Ammonia .25-.50, Nitrites and Nitrates 0 ppm

[fishsafari]

What does it mean when Ammonia is up, and Nitrites and Nitrates aren't? I thought that Ammonia would convert to Nitrite, which is very toxic to fish, so that if Ammonia was up, I'd have some level of corresponding Nitrites. And, followup question, if Ammonia gets high and Nitrites and Nitrates are low, does that mean my tank biological filtration is starting to work?

Now, for the numbers:

I have an 29 gallon aquarium that is a few weeks old now. I've been cycling with Flame Tetra, and added some fish so that currently it is stocked as follows:

6 Flame Tetra
2 Bumblebee Gobies
Pennywort
Another plant, which I have temporarily forgotten the name of

The ammonia level went up yesterday in the neighborhood of 1.0 ppm, and Nitrites were about .25, Nitrates 5.0.

There were some dead leaves in the tank from the Pennywort. I changed the water out, maybe 30%, and cleaned all the leaf debris.

This morning's tests:

Ammonia .25-.50 ppm
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0

I did read the e-book on this site before asking this question.

[Lady Hobbs]

Your ammonia has not had time to convert yet OR.....you have disturbed the cycling process by cleaning the filter. You should have started with just a few fish and added no more until those had cycled the tank. Then wait a couple weeks and add a very few more and wait it out again. You continue in this manner until you have a cycled tank and all the fish you wanted for the tank.

I am moving this to the cycling thread but please read my link regarding cycling with fish. And pick up some Tetra SafeStart or Seachems Stability to help your fish stay alive. Don't let ammonia get up any more than what it is and do not over-fed. Rotting food causes more ammonia. Make sure you always use dechlorinator.

[fishsafari]

Thanks for the answer, sorry about posting in the wrong area.
I'll get the hang of the neighborhood soon, hopefully.

I probably should given a little more tank information and history with my question.

My filter is a Marineland 200, temperature about 78 degrees.

I set up the tank and ran it for a day or so, then added Stability according to the instructions every day for a week. Then I added 4 Flame Tetra, continued to test water, add Stability with water changes, and I have rinsed the filter, but only one time, in the tank water I had taken out during a water change.

After about two weeks of that, I added 2 more Flame Tetras, and the 2 Bumblebees, and continued with above. I wanted a couple of plants, and added two maybe a week later.

The Bumblebees were a mistake, I know now, for more than one reason. The Tetras are really active feeders, and there is almost no way to feed Black Worms to the Gobies without having the Tetras get them. So, I have probably overfed to some degree trying to get worms to Gobies. (I'm setting up another tank now to put them in, and do not want to make the same mistake I did with this one.)

I wish I'd taken better notes of all my tests, but I'm pretty sure I've had Nitrites go up, then down, which made me think things were clicking along.

[SwordTaleLair]

Not sure how active the bumblebees are, but I have a dragon goby myself with the same problem - slow eater. Its just the way they are.

What I do is feed the fast fish first, and then take a small tube [like a 1/2" pvc pipe to length] and take the sinking food and dispense it directly in front of and above my goby. This gives him a chance to get some food before the faster fish get to it.

May take some practice, but is an idea to use until you get your second tank going.

STL

[fishsafari]

That's a good feeding suggestion, thanks! The Gobies are a little more active today, chasing each other around, and so are the Tetras. Maybe they'll start to stand up for themselves.

[Lady Hobbs]

Sounds like you have done everything right. Have you tested your tap water for ammonia levels. Sounds like something perhaps set the tank back a bit but not sure what. Have you cleaned the gravel to remove left over worms that haven't gotten eaten?

[fishsafari]

I have attempted to clean the gravel, but I have probably not done so effectively. The Gobies are passive and there's one that hides a lot and blends in to my gravel so I am afraid to suck him up!

I will try again today and see how it goes.