rickyscivic

I started my tank up and added conditioner and bacteria supplement and about a week later i added 3 neon tetras. 2 died and when i returned them i got the water tested and the amonia was high. I changed 20% of the water (as petsmart said) and added 2 more. What else should I do?

susitna-flower

Since the ammonia was high, you have to understand that the "bacterial supplement" you added, was not one that accomplished jump starting the nitrogen cycle. The only one I know of and have used that does this is bio-spira.

I advocate using the fishless cycle. You can read about it at the following links.

http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

and

2 Ammonia methods of cycling your fishless tank

With fish in your tank, you will need to test your water every day and change 25-50 % of your water every day to keep your fish healthy. This drags out the cycle process from what should have lasted 2 weeks to between 6-8 weeks!

The test kit most here use is the API mastertest kit (liquid). My suggestion is to do the tests yourself, and chart the progress, so you have a good idea just how long it takes, and what the readings actually are, for future reference. Good Luck