Help with tank and barbs

[barblover]

Hi all!
I'm new to the fish world. i have a 5 gallon tank with now 3 tiger barbs. I know the tank is too small..I am cycling a 20 gallon one right now. I am however having trouble with my ammonia level. I have the 5-1 test strips and everything is reading safe , however my ammonia monitor is reading toxic. I have replaceed 1/3 of tank water, vaccumed debris, have a Fluval filter with bubbler, and a tetra carbon/ammonia filter as well. Have used prescribed ammount of Tetra AquaSafe per water change perimeters. Tanks is clear, does not have any excess play toys, so what do I do next. I still have 4 days until the new tank is ready?? Oh am feeding them Hkori pellets once per day. Any and all advice would be welcomed. Oh and I do know the barbs are schoolers, so I will eventually get 5 more. Can i put anything else in the tank with the barbs once this ammonia issue is resolved (20 gallon tank that is)?

[peanutbowl]

Well, cycling the tank with fish is not recommended but that will not really help you now. Just keep up with the water changes. Every day or two until the cycle is complete. And since it's only a 5 gallon, go ahead and do 50% each time as it's not really any more work to do so. Also, get yourself some "prime", made by seachem. Arguably the best water conditioner on the market. It also detoxifies ammonia and nitrite so double up on the suggested dosage to both condition and detoxify. If you use a baby medicine syringe to dose, a bottle will last you a really long time.
Me, I love tigerbarbs. But they do tend to be a little nippy with both themselves and other types of fish. If you add other fish to the tank, make sure they are fast swimmers.
Good luck with the tanks and welcome to the forum.