Quick question about my water...

[BettaMama11]

I tested my 10G's water today for the first time, and just wanted to know if my water is ready for fish! The tank has been cycling for about a month =)

[turtle10]

It looks like there is a bit of ammonia, but no nitrates. How did you cycle your tank?

[BettaMama11]

shrimp...

[turtle10]

Okay well your tank isn't cycled if there is still ammonia present. Also, there don't seem to be nitrates present.

[BettaMama11]

ohhhhhh...oops :( what level are the nitrates supposed to be?? I held the ammonia one up where the light is better and it looks more 0 ppm than the 0.25 it seems to look like in the picture...Oh dear..looks like I jumped the gun. I feel awful!!!!! :*(

[turtle10]

Ammonia and nitrites should be totally at zero, and nitrates should be below 10ppm but still present. No nitrates mean there is an absence of one of the bacterias. Did you test it as the cycle progressed?

[BettaMama11]

Well yes and no..I didn't have the money for the test kit, so I waited and bought it on sale online it just arrived =*( I did take a water sample to petco to get tested almost a week and a half ago and the lady said my water was fine... :S

[turtle10]

Well for petco fine may mean lots of different things. When cycling a tank you really want to test the water at least every few days to track the cycle and make sure it is actually progressing. If you were cycling, you should have asked her the specific levels, they are really important.

Is the shrimp raw or cooked?

[BettaMama11]

=(...the shrimp was raw...

[turtle10]

Okay good. Some people used cooked shrimp and that just doesn't work lol. I would start monitoring the levels now.

This is going to be really gross, but I suggest giving the shrimp a good squeeze to break him down a bit more.