Nitrtie Levels high!?!?!?

[AquariumObssesed]

Hi there i am new here,

I have a question, i have a nitirite testing kit, when i tested the water today it went purple!!
Over the last week it has been pale blue, my question is
"How do i get the nitrite levels down??"

Also will my fish die very soon if i do not do something fast??

Here is some info on my tank:
2ft maybe 2 1/2 ft long
Tetratec Air Pump 30
Plants
Bridge
Coloured Stones
Marble rock.

My fish:
4 guppy's
2 glowlight wag tail platies
1 red crystal platie
1 baby clown loach
1 baby silver dollar.


Thanks for all help in advance, Laurence.

 

[smb]

Is this a newly set up tank and still cycling?

What does the color purple say the level is?

If it's not newly setup, do a 15-20% water change/gravel clean once a day for a few days and see if it drops.

 

[AquariumObssesed]

It is about a week setup!!
I think it is between 1.0 and 2.0!?!

Is this bad, will they be ok??

Thanks alot for the help.

 

[smb]

Your tank is cycling and this is perfectly normal readings.

You'll first have an ammonia buildup which is caused by the fish waste, excess food and decaying matter in the tank. After a couple weeks, give or take a few days either way, you'll have the nitrifying bacteria (called nitrosomonas) start to colonize and turn the ammonia into Nitrite. Then after 30 or so days nitrobacters start to colonize and feed on the Nitrites. Their waste is in the output of Nitrate. Once you have readings of 0ppm of ammonia and nitrites, your tank is cycled. To get rid of the nitrates you do water changes.

The ammonia and nitrite is highly lethal to fish. Nitrates aren't harmful unless in high ppm's, but with regular partial water changes after the cycling of a tank, this should never be a problem.

You have quite a few fish in your tank to cycle it, imo.

Edit: You can do a small water change but I wouldn't suggest it. It doesn't help much and slows or even stops the process to only have to go through it again.

 

[AquariumObssesed]

So if i leave it they wont die??

Then after a few weeks do a water change!!

After a couple of weeks will the nitrite and ammonia go buy itself or do i have to change the water before i see a change??

I hope they will be ok, during the process??!??

What did you mean by "You have quite a few fish in your tank to cycle it, imo."?

Thanks ever so much!!

Laurence.

 

[smb]

So if i leave it they wont die??

I can't say for sure if they will all die or just some etc.

I feel like all of your guppies will make it. I have no idea about Platies and have never kept them before and the loach I've had, but never to cycle a tank.

Then after a few weeks do a water change!!

I would wait for a couple days after you get 0ppm readings on your nitrites.

After a couple of weeks will the nitrite and ammonia go buy itself or do i have to change the water before i see a change??

Yes, they will be taken care of by the beneficial bacteria that grows and colonizes in there. There's really nothing for you to do yet.

What did you mean by "You have quite a few fish in your tank to cycle it, imo."?

I mean 9 fish is quite a bioload at first. I don't cycle tanks with fish,but if I were I would have just added 2 zebra danios or just the guppies you have and waited on the rest until the tank was cycled then added 1 or 2 at a time over a period of a month or so.

Do you have any other tanks setup right now? You could throw some gravel in a nylon or just in the tank itself or some filter media to help the fish you have in there out.

Let us know if you have any other questions and keep us posted.

 

[AquariumObssesed]

Nope no other tanks!!

I really hope they dont die, are silver dollars hardy fish?
That is my favourite fish at the moment!!

I will just have to wait and see. When my reading is of 0ppm for Nitrite should i then change the water?? How much 50% or 25%?

Thanks Alot, Laurence.

I also have TetraAqua Aquasafe and stress coat. I recently added stress coat today (1 Teaspoon).

 

[smb]

Nope no other tanks!!

I really hope they dont die, are silver dollars hardy fish?
That is my favourite fish at the moment!!

I will just have to wait and see. When my reading is of 0ppm for Nitrite should i then change the water?? How much 50% or 25%?

Thanks Alot, Laurence.

Silver dollars seemed to be pretty hardy in an established tank for me. I'm not sure about how good they are in the cycling of the tank tho.

They are beautiful fish. I can see why you like him so much.

Just a couple bits of info on them for you. They are related to piranhas being from the Serrasalmidae family. But they are nice community, schooling fish and won't attack or harass others. If a silver dollar is sick, they will sometimes attack it, but this is rare. Very good community fish and best kept with at least 4-6 as they are a schooling fish.

They get big tho. Even 1 will get too big for your tank. Sometimes they can grow to 8" Being a herbivore, you can feed him lettuce, spinach, flake food and a good part of the diet should be spirulina.

 

[smb]

I will just have to wait and see. When my reading is of 0ppm for Nitrite should i then change the water?? How much 50% or 25%?

Sorry. I forgot to answer your other question.

I would do a 25% water change a day or 2 after your readings on nitrites are 0ppm.

Add that to cleaning the gravel also at the same time.

 

[AquariumObssesed]

Ok thanks alot my friend, will see how i get on and i will pm you in a few weeks

Thanks sooooo Much, Laurence.

 

[smb]

Ok thanks alot my friend, will see how i get on and i will pm you in a few weeks

Thanks sooooo Much, Laurence.

Your very welcome, Laurence.

I'm glad I could help and I wish you the best of luck. Please do PM me and let me know how it's going. I am very interested.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask in here. There are so many other people that know quite a bit more than I and would love to help you out also.

 

[totalbolshevik]

I feel like all of your guppies will make it. I have no idea about Platies and have never kept them before and the loach I've had, but never to cycle a tank.

I think the platies will make it they are pretty tough liddle guys mine did

 

[smb]

I feel like all of your guppies will make it. I have no idea about Platies and have never kept them before and the loach I've had, but never to cycle a tank.

I think the platies will make it they are pretty tough liddle guys mine did

Thank you for adding that. I have never had platies and didn't know how the would react.

To let everyone know tho, just because a fish makes it, their life is severely shortened. The ammonia attacks the gill membranes of all the fish involved in the cycling process.

That's why I'm a fan of the fishless cycle. It doesn't hurt any fish and even takes less time to set up a tank.