Nitrite High But Fish Not Gasping

[paulyoung666]

or red around the gills , I suspect they should be though .....

 

[FishBlast]

or red around the gills , I suspect they should be though .....

Don't wait till they do that, change the water.
This morning at 4 AM I noticed mine doing something that I suspect to be gasping at the surface (although it appeared as if they were drinking water or were trying to suck in some food but I couldn't see anything on the surface that might be food). I did an emergency water change.

 

[sadguppy]

Believe me, they will still be suffering. Do another change, 50% at least once a day if not more until its down.

 

[Zikofski]

yes i agree, when i had nitrite up at like 7ppm my fish all where fine, did 80% water change all week to fix the problem and i only lost a small fraction of my fish RIP those whom i lost

 

[FishBlast]

I keep wondering though if they were really gasping for air or they just wanted to get food as soon as I went near the tank.
The two swordtails were at the top and acting as if they were drinking water really fast, then going down and then back up doing the same. Is that really air gasping? Or are they just hungry?

 

[sadguppy]

Turn off the light and wait a while, see if they stay up there.

 

[FishBlast]

Turn off the light and wait a while, see if they stay up there.

It was happening last night/morning, now they're not doing the same anymore.
Last morning I tried turning off the light but they were still doing that, as if they were eating at the surface and only ducked for a few seconds, only to come back again. The catfish wasn't acting strange but the swordies seemed to be acting odd.
I did another 80% water change and they stopped doing that. Today they aren't showing any symptoms since I changed water at 6 in the evening.

I just checked again right now and the catfish has his tail a bit lowered than usual. What could that mean? He's been eating normally, swimming around normally, but now when he rests, his tail just falls like that. I've seen more Hoplos keeping their tails that way but I don't know if this is a normal behavior or he's stressed by something.

 

[paulyoung666]

I have been doing big water changes for a few days and it won't drop , I am wondering if I am getting false readings ....

and they only go to the top when food is there ....

 

[sadguppy]

I have been doing big water changes for a few days and it won't drop , I am wondering if I am getting false readings ....

and they only go to the top when food is there ....

It takes a bit longer for the nitrite-eating bacteria to form, mine took a few weeks. I did two water changes a day and all but two made it through, one of which i think was ill when i bought it. Now I've cycled, not doing daily changes is going to be weird!

What are your stats/what have they been recently?

 

[paulyoung666]

I have been doing big water changes for a few days and it won't drop , I am wondering if I am getting false readings ....

and they only go to the top when food is there ....

It takes a bit longer for the nitrite-eating bacteria to form, mine took a few weeks. I did two water changes a day and all but two made it through, one of which i think was ill when i bought it. Now I've cycled, not doing daily changes is going to be weird!

What are your stats/what have they been recently?

pH is 7.4 , ammonia is 0 , nitrates is around 40 and the nitrites is off the scale , i got sucked into getting fish to early though , that was my downfall , now i am into damage limitation so it would seem

 

[balajake]

use prime as a dechlorinater for water changes.

 

[paulyoung666]

What make is that please ..

 

[This Old Spouse]

Seachem Prime.

 

[balajake]

Sorry, i should have said the make.

 

[sadguppy]

You can get it off eBay, just search for prime seachem. Couldn't find it in any of my lfs but arrived next day from a shop called memos palace. You use just a tiny bit, like 1mlb per 20l, so its great value.

Do a water change and then another in the morning and keep fingers crossed!

I meant nemos palace!