How can i get the ammonia down Please Help

This is sort of strange. If you have been doing weekly 25% water changes with gravel vaccums and it's been three months, even if you were fishy cycling, the cycle should be over by now. I would scower the tank and check for anything and everything that could be decaying. The filter you are using is good-if it's an aquaclear 20-though most of us like to overfilter our tanks. I have an aquaclear 20 and a whisper 10 on my 10 gallon, for example. Check the expiration date of your test kit and overdose prime or amquel +, also. What type of liquid test kit are you using?

If you friend has livebearers(mollies, guppies, platies, swordtails are some livebearers)that are commonly sold it would be almost impossible for her to NOT have babies. You can have an ammonia spike and still have crystal clear water.
 
Are you cleaning out all your filter media in Tap Water every time you do a water change? If so you are killing off the beneficial bacteria, which probably caused a mini-cycle. You should be gently squeezing/rinsing your filter media in a bucket of tank water removed during your water change instead.
 
Are you cleaning out all your filter media in Tap Water every time you do a water change? If so you are killing off the beneficial bacteria, which probably caused a mini-cycle. You should be gently squeezing/rinsing your filter media in a bucket of tank water removed during your water change instead.


I am not cleaning filter with tap water at all
 
Hmm, strange. Well until you can find the source of the Ammonia, just keep up with the frequent water changes. I would do larger water changes as well. Do 50% changes instead of 25% to keep the ammonia at bay.
 
How are your fish acting? Are they healthy or sick looking? If they are acting normal and look healthy, you may have a defective test kit.
 
How are your fish acting? Are they healthy or sick looking? If they are acting normal and look healthy, you may have a defective test kit.

The hatchet fish are acting fine. The three bleeding heart fish are usually just sitting in one place not moving much.
 
Just got home from work and the ammonia is down from 8.0 to 4.0 things may be going in the right direction
 
they may... but i find it hard to believe (ok, i dont believe) that your fish are living "ok" in 8 OR 4.0 ammonia.

i would question your test kit's validity. if it is proven to be ok... then start changing water.

if 25% isnt enough, do it again.
if a gravel vac doesnt clean all the food out, do it again. it wont hurt to do it twice, but you need to get all that food out, and if you cant get all the excess food out with one gravel vac, you are overfeeding probably 10x what the fish need.
 
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