I have had my tank set up for about 5 weeks now, only 2 fish alive still out of 8. My ammonia was 0 and nitrite was 5+ then went down to 5 and then a few days later to 2 and nitrate at 10. I figured I am almost done, then my girlfriend despite my objection brought 3 new fish and put them in the tank while I was at work, for a surprise. So wanting to help these poor guys, did a massive 75-80% water change to try and get nitrites down, well they went from 2 to .50. I was happy about that but then i tested my ammonia and it was now also at .50, fixed on problem and brought an old problem back. The next day my ammonia was .25 - .50 (hard to tell) and nitrite was 1 and on its way to 2 again. I am afraid to do another water change as I dont want more ammonia, as my tap water has 1ppm ammonia in it. I was told that the BB that turns nitrite to nitrate wont grow with ammonia in the system, so basically I restarted the cycle by changing the water. I feel so helpless here, i had made my peace with killing the first set of fish, I just don't know what to do to help these guys.
I tried to help and messed up. advise?
- Thread starter nfored
- Start date
prime will def help your fish cope with that water quality as the time being, and the plus side to it is that it won't disrupt the cycle. Plants are another option, although they will use other waste products for nitrite, if there is a lot available, then plants will feed off it. You need to have a lot doing some pretty serious photosynthesis for this to happen with any measurable result.
My advice: STOP FEEDING. Your fish will do fine for 2 weeks plus. This will stop the overloading. I wouldn't feed again till your nitrites are at 0. Cut down on water changes. Do more smaller changes, less stress on the fish.
What fish do you have? Look up to see if they are ok with salt in the tank. This is commonly used to fight brown blood disease (also called nitrite poisoning).
My advice: STOP FEEDING. Your fish will do fine for 2 weeks plus. This will stop the overloading. I wouldn't feed again till your nitrites are at 0. Cut down on water changes. Do more smaller changes, less stress on the fish.
What fish do you have? Look up to see if they are ok with salt in the tank. This is commonly used to fight brown blood disease (also called nitrite poisoning).
Sound slike new tank syndrome, did you cycle your tank before you added the fish?? if not you would definatley have gone through an ammonia spike. I recommend using Prime and Sera Nitrivec (bactarial booster) this should help. DONT ADD any more fish till youu rtank has properly cycled.
Yeah, as the others said use prime with your tap water. If you go the plant option I would suggest a bunch of duckweed, although once you put it in you'll never be able to get it completely out. Another option plantwise would be a bunch of Water Wisteria. Those two are the best plants at removing ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. But you'll need a lot, so that might not be a viable option.