Nitrite Question???

mazeman22

Marine Biologist in the MAKING!!!!
Jul 31, 2006
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Missouri
My nitrites are under .25 but a little over 0. Is that bad for my fish?

Ammonia 0, Nitrates .25

I have 6 barbs (3 albino tigers, and 3 T Barbs) with a spotted silver dollar in a 10g tank :dive2:
 
yes, nitrites interfere with respiration even at low levels. If your tank reads ANY (e.g. anything other than 0.0) you should probably do a water change.

My otos' would start to breathe rapidly and hyperventilate if nitrites even read 0.05 (I used to have a test kit with small increments).
 
How long have you had this tank setup? And I would strongly advise you get either Amquel Plus or Prime as soon as possible to detoxify the nitrite in your tank. Though below .25 is better than .50ppm it is still too much- there should be no nitrites (if your tank is fully cycled and properly stocked).
 
That silver dollar is gonna outgrow that tank in a hurry. I'd keep the others in the 10g and get a 55g for the silver dollar or trade it back to the lfs.

Mark
 
I've tried using Amquel+ and Prime and they did nothing to help my otos breathe better. I know they say they're supposed to detoxify nitrites (as well as ammonia, etc) but I place more importance on my fish's responses than to what the bottle says.

Besides, I'm not an advocate of using an easy fix-all. A water change is more work, but is guaranteed to remove the bad stuff. Only after 50% WC did my otos start breathing normally again.

It's OK, I mentioned Amquel+ a couple times when I was new to this site, too :) I learned pretty quickly, though. Now I think water changes can't be done enough!
 
Ok

Ok i have been using prime for quite awhile and my tank has been set up for over a month.... I was totally dumb with not cycling my tank before getting my fish.... They are all living but i could just kick myself for making my fish suffer.. I'm doing a water change in a few minutes so my fish should be ok... Also I'm getting a 55g for my bday next week so no worries on the silver untill then, I'll just keep up on the wc... Thanks to all :cool2:
 
good job, mazeman! i'd say you must have done the right thing if no fish died.

BTW, where do you go to school? I'm getting my Master's degree in Marine Science, specialization Ichthyology and fish ecology, from Cal State University Monterey By.
 
If you just started your tank you are going to have a "nitrite spike" for a little while in order to cycle your tank, it will disappear... However if your tank is already cycled the "Nitrite" should be "0" and you'll need to do a water change.
 
plah831 said:
good job, mazeman! i'd say you must have done the right thing if no fish died.

BTW, where do you go to school? I'm getting my Master's degree in Marine Science, specialization Ichthyology and fish ecology, from Cal State University Monterey By.



Lol I am actually just turning 15 so not going to college just yet..... But since i'm love fish sooo much I'm considering in being a marine biologist in the near future!! :cool: Sorry for the confusion :dive2:

Have a great day to everyone that helped me :)
 
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