[BoomerD]

Water changes ARE a good thing, but not usually recommended during the initial cycle period. you NEED to have an ammonia spike, which will in turn become a nitrite spike to get the biological filter established. I recommend using a piece of dinner shrimp as the ammonia source, rather than live fish. It's cruel to the fish, and is much cheaper as well. You can just drop it in the tank and let it rot, or put in a mesh bag, piece of nylon panty hose/stocking, or even a container with lots of holes drilled in it. I always just let it sit on the bottom to rot, and let the bristleworms clean it up...