Help! Nitrite Levels 0.5

[Lawrence]

I have this aquarium already (60litres) for 1 week so far...currently i have 2 swordtails, 5 neon tetras and 4 tiger barbs (bought them all yesterday)
I just checked my water levels and my ph was 7.2....and my nitrite was 0.5 and yesterday the nitrite was 0.25...
i know this is toxic for the fish and what shall i do...i cant change the water as then the nitrite will be fine but my ph will go above 7.6 (as my tap-water has a high ph)...and also preforming a water change will have an effect on the cycling process.

shall i buy a product to lower the nitrite instead?

oh yea and i also bought a piece of wood for my tank and 5 new plants

 

[kizno1]

please tell me you have cycled the tank. and you shouldnt add that amny fish at once you need to be doing 75% water changes every day. and a ph of 7.6 is fine.

 

[Lawrence]

yea i cycled the tank with 3 goldfish, and yesterday i took out the goldfish and put new fish in instead...
ok i will do a 75% water change now

yea i cycled the tank with 3 goldfish, and yesterday i took out the goldfish and put new fish in instead...
ok i will do a 75% water change now

ok i only cycled the tank for 1 week...but i decided to do a fish in cycle

 

[kizno1]

i would take the tiger barbs and sowrdtails back now the neons should be fine becasue they dont make much mess and then slowly add more fish over the next couple of months.

 

[Lawrence]

i would take the tiger barbs and sowrdtails back now the neons should be fine becasue they dont make much mess and then slowly add more fish over the next couple of months.

the tiger barbs are 1.5 cm...the same size as the neon tetras

 

[kizno1]

yh but you said there nipping aswell so they might aswell go and the sowrds will make quite a bit of mess.

 

[Lawrence]

yh but you said there nipping aswell so they might aswell go and the sowrds will make quite a bit of mess.

yea they only nip when they are eating...and if i buy a product to bring the nitrite down...could i keep all the fish...or still do i have to give them back...and in holland i dont think the shops accept the fish back

 

[kizno1]

i dont think you can but things to lower nitrates can you?

 

[Curiosity101]

Whether there is a product or not...there is no excuse for using them in preference to just doing things properly.

The neons may perish within the next few days as they are really sensitive to bad water.

If you can return any fish then I'd say return the neons and the swords.

If not you need to be doing big water changes every day to keep Nitrites within acceptable levels.

Also if your tap water has a pH of 7.6 what's wrong with that? It's the water you'll be using the whole of your fishes life...unless you go to buy and RO machine or start buying RO water and using it in ALL your water changes FOREVER then I really would just leave it as it is.
There is nothing wrong with pH 7.6

 

[Harlequins]

i don't want to put the cat among the pigeons but aren't you the one that wouldn't take any advice from knowledgeable aquarists? has regarding cycling and fish stocking etc,surely you know not to overload a new aquarium with fish thats not compatible let alone having a filter not ready to accept the bio load you have put in the tank.

Unless you take some fish back and do regular water changes your fish won't survive at all.

 

[Curiosity101]

You are correct Harlequins.

He basically told us all where we could shove our advice cause he knew better.
We said...give it a week or two and you'll be back when things go sour...

He said 'No I wont cause I'm correct...' yet here he is asking for help...
However much I would like him to admit he's sorry, and that he was clearly wrong.

All we can do is help with the problem at hand *shrug*

 

[Lawrence]

i don't want to put the cat among the pigeons but aren't you the one that wouldn't take any advice from knowledgeable aquarists? has regarding cycling and fish stocking etc,surely you know not to overload a new aquarium with fish thats not compatible let alone having a filter not ready to accept the bio load you have put in the tank.

Unless you take some fish back and do regular water changes your fish won't survive at all.

actually tht waz my friend posting before...a few weeks ago...he knew my password and started fooling around on the forum...but i changed my password anyway...

i did a 70% water chage and i checked the water and everything is fine...although i will buy something to bring the nitrite lower so i dont need to do water changes constantly...

 

[coldcazzie]

i did a 70% water chage and i checked the water and everything is fine...although i will buy something to bring the nitrite lower so i dont need to do water changes constantly...

That might make your cycle take longer - the nitrite will not be feeding the bacteria so they will take longer to grow. Regular water changes wont make it take longer, only stop the fish from being poisoned while the cycle is happening.

I agree its incredibly annoying the have to do large water changes every day, and it feels like it's all for nothing, but it's worth it if you want your fish to live and the tank to be cycled.

 

[Lawrence]

i did a 70% water chage and i checked the water and everything is fine...although i will buy something to bring the nitrite lower so i dont need to do water changes constantly...

That might make your cycle take longer - the nitrite will not be feeding the bacteria so they will take longer to grow. Regular water changes wont make it take longer, only stop the fish from being poisoned while the cycle is happening.

I agree its incredibly annoying the have to do large water changes every day, and it feels like it's all for nothing, but it's worth it if you want your fish to live and the tank to be cycled.

ok i appreciate ure help and thanks very much...

 

[rdd1952]

You have a number of problems, all centered around an uncycled tank. First, as mentioned, the tank is not cycled. Having 3 goldfish in it for a week does not cycle a tank. Besides that, in a fully cycled tank, the filter only has enough bacteria to handle the fish load present. You have added many more fish than you had with the 3 goldfish so you still would have overloaded the bacteria colony.

Second, the only way to lower the nitrites is via water changes. DO NOT USE CHEMICALS. The chemicals will do more harm to the cycle than they will do good. Also, doing water changes will actually speed the cycling process rather than slow it. There are no beneficial bacteria in the water column so you won't be removing any good bacteria but you will keep the toxins at a level to give the bacteria present a better chance to handle it. As you didn't mention ammonia, I assume you are using test strips. I wold suggest getting a good master test kit as soon as possible. I would suspect that your ammonia is very high also although the fact that you have nitrite does seem to show that some ammonia is being processed.

Third, as mentioned, the neons will not fare well in the uncycled tank. They are much more susceptible to high toxins than a lot of other species. Also, contrary to what a lot of printed material says, tiger barbs, in my opinion, are terrible community fish. They are extremely nippy and aggressive and will always be a problem.

My suggestion would be the same as everyone else. Return all the fish or at the very least the neons and tigers. There is possibly enough bacteria to handle the 2 swordtails. Once you see that the toxins have gone back to zero for a full week, add a few more fish but never go more than double the current load. In the long run, if you do a fish in cycle, you have to be prepared to do regular daily water changes. It's part of the process.