How to lows nitrite and what cause of it?

Question

Ok first thing i have 20 gl 1 under gravel fltr 1 power fltr - 1 standart fltr so there is 3 filter on my tank with 1(3") Fantail goldfish - 1(1") Bubble eye goldfish n there is no problem week by week when i care my fish with cleaning n etc.
But last week on thursday i add more 1(1") Red head goldfish & 4 yellow snail n on friday i make water 30% change n clean of all my filter then add 2 1/5 tbl spoon salt & conditioner like i do before - this week i add some of Kordon AmQuel Plus n 2% warm watter after 24 hour i look my fantail goldfish like sitting on the bottom & sometimes its like hard to breathing but for 2 other goldfish its normal when i check the water level i find my nitrite is high its 3.0 before is 0 what happen then?

My question is.....
1. what cause my nitrite is high? is it overstock? is it Kordon AmQuel Plus? is it to much snail? or warm water?
2.how to reduce my nitrite (i do 60% water change lastday n is not working)
3.how long to make nitrite back to normal?

Answer 1

You may have had more ammonia produced from adding the new goldfish than your tank bacteria could immediately handle, so it's now in the nitrite stage, but I'll blame the Amquel.

According to what the manufacturer claims, it will bind with and neutralize the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, but still leave them in a form that the bacteria can use. So even though they're in a form that should be harmless to your fish, they'll still show up in your water tests. Unfortunately, as long as you use this product, you won't know if you have a false positive, or your nitrite is really high, other than the behavior of the fish - if they're being affected by the nitrite, they'll be gasping at the surface for air or sitting at the bottom and very lethargic.

I'd recommend doing another water change (about 1/3 - 1/2 of the tank volume) and not using the Amquel this time. If your fish are acting as you describe, they're feeling the effect of actual ammonia or nitrite. When you replace the water, just try and make it the same temperature that it is in the tank. Your original goldfish may have become accustomed to a slightly higher ammonia or nitrite level, so they may not be as sensitive to the level as the new fish.

Check you nitrite and fish's behavior in a day and see if an additional 25% water change is needed.

If your tank is still relatively new (less than 2 months running) it may be a few weeks yet before your nitrites go down without water changes. It will help if you don't clean all the filters at the same time - some of your bacteria reside there, so rinse one with each water change and alternate tanks each time you clean.

Answer 2

1. what cause my nitrite is high? is it overstock? is it Kordon AmQuel Plus? is it to much snail? or warm water?- My guess at this is probably cleaning of the gravel too much in combination of an extra fish. As pointed out in the earlier answer, that fish is taxing the bio load on your bacteria and it needs to expand the colony to deal with it. Provided you have enough surface area for the bacteria to expand, it is possible it is only going through a mini cycle. Stay off the AmQuel. Chemical solutions of this matter have a greater tendancy to starve off your biological filter then helping the fish in the short term. Long term wise, you're only causing your bacteria to starve. I doubt the snails are effecting the water chemistry to that degree and they are more beneficial towards keeping Algea out. Temp wasn't listed however Goldfish tend to need or like a lower temp then most tropicals.

2.how to reduce my nitrite (i do 60% water change lastday n is not working)-The only thing I can tell you on that is just time. When cleaning don't extensively clean in the gravel too much. Some of your bacteria does live there and overcleaning of the gravel can remove some of the colony. I'd reccomend a 50% change only once per month, however you have Goldfish which may require that bi weekly.

3.how long to make nitrite back to normal?-Again thats just a matter of time for your colony to grow enough to encompass the new load. I think you got some outstanding advise on how to deal with your new fish though. I have three tanks myself and when I learned about the different waste outputs of the breeds I have, I got an additional 20 gallon and 15 gallon tank to hold overstock and maintain a hospital tank. They are also correct that undergravel filters are way outdated. I do reccomend a bio wheel I feel that is the top filter on the market from using one and seeing the results.

Answer 3

Very simple. Only 10% water change a week, if you have a sponge filter Never wash it out under the tap as this kills all the bacteria that convert nitrite into nitrare. Use the water you take out each week and just give the sponges a quick rinse through. If you are using an undergravel filter and your nitrites levels are still not dropping then you are over feeding. Most new people to the hobby overfeed. Use a good de-chlorinater when you top the tank back up. Fish waste is amonia which gets broken down into Nitrites by one type of bacteria, This in turn is broken down into Nitrates by a different bacteria, Nitrates are then used by plants. So as you can see its basically all down to filtering. Your local pet store will be able to sell you a liquid bacteria to boost your system. Good luck.

Answer 4

First off, undergravel filters aren't recommended as they pull the decaying matter under and can cause toxic build up. I'd remove that one. If the power filter and standard filter equal filtration for up to a 30 gallon tank, that's all you need.
The rule of thumb for goldfish is 10 gallons per so you're overstocked now (at least will be once the redhead starts to grow) and this will cause higher bioloads and stunting of the fish.
Next: you may want to consider setting up a 10 gallon for your bubble eye alone. He is a Type 3 fancy goldfish and should only be housed with other group 3's. He will get outperformed for food due to his bad eyesight and swimming speeds.
The fantail and the Redhead (is this a red capped oranda??) are group 2 fish and can be housed together in your 20 gallon. Right now you're getting a spike in ammonia from the addition of the other fish which will cause nitrite to spike and then the nitrates will catch up.
Keep doing water changes and you'll be fine.

