Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've been struggling with keeping my tank's water clean. It's a 5-gallon with a sponge filter, and I do 25% changes weekly. But the ammonia keeps creeping up. What am I missing?

Yo, sounds like your cycle's sketchy. You gotta test the water params more often, like every couple days. Also, how much you feeding? Overfeeding's a classic ammonia spike culprit.

I have the same issue. My tank is 3 gallons, and I change 20% every week. The ammonia is always high. Should I change more water?

nah, more changes ain't the fix. you gotta let the bacteria catch up. maybe cut it back to feeding once a day, tiny amounts. and def check your tap water for ammonia, some places got it in there already.

Rivera1 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 10, 2025 1:43 am Yo, sounds like your cycle's sketchy. You gotta test the water params more often, like every couple days. Also, how much you feeding? Overfeeding's a classic ammonia spike culprit.

I'm feeding twice a day, about 3 pellets each time. Maybe that's too much?

I use a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. It's more accurate than strips. Also, adding live plants like anubias can help absorb some of the waste.

sundog wrote: ↑Tue Jun 10, 2025 3:03 am

Rivera1 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 10, 2025 1:43 am Yo, sounds like your cycle's sketchy. You gotta test the water params more often, like every couple days. Also, how much you feeding? Overfeeding's a classic ammonia spike culprit.

I'm feeding twice a day, about 3 pellets each time. Maybe that's too much?

yep, that's prolly it. bettas don't need much. try once a day, 2 pellets max. and skip a day here and there. they're chill with it.

also, what kinda substrate you using? some of that fancy colored gravel can mess with the water. plain sand or small gravel's better.

I have colored gravel. Could that be the problem?

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll try cutting back on food and testing more often. I'll also look into live plants.