Ammonia levels in tank

[Puddlenewts]

Hi, so we got a water testing kit and when we run the ammonia test it at a 2-3 range everytime we test it, we do partial water replacements everyday , but just wondering if this is a bad environment for our baby salamders? they seem to be healthy but not sure what the appropraite level is for living conditions. We tested the tap water and it has 0. any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Chinadog]

Ammonia should not be measurable in an established tank, but until it is fully cycled you will get readings like that. Anything above 1.2ppm can be toxic, so carry on doing the partial water changes to keep it as low as possible and watch the salamanders for stress. One of the first signs is when they scratch at their gills with their back feet or roll over and scratch themselves on the bottom. You can kick start the cycle by adding lots of live plants and filter media from a cycled tank if that's an option.

 

[Puddlenewts]

Ok thanks for the info!