How do I control the nitrite level in my fish tank?

Question

I've had a 29 gallon tropical freshwater fish tank set up for about 1.5 months. I am having trouble controlling the nitrite level. It is dangerously high and I've lost several fish probably due to this issue. I was adding cycle to the water which is supposed to help but hasn't. Until now the ammonia level was high as well but that seems to be under control according to my recent water tests.

Answer 1

You had the right idea adding cycle, but as mentioned the stuff is worthless.

Water changes are important. Do them as often as you need to to keep levels low. Don't worry, the myth that it ruins the cycle is just that, and if it does slow the cycle a bit, who cares, it will save your fish.

The best method (and most overlooked) of getting over this cycle and saving the fish is by adding healthy, live bacteria. To do this obtain as much filter media or gravel from a mature and established tank as you can get and place this into your own filter - now you have added real bacteria that takes care of nitrite and ammonia. Depending how much you can get you will either speed up the cycle or negate it altogether. If you don't know anybody with a tank that can help you out, your fish store might be able to. Take this media home in a bag of aquarium water to keep the bacteria alive until you add it.

Answer 2

Frequent water changes of 25% or so will help keep your Nitrite levels down. Make sure to not add new fish to quickly. If you are still having an issue after the water change it might be a good idea to cut back on feeding your fish quite so much until the levels are normalized.
It sounds like your tank is possibly still cycling. As far as I understand, in the cycling process the ammonia will spike....then the ammonia will go down but you will have the Nitrite spike...the the last step is the Nitrate. Sounds like you might just be in the Nitrite step still. Once you get more Nitrate existing in the tank to help even out the Nitrite balance then you should be able to lessen your water changes a bit.

Answer 3

I would suggest not using the additives. Depending on the number of fish you have, and how much waste they produce, if there isn't enough ammonia to provide for all you add, they die and just become a part of the waste problem themselves. And depending on how long the bottle sat on the store shelf, there may not be as much "live" bacteria in it to start.

The best thing you can do to lower your nitrites is to do small, frequent water changes. The nitrites should be kept below 0.5ppm, so depending on what your tests are reading, you may need to do a series of changes over the next few days. If it isn't too much above 0.5, do a 25% water change now, then do another in about 2 days. If it's well above 1.0, do a 50% change, but add the replacement water slowly.

Adding some aquarium salt (or any salt, preferably without iodine) at 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water can help your fish. Nitrite blocks the oxygen receptors in the bloodstream, which is why the fish affected by nitrites appear to be gasping for air, but salt blocks the absorption of nitrites. This level should be safe, even if you have salt-sensitive species like tetras and scaleless fish. Just add the salt to water so it dissolves first, then add it to your tank.

Answer 4

Jessica,

As Copperhead and Ghappy implied and Squirrel finally stated, your tank is still cycling. I don't know if anyone explained the nitrogen cycle to you or not so if I'm stating something you already know, please forgive.

Basically, the ammonia is produced as a waste product and bacteria develop to convert it into nitrite. Then nitrite builds up from that and other bacteria develop to convert the nitrite into nitrate. During the "cycling" process, there are "spikes" where the ammonia is strongest then drops as it is converted to nitrite and the nitrite spikes until it is converted to nitrate. You have finished your ammonia spike and are in your nitrite spike. This is a good sign for your tank but it's a bad sign for your fish. That's the hazard of adding fish before a tank is completely cycled.

Yes, please do the water changes. And yes, it will slow the cycle process down but not much. Most of the beneficial bacteria are on the surfaces and only a fraction are in the water, these will reproduce quickly.

I am also including a link with information on cycling even though you are at the end of your cycle in case you decide to to another tank in the future. After all, fish keeping has been known to be addictive :-)

Good luck and just hang in there. It will get better.

http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Answer 5

There are plenty of products out there, my favorite being jungle buddies products.

Also look into live plants. For bettas, java moss pretty much takes care of the nitrites that build up in a betta bowl.

Answer 6

ph test strips/I had a real problem with this until I bought Ciclids .there cool and can live in very acidic water