GO TO THE LIBRARY AND GET “FRESHWATER AQUARIUMS FOR DUMMIES” THIS IS A GREAT BOOK AND I REFER TO IT OFTEN IT IS VERY SIMPLE AND EASILY UNDERSTOOD. DO NOT FRET WITH A FRESHWATER AQUARIUM IT IS MUCH EASIER THAN SALT WATER. Eventually, you’ll begin seeing a decrease in the ammonia levels going up and an increase in nitrite levels. Think of it like this: nitrITE eats the ammonia, and nitrATE eats the nitrite. THE MAIN THING YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IN FRESHWATER IS AMMONIA.
