What The Heck Happened?!

[nicolem143]

ok i am having a few issues lol! i have a 20 gallon tank, and i have a few different types of fish in it. i decided to set up my 10 gallon and use it specifically for breeding my guppies(which ive never done!). my guppies were fine and dandy in the 20gal. after i set up the 10 and let it sit for a day i put them in there. the nitrite and nitrates were all peachy and the temp was good. i used the test stips to make sure all was ok. all the guppies died about a week after i put them in the tank!! but the weird thing is, im having probs with the 20 gal. the nitrites are sky high and i cant get them down. ive put the bacteria stuff in there and its not helping.but all the fish are just fine! why would the guppies be healthy in a tank where the nitrites are high but die in a tank where the levels are good? how can i bring down the nitrites? any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mommyof2bettas]

The guppies might have died from stress. since they were moved and the water quality was different.

 

[modaz]

just had the same problem and wilder sorted it for me. my nitrates went from 0 to 100 in 24 hours, so the tank was prob ok when gups were in the original tank
check your filter in the tank with high nitrates and rinse one part of it in old tank water if it it slightly clogged up (not all sponges, just one)
this worked for me and nitrates went from 100 down 50 almost straight away

the new tank should have been left much longer before gups were to go in there, put some hardy fish in there to help it along by producing waste, give it three weeks then it should be ready for gups

 

[nicolem143]

just had the same problem and wilder sorted it for me. my nitrates went from 0 to 100 in 24 hours, so the tank was prob ok when gups were in the original tank
check your filter in the tank with high nitrates and rinse one part of it in old tank water if it it slightly clogged up (not all sponges, just one)
this worked for me and nitrates went from 100 down 50 almost straight away

the new tank should have been left much longer before gups were to go in there, put some hardy fish in there to help it along by producing waste, give it three weeks then it should be ready for gups

i will definately check the filters, and i will wait longer this time lol! dont want to lose more fish!! thanx!!

 

[theotheragentm]

Test strips are notoriously inaccurate. I would honestly just toss them. Invest in a liquid kit like the AP Master Kit. You can find it on Amazon.

Ammonia and nitrites should not just be low. They should be at 0 levels.

You mentioned nitirtes and nitrates, but there was no mention of ammonia. That is the first step in the nitrogen cycle, and if you had a tank that was not cycled, you may have had a case where the bacteria could not keep up with the ammonia bioload. That may be why you saw low nitrite levels. The bacteria weren't even there to keep up with ammonia.

Some fish are just hardier than others, but in nature the levels should be 0 for ammonia and nitrite. Bacteria and plants take care of bioloads and fresh water is always pouring in from streams as well.

The best thing you can do to keep levels down on bioload is water changes. Just do a check on your tapwater first as sometimes it may add to your bioload in which case you'll need to use a reverse osmosis system possibly. To test your tapwater, let it sit out for 24 hours and then test it with a LIQUID test kit, not paper strips.

Good luck.

 

[helterskelter]

after i set up the 10 and let it sit for a day i put them in there

Theotheragentm has answered most of it, but you rearly should of never added fish after 1 day to a new tank!!
The bacteria that removes the harmful chemicals like ammonia and nitrites take 30 days to build up naturally, "Seading" helps this is where u use water, gravel and filter material from established set-up's to allow thing to work quicker. However you should still leave it for 4-5 days to settel, and add only a few fish at a time to a small tank like a 10g.

Basicly you ended up poisoning them buy doing things to quickly i would think.

As for strip tests i use them all the time and have no problems with them.

Helter

 

[theotheragentm]

As for strip tests i use them all the time and have no problems with them.

My impression from experience and another forum is that the strips are pretty much worthless. What brand do you use? Maybe you found one that is more accurate.

 

[helterskelter]

no idea off hand will have to look it up as i have non ATM.

 

[sarena_rye]

I use test strips too and have never had a problem with them. I use the Quick Dip version from Jungle Labs. I can say though that I don't keep mine if they've been open for more than a month. Once that point hits I throw them away because of the long term air exposure.

 

[theotheragentm]

I use test strips too and have never had a problem with them. I use the Quick Dip version from Jungle Labs. I can say though that I don't keep mine if they've been open for more than a month. Once that point hits I throw them away because of the long term air exposure.

That may be the difference with liquid versus strip tests. Maybe the shelf life is longer on the liquid tests. When I buy online the liquid tests only cost me $15.00 and I get probably a hundred uses out of it.

 

[kribensis12]

Just beacuse it is fine then, dosent mean it wont spike again becasue it is cycling so you will never know what is going to happen.

 

[sarena_rye]

I use test strips too and have never had a problem with them. I use the Quick Dip version from Jungle Labs. I can say though that I don't keep mine if they've been open for more than a month. Once that point hits I throw them away because of the long term air exposure.

That may be the difference with liquid versus strip tests. Maybe the shelf life is longer on the liquid tests. When I buy online the liquid tests only cost me $15.00 and I get probably a hundred uses out of it.

Yep yep. Liquid tests have bottles that seal well, whereas the test strips are just in a common plastic bottle and the caps on them don't seal as well. Plus the paper strips have the testing chemical in them and once it's been exposed to the air enough the viability of the test begins to be lost. I usually use mine up within a month, but when I don't it's off to the trash for what's left, because I prefer not to chance it . The only reason I use the test strips is that I have little ones running around. Much easier to keep two little test strips bottles put up then a liquid test kit that they might spill all over the carpet .