honeybunny

my tank is cycled but for some reason the ammonia has gone up to 2.0 PPM the nitrite is at 1 ppm and the nitrate is at 10 ppm. is the readings normal or towards the high side. if it is high what can i do to fix the problem. the fish looks normal they are swimming around fighting for food. normal cichlid stuff.

sgould

You should not have any ammonia or nitrite at all. If the tank was cycled, it isn't anymore. Has anything changed recently? Added fish? Changed the filter, or rinsed it in tap water? Are all fish accounted for, or are any missing? How long has the tank been set up? How are you testing (liquid or strips)?

Answers to those questions can help diagnose why the tank is going through another cycle. Reguardless, you have toxic levels of both ammonia and nitrite. Do a 50% water change as soon as you possibly can. After the change, wait a few hours and test again, and let us know the results.

sgould

You might also use a water conditioner called Prime...which will detoxify the remaining ammonia and nitrite to further protect your fish until this cycle can finish.

COBettaCouple

How often do you clean the substrate? With those fish, the problem might be in the amount of waste produced.