Answer 5

You can try a chemical neutralizer to lower your nitrites but that does not address the cause. I would suspect that the cause is that waste and detritus is trapped beneath your UGF. Another possibility is that you are over-feeding significantly thereby creating excess waste.

Suggestion: cut back on the amount you feed and feed only 1x a day. 2) Do a 50% water change weekly 3) When doing water changes add "Stress Coat" according to directions.

Adding salt does not have any effect on nitrites

Nitrites, are created from nitrates, which in turn are created by ammonia. Ammonia is created from waste breakdown.

No, your tank is not over-stocked. The general rule is 1" of fish per gallon of water. However, I for one exceed that in two of my tanks but increse the frequncey of my water changes. My readings are 0.0

Answer 6

1. Your nitrites can be high for several reasons (although a test of ammonia would help confirm some possiblities). Your current bio load in fish is NOT too high (I have maintained much higher loads for my clients). You may be overfeeding, or using a high polluting food (too high in cereal, check your ingredients; I recommend Sanyu, Spirulina and similar)

You may also be throwing way beneficial bacteria with cartridge changes in your power filter; try rinsing filter media in de-chlorinated water instead of changing.

As for the Amquel, this only converts ammonia from NH3 to NH4 and also de-toxifies nitrites, it does not remove them so there is NO interuption in your nitrogen cycle in using this product. So this is definately no your problem.

2. Make sure your tap water in low in nitrites (it usually is). Clean the mulm from underneath your Under gravel by running a siphon tube down under the plate. Under gravels can and do work, they just take more maintenance of this type on occasion. Also vacuuming your gravel will NOT remove beneficial bacteria as it has been proven in not so recent anymore scientific studies that nitrifying bacteria secrete a glue like substance to adhere to surfaces and vacuuming gravel or squeezing sponges will not remove them (rinsing in chlorinated water will).

3. This time will vary according to cleaning amounts and methods, as well a feeding and the quality of the food. Generally this should not take longer than 2 weeks.

I recommend reading this article about the aquarium nitrogen cycle:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html


EDIT:
You might also consider a 30 minute bath in Methylene Blue at double recommended tank strength as this will aid in nitrite (and ammonia) poisoning as MB acts as a hemoglobin transfer agent in the blood (I use it often in transport as well). Do NOT use this in your tank though as it will disrupt your nitrogen cycle.

Answer 7

First off, it is great you are running an undergravel filter in tandem with other filters. This really is the best set up for a tank. Good going. Second, your nitrites are high due to the new addition of fish and snails. You only have a 20 gallon and have added 5 fish (every addition is considered a fish be it plants, fish, snails, shrimp etc) Your biofilter is trying to make up for the extra waste produced by these 5 fish. It may take up to a week for it to get itself back in order.

your tank really isn't over stocked but I would highly suggest not adding more fish. The Amquel+ is fine and isn't causing your nitrite spikes.

Why are you adding warm water? gold fish are cold water even the fantails are fine at room temperature NO WARM WATER. Warm water has lower dissolved oxygen levels making it harder for your fish to breath.

your fish is suffering from what they call 'brown blood disease' because the blood turns brown from a increase of methemoglobin. However, methemoglobin causes a more serious problem than changing the color of the blood. It renders the blood unable to carry oxygen, and the fish can literally suffocate even though there is ample oxygen present in the water.
Different fish tolerate differing levels of nitrites. Some fish may simply be listless, while others may die suddenly with no obvious signs of illness. Common symptoms include gasping at the surface of the water, hanging near water outlets, rapid gill movement, and a change in gill color from tan to dark brown.

Fish that are exposed to even low levels of nitrite for long periods of time suffer damage to their immune system and are prone to secondary diseases, such as ich, fin rot, and bacterial infections. As methemoglobin levels increase damage occurs to the liver, gills and blood cells. If untreated, affected fish eventually die from lack of oxygen, and/or secondary diseases.

you should continue with large water changes, no more than 50% at a time. I do not condone adding salt to any tank with goldfish however if your nitrites will not come down you will need to add salt, And not regular aquarium salt you need to add chlorine salt (even epsom salt will work) no table, no sea or rock and no aquarium salt. Reduce feeding or stop it completely for two days. Lower the tank water level by 1/2-1" and allow the filters to dump water into your tank. Keep the water cooler than normal. this will slow the damaging effects of the nitrites to your goldfish. I am more than likely to say you may loose your snails since they are more prone to the nitrite. you may want to remove them and put them in a bowl for now.

Remember when stocking any tank, 1" of fish per 5 gallons no more than 1 time in two weeks. (Smaller than 1" = 1" of fish)

I hope this helps and good luck. Feel free to email me if you have questions.

Answer 8

In addition to what barb said, I noticed that you said you cleaned out your filter, be careful when doing this because beneficial bacteria live in your filter media, this bacterial helps break down the ammonia into nitrites and nitrites into nitrates. Never use tap water to clean out the filter media! just shake it around in the tank water you've removed!

Answer 9

Your tank is not over stocked. I think what happened was too much fish was added at once. I think you biological stuff is getting used to it.

Answer 10

bacteria live in filters. they may kill fish