Are you trreating for ammonia with some kind of chemical. Those chemicals as well as dechlorinators have a side effect of locking up oxygen. Plus the ammonia lock still tests positive for ammonia with common test kits. So the problem is you test for ammonia, add more chemicals and still test for ammonia. All the while locking up more and more oxygen so the danger is the fish could suffocate.

I also would not adjust the pH.


You should not add fish until ammonia tests 0. Add live plants and wait. Plus stop adding food until nitrItes are 0.

Some fish like gold fish and rams will attack the plants. What I would do is setup a partition so you have a small plant partition and a larger fish/swimming area.

my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden