Trying to cycle a 2.5 gallon betta tank.

How did you seed the tank, with an ornament, gravel, filter?

I used a plastic plant .

Okay, you can bump up your food "feedings" to once a day until you start to see your ammonia.

Is the plant actively growing? Cycling is much different with plants and if you have enough fast growing plants you will never actually see ammonia because the plants (if actively growing) will consume the ammonia before it ever gets to the bacteria. Bacteria will grow but it just takes longer, in that time though the plants do keep the fish safe but you need enough of them that are growing well to be considered doing the Silent Cycle.

OK thanks I will... Its hard to tell if the plants are growing because they are all mixed together. I will try to keep an eye on them. Also I am add small amounts of liquid carbon and fertilizer for the plants (seachem excel and florish).

Okay! Well if you get them growing well enough then you won't have to worry too much about the cycle since, as I said, they will protect the fish from harmful ammonia ^_^

Sounds good... Thanks for the advice!☺

If you are seeding a new tank you shouldn't see ammonia either. The piece you moved over brought a bacteria colony with it, and that will spread throughout the tank.

Think of it like this - plants and bacteria work together to provide complete filtration (0 ammonia and 0 nitrite). In a tank with no plants, bacteria accounts for 100%. In a tank with just plants and no filter, the plants account for 100%. In a blended tank, the plants and bacteria split the job. May be 80/20, 60/40 or 50/50 - depends entirely on the setup. That split is not static either. It can take plants time to be able to handle a bioload so the split is likely to change over time.

Thanks for the reply... I think i continue adding the food anyway to keep the bacteria alive as i am still shopping for the betta i want..:-D