High Nitrite

[Lil]

I can home from work to find my fish gasping at the surface of the water. Tested the NITRITE and it was 1.6, so i did a 50% water change. Will i have to do another water change tomorrow, also when will it be safe to feed my fish i last fed them on thursday.

 

[CroNiC]

Feed them again today, if you want you can wait a little longer.
Dont do 50% changes ... do about 20%-30% everyday. 50% changes cause stress. O and check your nitrate after every change and see if it is reducing.

 

[Lil]

Just tested the water again and it has a NITRITE reading of 0.3 will my ish be ok untill tomorrow afternoon as i have to go to work.

 

[WILDER]

Also while you have a nitrite reading i would increase aeration, what fish do you keep.

 

[Lil]

Mollies, platies, cories, 2bn plecos

 

[WILDER]

Thinking of adding salt but can't with the cory and plecos as they don't tolerate salt with being scaless fish.
Good luck.

 

[fishing4exotics]

Yup, salt would help your fish from absorbing nitrites through their gills. As long as the pH is 7.0 or above. I would try 1 Tblsp per 10 gallons and keep and eye on the cory. Then go up to a total of 2 Tblsp per 10 gallons. Keep the salt dosage by dosing the water you add to your tank during water changes. Keep doing this utill your tank has gone past the nitrite spike.

 

[rdd1952]

If you can keep the nitrite at .25 or below with water changes of 15 to 20 percent once or twice a day, I think I would hold off on the salt because of the corys and pleco. They will probably fair better with the nitrite than they will with the salt.

 

[Lil]

UPDATE : Bought a new nitrite remover sponge ( juwel tank) and did a water change. NITRITE is now 0.1 so it has come down alot since adding the sponge and doing the water change. I will test the water again tomorrow if it is ok then i will start feeding my fish again i havnt fed them since last thursday and they are very hungry lol.

 

[WILDER]

I would feed them now, poor things they will be starving.

 

[Lil]

I will do tomorrow just want to give it another day to try and get the levels down. I will give them their favourite bloodworms so hopefully they will forgive me.