Live plants killed your cycle? Fix ammonia crash

Ah, the live-plants-to-speed-the-cycle approach — it's a popular tip but it goes wrong exactly like this when the plants aren't healthy enough to survive the process. Dying plant matter becomes an ammonia source rather than a nitrogen sink, which can spike your readings worse than if you'd added nothing at all. Before we sort out where you go from here — what size is the tank, what fish are currently in it (if any), and where are your ammonia and nitrite readings sitting right now?

Good news is you almost certainly aren't back to square one — you likely still have some beneficial bacteria in your filter media, they've just been overwhelmed by the rotting plant ammonia dump. The priority is to remove any remaining dead plant material immediately, do a 50% water change to bring ammonia down to around 2ppm, and then rather than waiting weeks for your bacteria colony to rebuild on its own, dose your filter directly with Seachem Stability. It's a bottled bacteria product that actually works — unlike some on the market, it uses the right bacterial strains for freshwater and survives in the bottle. Dose daily for seven days as the label says. What filter are you running?

The scepticism is fair because some bottled bacteria products genuinely are poor — they use the wrong species that don't survive storage, so by the time you open the bottle there's nothing viable left. Seachem Stability is one of the exceptions that has solid evidence behind it and a strong track record in the hobby. It won't replace patient cycling entirely, but in your situation — where you have existing media that already has some colonisation — it gives the bacteria a real boost and shortens your recovery considerably. Hang it on the inside of your filter if you can, so it seeds the media directly. Keep dosing ammonia to 2ppm daily as your food source for the bacteria and test every day. You should see nitrite climbing within three or four days if it's working.

You can absolutely add plants — they do help long-term with water quality — but wait until the cycle is complete and stable before introducing them. When you do add plants again, choose hardy species like java fern, anubias, or hornwort rather than anything delicate, and buy from a reputable aquatic specialist rather than a general pet shop. Melt is much less likely with robust plants, and even if you get some melt it'll be minor rather than a total die-off. For now though, focus on the Stability, the water change, and getting those readings back in order. What fish are you planning once the tank is ready?

That's a lovely combination and well suited to a 60 litre — ember tetras are small, peaceful and stunning in a planted tank, and dwarf corydoras stay compact enough that they won't feel cramped. Once your ammonia and nitrite both read zero on consecutive days, you're cycled and ready. Introduce the corydoras first, give it a week, then add the tetras in one group rather than trickling them in, which just prolongs stress. You're actually in a pretty recoverable position — the hard part of cycling is mostly done.