Scrappaman
New Member
Hi all,
I’m a newbie to the forums and I’ve only been keeping fish about a year now. The two fish I have now are my third and fourth fish, as the last two had a nasty incident with a filter in the last tank ïŒ. Both of these fish were in the previous tank (on their own, following the death of the first two fish) and that is where the high nitrite level first developed. I was unable to get rid of the high nitrite level for about a month, so, on the advice of the local aquatics shop, bought a new tank to hopefully sort things.
I purchased the new tank and took all the water from the previous tank (it was 25L, this is 54L) put it into the new tank, gradually added more fresh water over days in the hope that it’d sort it out.
However, the high nitrite level (2.0 ppm) has still not reduced at all. It has now been 3 months of high nitrite all in all. I, as well as many of the people I have spoken to, am amazed that the fish have survived this long. It is only in the past fortnight that the fish have began gasping for air at the surface. The extra aeration I’ve provided does seem to have helped though.
All other levels appear to be as they should be, in accordance with the API Master Test Kit I’ve been using. It’s only the nitrite that seems to be the problem.
I appreciate that there’s a whole lot to read in this post and I can only assure you that any help and effort will be greatly appreciated. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read all this!
One very worried fish-friend,
Matt
The Tank
Tank: Juwel ‘Rekord 60’ (54L real capacity)
Fish: 1 x Blackmoor; 1 x Redcap (Both around 1 inch or less in length)
Filter: Standard Juwel black box filter, situated in corner of aquarium. Contains four filtration media: 1x pre-filter wool; 1x black carbon sponge; 1x nitrate removal sponge; 1 x ‘fine’ sponge.
Filter maintenance: Following Juwel guidelines I replace the pre-filter wool once a week and the black carbon sponge once a month. The other sponges need replacing every 3 months, and the tank is only 2 months old.
Cleaning and water changes: 1 x 20% water change a week. To clean I use the siphon suction er.. thing, to move the gravel around a bit and suck as much dirt up as I can.
Water conditioning: I use API ‘Stress Coat’ to condition the water.
Note: there are currently no ornaments and only one layer of gravel that just about covers the bottom of the tank, so as to avoid waste piling up.
The Problem
Symptoms: Fish often spend lengthy periods of time hanging at the surface of the water, apparently gasping for air. The breathing is rapid yet does not appear to be laboured.
Supposed problem: Having consulted several aquatics shops, and given the high nitrite levels I have detected, it has been suggested that it could be nitrite poisoning.
Measures taken: In the way of general maintenance I’ve cut down on feeding (I’ve always fed them 2 flakes each and 3 dried blood worm each every other day, it is not once every 3 days), started doing 2 x 25% water changes a week, provided optimum aeration in the form of an air stone and oxygen tablets.
In the way of treatments I have begun using API ‘Stress Zyme’ to speed up the establishment of the biological filter (apparently that’s its use?) and hopefully fight back the nitrite. I’ve also started using something called a ‘Nitra-zorb’ which is a teabag-like filter medium that sits in the water flow in the filter and supposedly removes nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia.
I’m a newbie to the forums and I’ve only been keeping fish about a year now. The two fish I have now are my third and fourth fish, as the last two had a nasty incident with a filter in the last tank ïŒ. Both of these fish were in the previous tank (on their own, following the death of the first two fish) and that is where the high nitrite level first developed. I was unable to get rid of the high nitrite level for about a month, so, on the advice of the local aquatics shop, bought a new tank to hopefully sort things.
I purchased the new tank and took all the water from the previous tank (it was 25L, this is 54L) put it into the new tank, gradually added more fresh water over days in the hope that it’d sort it out.
However, the high nitrite level (2.0 ppm) has still not reduced at all. It has now been 3 months of high nitrite all in all. I, as well as many of the people I have spoken to, am amazed that the fish have survived this long. It is only in the past fortnight that the fish have began gasping for air at the surface. The extra aeration I’ve provided does seem to have helped though.
All other levels appear to be as they should be, in accordance with the API Master Test Kit I’ve been using. It’s only the nitrite that seems to be the problem.
I appreciate that there’s a whole lot to read in this post and I can only assure you that any help and effort will be greatly appreciated. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read all this!
One very worried fish-friend,
Matt
The Tank
Tank: Juwel ‘Rekord 60’ (54L real capacity)
Fish: 1 x Blackmoor; 1 x Redcap (Both around 1 inch or less in length)
Filter: Standard Juwel black box filter, situated in corner of aquarium. Contains four filtration media: 1x pre-filter wool; 1x black carbon sponge; 1x nitrate removal sponge; 1 x ‘fine’ sponge.
Filter maintenance: Following Juwel guidelines I replace the pre-filter wool once a week and the black carbon sponge once a month. The other sponges need replacing every 3 months, and the tank is only 2 months old.
Cleaning and water changes: 1 x 20% water change a week. To clean I use the siphon suction er.. thing, to move the gravel around a bit and suck as much dirt up as I can.
Water conditioning: I use API ‘Stress Coat’ to condition the water.
Note: there are currently no ornaments and only one layer of gravel that just about covers the bottom of the tank, so as to avoid waste piling up.
The Problem
Symptoms: Fish often spend lengthy periods of time hanging at the surface of the water, apparently gasping for air. The breathing is rapid yet does not appear to be laboured.
Supposed problem: Having consulted several aquatics shops, and given the high nitrite levels I have detected, it has been suggested that it could be nitrite poisoning.
Measures taken: In the way of general maintenance I’ve cut down on feeding (I’ve always fed them 2 flakes each and 3 dried blood worm each every other day, it is not once every 3 days), started doing 2 x 25% water changes a week, provided optimum aeration in the form of an air stone and oxygen tablets.
In the way of treatments I have begun using API ‘Stress Zyme’ to speed up the establishment of the biological filter (apparently that’s its use?) and hopefully fight back the nitrite. I’ve also started using something called a ‘Nitra-zorb’ which is a teabag-like filter medium that sits in the water flow in the filter and supposedly removes nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia.
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