Had to move my loaches from 29 gal to a 10 gal tank since my GF needed medication. Now I'm going thru the ammonia cycle in the new 10 gallon with my 4 loaches. I want to help my poor little ones get thru this awful phase and used the "Ammonia Clear" tabs to reduce the level a little. It is at "stress level" on the meter inside of tank. It has been 9 days since the transfer. Is there any way to help them thru this to reduce the stress??
At least they are moving around a little now and eating. Any suggestions??
Can I continue using Ammonia Clear tablets?
Use Prime if you can get it. It changes it to a non-toxic form, but you still lets you build up your biofilter. It also netralizes nitrates and nitrites
Here's the blurb from their website:
Prime™ is the complete and concentrated conditioner for both fresh and salt water. Prime™ removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. Prime™ converts ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily removed by the tank’s biofilter. Prime™ may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity. Prime™ detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concentration levels.Prime™ also promotes the production and regeneration of the natural slime coat. Prime™ is non-acidic and will not impact pH. Prime™ will not overactivate skimmers. Use at start-up and whenever adding or replacing water
Really removing ammonia would be counter-productive, this will delay the time the cycle is established.
One solution is to lower the pH to about 6.2-6.4. At low pH ammonia becomes ammonium which is non-toxic but still contributes to the cycle. Prime (and others) do the same conversion.