I'll try laying this out chronologically in the hope it makes more sense.
I have an established 5g tank, which (until recently) contained 3 guppies, about 2 dozen red cherry shrimp, and a stable population of a few Malaysian trumpet snails. I have a couple of moss balls, a small cabomba plant and some Taiwan moss in there too. The water is kept at 24 degrees Celsius, and is filtered through a sponge filter powered by an air pump.
About a week ago, one of the guppies started exhibiting symptoms that looked like columnaris. I put her into quarantine, dosed it with eSHa 2000, and observed. She deteriorated rapidly, and I ended up putting her down.
Now, one of the remained guppies has inflamed gills but seems alright otherwise, while the other one has been lying on the substrate gasping, covered in icky white spots.
All the inverts are getting on fine -- indeed, I would say they are thriving.
My test kit ran out a couple of weeks ago, and as my LFS only sells the strips, I ordered a replacement online (API Freshwater Master Kit). Of course, while Royal Mail is normally fairly reliable, there were problems with this delivery because I actually needed the item quickly. It arrived yesterday. The readings are: 0ppm NH3, 5ppm NO2, 10ppm NO3. As 5ppm NO2 is the marked ceiling of the test, I diluted tank/tap water in a 1:4 ratio, and obtained a reading of 1ppm NO2, so it is indeed 5ppm.
This nitrite spike with no ammonia and reasonable nitrates would obviously go some way to explaining why the fish are battling but the inverts seem fine.
I have quarantined the two guppies in some lightly salted eSHa water, and the really bad one has perked up a bit, but I'm not too optimistic. They're only little, after all. I've left the inverts, as the nitrite isn't such a problem for them, and they are happy enough.
My thinking is that as long as the parameters don't worsen dramatically, it isn't worth churning through too many water changes, as this could be more disruptive than beneficial.
However, I do not understand why this is happening. Until recently, my nitrites have been between 0 and 0.25 (and ammonia and nitrates constant too, at their current values).
My questions therefore are:
1. What could be causing the nitrite spike?
1.1. Is it some (unknown) nutrient source which the nitrosomonas can handle but the nitrobacter can't? Uneaten food (algae wafers) gets hoovered up daily, but maybe an unaccounted for snail died...
1.2. Are my nitrobacter colonies dying? If so, why could this be?
2. Should I try treating the tank with a culture which either contains nitrobacter or encourages their growth? If so, any recommendations of product?
3. Would a regimen of intense water changes help, given that the current tank inhabitants are happy and safe in their environment?
4. I have been allowing light from my plant nursery terrarium to hit the tank, to try to instill a bit more enthusiasm into the cabomba. Nitrobacter are apparently more light sensitive than their nitrosomonas colleagues, so could this light be hurting them? (125W 6400K grow lamp a couple of feet away, with two layers of 5mm glass to pass through).
I hope that this post isn't so long that people give up reading it. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
I have an established 5g tank, which (until recently) contained 3 guppies, about 2 dozen red cherry shrimp, and a stable population of a few Malaysian trumpet snails. I have a couple of moss balls, a small cabomba plant and some Taiwan moss in there too. The water is kept at 24 degrees Celsius, and is filtered through a sponge filter powered by an air pump.
About a week ago, one of the guppies started exhibiting symptoms that looked like columnaris. I put her into quarantine, dosed it with eSHa 2000, and observed. She deteriorated rapidly, and I ended up putting her down.
Now, one of the remained guppies has inflamed gills but seems alright otherwise, while the other one has been lying on the substrate gasping, covered in icky white spots.
All the inverts are getting on fine -- indeed, I would say they are thriving.
My test kit ran out a couple of weeks ago, and as my LFS only sells the strips, I ordered a replacement online (API Freshwater Master Kit). Of course, while Royal Mail is normally fairly reliable, there were problems with this delivery because I actually needed the item quickly. It arrived yesterday. The readings are: 0ppm NH3, 5ppm NO2, 10ppm NO3. As 5ppm NO2 is the marked ceiling of the test, I diluted tank/tap water in a 1:4 ratio, and obtained a reading of 1ppm NO2, so it is indeed 5ppm.
This nitrite spike with no ammonia and reasonable nitrates would obviously go some way to explaining why the fish are battling but the inverts seem fine.
I have quarantined the two guppies in some lightly salted eSHa water, and the really bad one has perked up a bit, but I'm not too optimistic. They're only little, after all. I've left the inverts, as the nitrite isn't such a problem for them, and they are happy enough.
My thinking is that as long as the parameters don't worsen dramatically, it isn't worth churning through too many water changes, as this could be more disruptive than beneficial.
However, I do not understand why this is happening. Until recently, my nitrites have been between 0 and 0.25 (and ammonia and nitrates constant too, at their current values).
My questions therefore are:
1. What could be causing the nitrite spike?
1.1. Is it some (unknown) nutrient source which the nitrosomonas can handle but the nitrobacter can't? Uneaten food (algae wafers) gets hoovered up daily, but maybe an unaccounted for snail died...
1.2. Are my nitrobacter colonies dying? If so, why could this be?
2. Should I try treating the tank with a culture which either contains nitrobacter or encourages their growth? If so, any recommendations of product?
3. Would a regimen of intense water changes help, given that the current tank inhabitants are happy and safe in their environment?
4. I have been allowing light from my plant nursery terrarium to hit the tank, to try to instill a bit more enthusiasm into the cabomba. Nitrobacter are apparently more light sensitive than their nitrosomonas colleagues, so could this light be hurting them? (125W 6400K grow lamp a couple of feet away, with two layers of 5mm glass to pass through).
I hope that this post isn't so long that people give up reading it. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
