BAT Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 Hi Nerms, I recently had 2 snails die in the tank - and I think that this has contributed to a spike in my parameters. this morning I was horrified to see a reddish purple nitrite level - like at the highest level of the master kit. and when I used the AC strips nitrite lit up pink immediately as did nitrate (probably around 30-40). ammonia was around 0.5/0.75 I immediately did a 2/3 water change and added amquel. should I move the betta to a QT tank? do another water change? both? something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 Oh dear @BAT still having issues huh? After the water change did you test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndEEss Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 Many water changes. Temperature match. Add dechlorinator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted April 4, 2022 Author Share Posted April 4, 2022 On 4/4/2022 at 1:44 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said: Oh dear @BAT still having issues huh? After the water change did you test? yes - I tested a strip after water change and circulation. looks to be Nitrite about 1, nitrates about 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 On 4/4/2022 at 12:47 PM, BAT said: yes - I tested a strip after water change and circulation. looks to be Nitrite about 1, nitrates about 20 I'd do one more water change, at least 50%, to get the nitrites down, and continue to monitor and do water changes to keep the combined ammonia and nitrites low. The nitrates aren't a problem. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 I agree with @JettsPapa. With your initial issue it can make your cycle waiver, so you just have to be consistent with water changes. If you do a small one every day 25% or so it should eventually stabilize but when you have a spike like this you want to change until it tests clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted April 4, 2022 Author Share Posted April 4, 2022 @xXInkedPhoenixX@JettsPapa I did the water change this morning. is it OK to do another water change this afternoon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 Yep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted April 4, 2022 Author Share Posted April 4, 2022 Ok. Just changed. Will check in a bit 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 Ammonia 0 but nitrite and nitrate still high (bright purple- looks like above 5 w master kit; and red for nitrite) doing another big water change now and will continue to add conditioner. anything else? Check again in morning? I guess it’s encouraging the ammonia went down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 Just checked. All 0 and nitrate 10 ill check in morning 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT_ Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Adding a little aquarium salt should help a lot to. Nitrite competes for cl uptake so upping the cl concentration helps restore the ion flux rate. It doesn't take a lot. Like a tenth the "medical" aquarium salt dose. So it shouldn't hurt plants either. I can get exact numbers and references if you want once I'm back to my computer later today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edsland Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 If you can get ahold of Seachem Prime you can does every couple days until you bacteria catches up with the cycle. With Prime you'll still get ammonia or nitrites reading but it binds it so its not dangerous for 48 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpoison Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 On 4/5/2022 at 3:22 AM, Edsland said: If you can get ahold of Seachem Prime you can does every couple days until you bacteria catches up with the cycle. With Prime you'll still get ammonia or nitrites reading but it binds it so its not dangerous for 48 hours. I did not know this ~ actually I might’ve known it years ago😋 @BATI hope everything is stabilized and going well for you now! The people here are so nice and wise ~ it’s awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 I agree @sweetpoison all you nerms are awesome! Thank you! I woke up and the levels were high again. I removed any dead plant debris and did another 70% water change. I added 2 tbsp of salt and the fritz water conditioner. should I use prime instead of fritz complete? Or are they doing the same thing? also. I have to go to work and back in 8 hrs. Will he be ok until the w the salt and the conditioner even if levels rise? he looks ok. Not gasping. Color good. Hanging out in bottom in his usual spots and eating well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 (edited) I have had to do back to back water to almost completely replace water to get nitrite to zero. I have been doing limited gravel vac to try not to disturb any bacteria in gravel. I have added back salt I removed proportionately. Edited April 5, 2022 by BAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Prime and Fritz compete do the same thing so I would just keep using Fritz compete as you have it to hand if you have another tank you can take some seeded filter media from it and add to this tank to help reduce your nitirtes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted April 8, 2022 Author Share Posted April 8, 2022 Hi All- here is the update… things have improved, somewhat. Now takes 1-2 days to get to nitrites of 1. I had a few days of no nitrites then a spike. Ammonia 0 nitrates 10 fins starting to look a little ragged but he is eating fine. i did some light gravel vacuuming and found some buried roots from some dying plants I had removed. Hopefully it will stop the blipping. Keeping up w salt and fritz complete. Adding stress guard just in case it’s helpful. feel free to add any comments you wish. Thanks for guiding me so far! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted April 8, 2022 Share Posted April 8, 2022 Hopefully that will stop your spikes, but keep feeding very light until things are fully sorted out and things settle down. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted April 12, 2022 Author Share Posted April 12, 2022 Ok now I had a small ammonia bump 0.5 yesterday and today; managing it and we are moving through nitrite bump tonight (0 ammonia) and slightly raised nitrate 20. I continue to use low dose salt (2 tablespoons for 10 gallons) and water change and bacteria and stress guard. but I noticed that my betta is having some blackening of dorsal fin and some ratting of fins underneath. See pics. Can’t see underneath well. But top fin more concerning. He had a little flair fin coming off his top fin bc of past scarring but that fell off. I am trying to decide if I should move him to quarantine tank and treat w meds or leave him in here while I ride it out. thoughts? Eating normal. A little more agitated than normal. But not a lot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 On 4/4/2022 at 10:40 AM, BAT said: I recently had 2 snails die in the tank - and I think that this has contributed to a spike in my parameters i would take a good look for more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 (edited) Is everyone in your tank accounted for? As @nabokovfan87 has hinted it's a bit strange it's still on (the issue)- not that it isn't possible. Bettas are seriously delicate IMO, if you have the ability to put him in QT with cycled media I would strongly consider that, with some salt and catappa leaf if you've got it. He may have the start of fin rot/bacteria infection. Keep the water stupid clean. Edited April 12, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 See what he looks like tomorrow, but if you have an alternate tank that’s ready, consider moving him since he’s potentially showing symptoms. If you don’t have an alternate tank, stay up on water changes and do the hunt for dead snails, dead plant leaves, anything that might be rotting including excess fish food. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted April 12, 2022 Author Share Posted April 12, 2022 Ok. I will move him to QT. no other dead snails. I suppose there could b dead pest snails somewhere in the gravel. I will look for leaves but haven’t seen any. should I do a deep gravel clean or will that disturb bacteria? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 I'd say if you move Betta that's a consideration but if you have other inhabitants I'd just do a section at a time over a week or so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now