View Full Version : Nitrites!!!
glittergirl
05-09-2003, 1:29 PM
About a month ago I bought a 'Starter Pack' including a 13 gallon tank, Fluval filter, heater, etc. I set it all up and bought 6 plants to go in it, plus decorations (my favourite being an underwater castle). After a week I bought 3 neon tetras, 2 pearl danios and 1 otocinclus and put it in my tank. I also bought an air pump. After reading comments on this forum, I realise that I should have been a bit more patient, especially as after another week, I bought 3 more neon tetras, 2 zebra danios and another otocinclus. In my defence, the nice lady in the pet shop said it would be fine to add this many fish at once. Unfortunately, 2 of the new neon tetras died within a few days. The tests on the water were still showing almost 0 on the ammonia and nitrite levels. I replaced the first neon tetra with another zebra danio, so now I have a total of 11 fish. They all seemed to be getting on fine for another week, then the nitrite levels started to climb in a very alarming way( up to 5ppm). I did a 20% water change which brought it down to a better level, but the next day it was up again. I was advised to do a partial water change every day if necessary, which I did, but the nitrite levels would not go down. Every morning I dreaded looking in the tank in case any of the fish were dead, but they have all survived. After about a week now, the nitrite level has dropped to 0.5ppm. Is this the 'spike' people have mentioned? Do you think the tank has now 'matured' or should I still test it every day?
ChilDawg
05-09-2003, 1:36 PM
The tank has not matured until the nitrite level has hit 0 (as has the Ammonia levels).
You may see Otto die-off soon, as they are not built for cycling tanks.
glittergirl
05-09-2003, 2:27 PM
The 2 ottos seem to be fine at the moment. They 'surf' the air bubbles from the air pump and dash around quite happily. In fact, all the fish appear to be quite happy. They are all feeding very well, and they have become a very attractive little community. This is a complete beginner's view of course. What should I look for so I know if the ottos are in trouble?:confused:
ChilDawg
05-09-2003, 2:32 PM
Google "Nitrite burn" and you might find what you are looking for...I don't know the symptoms completely, so I'd rather not list them for accuracy's sake.
If your tank doesn't have algae, you might want to use some Spirulina food for your Ottos' sake.
Here is one of the best pages on them out there: http://userpages.umbc.edu/~rrhudy1/otto.htm
glittergirl
05-09-2003, 2:44 PM
Thanks! I'll look it up.
I tested my water again this evening and it is now down to 0.25ppm. Am I being too hopeful if I think this is a good sign? Do you think I still need to do another partial water change?
ChilDawg
05-09-2003, 2:46 PM
I would keep up the water changes, as they cannot hurt the cycling process, but may remove some of the nitrites from the water. It seems like the nitrites are falling, but start testing nitrates in order to see if they are truly being cycled into nitrates.
Hi,
I'm not an expert but my recent experience shows that you can get sensitive fish through a cycle with a LOT of partial water changes and constant testing + reacting to the test reults.
In the recent fishy cycle I (accidentaly) did, the ammonia spiked first for roughly a week and then the nitrites spiked up to > 3.3ppm.
I did daily 15% water changes with conditioned water, and both fish lived through the experience.
Don't get me wrong I'm not advocating this method of cycling a tank, just saying if you've already made the mistake there is hope!
Anyway, like I say I'm no expert but... that sounds like a lot of fish for that tank, before people confirm it on here I wouldn't add any more.
If you are nearly through the cycle (not sure why you didn't get positive ammonia results - dodgy test kit?) then expect nitrAtes to come up slowly and nitrItes to drop off to 0 over the next few days. Keep doing the water changes, as ChilDawg says it will not hurt the cycle but will help the fish.
Doing a lot of water changes (you only need to do roughly 15 pints a go in that tank) will help with all sorts of things.
Think about getting a bigger tank for those fish - unless somebody says otherwise....
HTH
Ade
ChilDawg
05-09-2003, 6:32 PM
This is what I love about AC...people sharing their experiences...training the next generation of posters with expertise and experience! Sorry, just had to get that out there. Keep us updated, gg and Ade!
glittergirl
05-11-2003, 4:13 PM
Just an update: All the fish are fine. The Nitrites and Ammonia levels are now Zero for both!! :D
Thanks for your help and experiences. You may be right about the amount of fish in the tank, but they all seem happy enough and they get on well together. I haven't got room for another tank to transfer any of them to, so am hoping they will be alright. The blurb which came with the 'starter pack' did recommend 12 fish of the size these will grow to, so hopefully it will be OK :)