Help ammonia levels won't go down!!!

I have a 20 gallon tank. I set it up 2 weeks ago from today [April 29th,09] and started cycling it with 2 Dwarf Gourami's [one died though. I think they where both males even though the girl at the pet store told me they weren't]. After that I added 2 Silver Dollars [I guess 1 went into shock or the Dwarf Gourami started nipping at the Silver Dollars fins and it just laid on the bottom of then tank sideways and it went and hid so I took both of them back] then after that I got 2 juvenile Anglefish they seem to be doing great.{Knock on wood} but I just cannot seem to get my ammonia levels to go down! The Petsmart associate recommended "Prime" so I've been using it for about 2 days now the first day I made a 25% and the second day I made a 50% water change but it still didn't go down [Both water changes I've also added the beneficial bacteria from Top Fin I don't know if that does anything to ammonia levels but I am just trying to cycle my tank faster]. Everywhere I've read "Prime" turns ammonia into something that is not as toxic. The fish seem to be doing fine but the ammonia levels are still high or am I getting false readings??? Do you think that the tank is overstocked?
Please help.

P.S.-I can't post up pictures if you want to see...

Welcome to our forum. Cycling a 20 gallon will take about a month, but there are some ways to speed the process. You can add live plants and/or live bacteria. Some water conditioners just help the beneficial bacteria grow, but they do not have the actual bacteria colonies. A few other things on the market do have the beneficial bacteria; you do need to read the label. In any case, your fish are getting sick, because the aquarium has toxic ammonia and nitrites. Beneficial bacteria digest the toxins and turn them into harmless substances; the process of nitrogen cycling establishes the bacterial colonies. Since you already have fish and probably ammonia in the aquarium, the best way to control it is a series of partial water changes (20 percent or so) every day for a week. You also need a test kit that measures ammonia and another one that measures nitrite (NO2, not NO3). When those two toxins are at zero, the fish will be healthy, and you can start researching species compatibility.

They seldom tell you about the nitrogen cycle in aquarium shops, but it's the most important aspect of establishing a new aquarium. You can read more about it in some of our blogs.

I hope some of this helped. Please keep us updated.

Thanks for the information it was really helpful!

I have another question. My Nitrite levels are high. How do I lower them?The lady at Petsmart told me to make a 25% water change but I've been doing that to control the ammonia levels now the Nitrite is high? Is this a good sing should I just leave it alone and let Mother Nature do it's thing? Also has anybody used Jungle Test Strips? Are they good because I think they give me false readings.

The fact that your nitrites are high is both good and bad. Good because that means you have enough bacteria to turn the ammonia into nitrite, but bad because you do not yet have enough bacteria to turn the nitrite into nitrate. Nitrite is just as bad for your fish as ammonia. All all I can think to recommend at this late hour is to keep up with the daily water changes. It seems as though your cycle is moving on. Next you should see the nitrites go down and nitrates go up. In the end you will want 0 ammonia and nitrites and less than 20 ppm of nitrate. As for the test strips, I do not use them. I use a test tube/reagent system that gives more accurate results. As far as I know, the test strips are good for giving you a ballpark figure of where you parameters are.

Jungle test strips are one of the best, in my opinion.

If they get damp inside their container, the test strips will not work.

Thanks for all yall's adivce.
I just tested the water right now and this is what it's telling me...
[I have two Ammonia test kits one constantly tells me the level.]
Both tests always have different readings so I don't really ever know if it's accurate or not.

Ammonia [Constant one]- 0.10ppm ish? Maybe more =/

Ammonia [Test strip] - .5-3.0ppm

Nitrate-0ppm

Nitrite-Hmm looks between 3.0-5.0ppm

Total Hardness-About 300ppm a little less.

Total Chlorine-0ppm

Total Alkalinity- 80-120ppm

pH- About 7.2ppm

The fish are fine as far as I can tell. Still eating vigorously.
[2 baby Angelfish 1 Dwarf Gourami]
Oh I also have 2 Something "Nena" plants in there. I didn't make a water change today. The last time I made one was yesterday 4/29 and it was 25%. I figured I should give sometime for the bacteria to grow and what not. But I did but "Prime" in there. I put about 28 drops.

Here is a pic.
=P

Neat aquarium. The ammonia test kits with the reagent chemical are the most accurate. You can also guess about water chemistry by looking at the fish. If they're hungry all the time, that's a good sign. Some of the bad signs are clamped fins, gasping for air at the top of the aquarium, bloat, shimmies, white spots and lack of activity.

Thansk. And wow thanks for the news they must be great then cause they always act like they are ravenous!
Also what is aquarium salt??
I've never added this is this the reason why my ammonia and nitrite's aren't going down?
Should I go buy some?
What does it do?
If I do buy it should I add it to every water change [which I do everyday to control ammonia and nitrates to getting to deadly levels]

I would not add salt.

Some fish like a brackish environment... Mollies... some puffers... and several other fish. None of the ones you've mentioned though...

Sometimes big box fish stores will add salt to their aquariums...

This is sometimes used as a treatment for sickness...

Good Luck with your aquarium, and hang in there... When you've already got fish, it seems like the cycle NEVER ends...