Nitrite level help!!!!!!!

[Ryleeporter]

I've had my black moor for a few months, a very happy and healthy fish, but recently his nitrite levels have been soaring and I don't know how to fix it (the test strips say the levels are in the "danger" level from 5.0-10.0, and I know the levels should be zero so I'm very worried). I've done water changes (just did one this morning), I purchased TopFin nitrifying bacteria starter, Seachem Prime for nitrites, have tried aquarium salt, and am now at a loss of how to get the levels down. I can see him getting weaker and more unresponsive and I need to fix this before it's too late. Please help!!!!!

 

[Essjay]

The way to get nitrite down is by water changes - at least 70% every day that there is a reading above zero. Prime detoxifies nitrite for around 24 hours then it becomes toxic again, so daily water changes using Prime to treat the new water only will keep the fish safe till the next water change.
Anything containing filter bacteria will help.

If nitrite has suddently become a probelm, have you done something to damage the bacteria colonies? Chemicals gotin the tank from sprays in the room, paint fumes, hand lotion on your skin? Washed the filter media in tap water?

 

[Ryleeporter]

The way to get nitrite down is by water changes - at least 70% every day that there is a reading above zero. Prime detoxifies nitrite for around 24 hours then it becomes toxic again, so daily water changes using Prime to treat the new water only will keep the fish safe till the next water change.
Anything containing filter bacteria will help.

If nitrite has suddently become a probelm, have you done something to damage the bacteria colonies? Chemicals gotin the tank from sprays in the room, paint fumes, hand lotion on your skin? Washed the filter media in tap water?

no I keep his tank away from everything and I tend to test the levels every other day, one day after a weekly water change the levels just spiked and havent gone down since. I will try doing a larger water change daily and see if that helps.

 

[CxN]

Here's what I did with my volatile nitrite levels. Clearly, for me the reason my nitrite levels persisted was because of too many water changes.

1. Do WCs only weekly if you can - only when there's supply, there'd be demand. Keep the nitrites high and long so that the nitrobacter consume it & multiply. When they do this, the levels will naturally decline
2. You can control your bioload with how much you feed your fish. Remember you need to keep up with the demand of the ammonia consuming bacteria as well.
3. Use prime or any other trusted ammonia/nitrite binder to protect your fish - adjust the dosage as per the level of nitrites.
4. Support with Tetra Safestart or Seachem Stability (What I used) each time you add Prime (I did every 36-48h)
5. Do not overdose on Prime - it can use up a lot of oxygen in its chemical binding process. I used an airstone to keep the surface agitation high so there's enough oxygen in any case. More oxygen also supports bacterial growth.
6. Of course, keep a tab. If it shoots over the roof - you need a WC.
7. I've got my pleco and shrimps in there, they are fairly hardy with nitrites than other fish. If your fish are sensitive, I would not recommend this.

My tank was cycled in less than a week and none of my fish seemed affected. I had to go through this because I changed my canister filter. I do not recommend fish-in cycle at all - I've lost a guppy and it was hearbreaking to watch his gasp for air at the surface and I could do nothing.

The above is what I did and it worked for me. I'm relatively new to the hobby but thought I'll still share my experience here.

 

[Essjay]

Any level of nitrite is harmful to fish. It binds to their blood stopping it taking up oxygen - the same as carbon monoxide does to us. I would not leave nitrite in the water if the reading is above zero.
Prime detoxifies ammonia and nitrite for 24 to 36 hours after which they become toxic again. Doing a water change once a week means that for around 6 days, the fish exposed to toxic nitrite.
Other than water changes whenever nitrite reads above zero, the only way to protect against nitrite damage is to use salt, but there is quite a complicated calculation to work out how much to use. https://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/

 

[CxN]

I do agree, nitrites should always be zero.

In my case, too many WCs were slowing down my cycling process. So I went with Prime-Stability on alternate days (As recommended by Seachem on its website) but I did know it's a bit of a risky pursuit.

 

[Essjay]

Fish-in cycling is a delicate balance between keeping the fish safe and growing the bacteria. For most of us the priority has to be keeping the fish safe, which does unfortunately mean it takes several weeks to complete the cycle. A tank will cycle faster if the levels of ammonia and nitrite are not kept down to a minimum, but the fish run the risk of being harmed long term, if not killed by the high levels.
As I say, it's a delicate balance between making absolutely certain the fish don't come to harm, and fast cycling. Only the individual fish keeper can decide which way to go.

 

[CxN]

Fully agree.
Sorry to deviate from OP's topic, in fishless cycling how do you keep up with ammonia supply once you are in the nitrite phase? I ask this, because ammonia wasnt easily available and fish food was causing snail problem. But i guess the best bet is a pinch of fish food everyday to keep the cycle running?

 

[Essjay]

In a classic fishless cycle, ammonia is added from a bottle. Fish food is trickier as you can't control the amount of ammonia added.
I have heard of people who use fish food in a slightly different way - they put food in a tub of water, let it decompose to make ammonia then use the ammonia-laden water to add to the tank. Using this method, even prawns can be used as nothing solid is added to the tank, just the water.

 

[CxN]

That's very helpful to know! I would not go for fish in cycling by choice - its obviously much easier to wait and let things happen naturally than watching fish suffer. In my case, it was a mini-cycle triggered by a filter change. Appreciate you taking time and sharing your thoughts.