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This has got me puzzled. I have two tanks both 26ltrs or 6.8 gallons. Both have a seeded sponge filter. Both had sand substrate. Both had a little planting of wisteria.

Tank one had cory fry. Tank two had 2 pepper cories.
Both tanks read Ammonia .25 Nitrites 0 and this is the best bit Nitrates 10.
I have been vac all uneaten food and doing partial wc daily for the fry.
I have since removed what was left alive of the fry, and the two peppers from these odd tanks.

Here's the really puzzling part. I vacuumed all sand from the pepper tank, leaving only 1/2 the tank with the plants in gravel. I changed 50% of the water and did an ammonia reading. Still .25!

I checked the tap water for ammonia, 0.

I am just at a loss. Could it be these useless sponge filters or something? Now I have 2 tanks with nothing in them.

Hi Brengun,
Put the shovel away..

Out of curiosity, did you wait 24 hours or so before
performing the second test?

0.25 is a very low ammonia reading and while "we" want
a zero reading, sometimes the water conditioners that
we use simply change the molecule of ammonia to a non
lethal form. However, the test kit does not discern
between the "varieties" ammonia molecules that it tests
for and will always give a reading, even when the lethal
form is non-existent.
A Nitrite reading of Zero, combined with a healthy reading
of Nitrate is an indication that the tank is actually just
fine.

In reading the narrative, it sounds like you have one
tank, the one that had the "Peppers" in it, now sitting
with half the bottom bare glass and the other half still
has the gravel and some plants in it?

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

It might be possible that the sponge filters have collected enough decaying matter to actually cause greater ammonia input than the fish themselves... I doubt it, though. If the sponge filters appear nasty, it may be a good idea to rinse them off with tank water in a bucket to get them free of decaying matter.

I bet FRANK is more on the right track, though, lol. Just trying to throw out an alternative possible scenario.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I have removed all sand from both tanks leaving just 1/2 of the pepper tank with gravel and the fry tank with nothing but glass.

I rinsed the filter from the fry tank (yuck) but the pepper one didn't look too bad so I left it.

I changed 80% of the fry water but left the pepper water as I had already done a 50% wc.

I will wait now for 24hrs and see what readings I get from both tanks.
I am not putting fish in until I am sure.

A reading of just .25 ammonia nearly wiped out all my fry and those left are now in a net in the parent tank. Why the nitrites didn't kick in and lower the level of ammonia I don't know. They have got to be present otherwise how are nitrates surviving?

Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0 , Nitrates 5 to 10.
Now thats what I'm talkin about.

lol sounds puuuuuurfect! Every fishkeeper's dream numbers!

hey Bren, just curious but what dechlor are you using?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett