Small nitrite spike

[Zac]

Hey all,

The past 3 or so days I’ve had a small nitrite spike according to the API test kit. The reedings were between 0 and .25. Like a dark blue, but not quite purple yet. It’s been pretty consistent and hasn’t been getting any worse. The odd thing is I never saw any ammonia at all. One day they were both at 0, then the next day nitrites were between 0 and .25. My nitrates are around 20ish (the oranges are hard to read on the kit😅). Anyways…here’s what I’ve been doing since I noticed the spike:

-Did a 20% water change 2 days ago and have been adding prime daily. 
-Yesterday added a dose of fritzyme (1/4 cup per 10 gallons. My tank is 30. I added 2 full 1/4 cups and then a half of the other because my tank probably holds 25 after all the decor)

-one medium sized feeding per day

I haven’t noticed any improvement. I plan on doing another 20%-25% water change tomorrow. 

I did dose Maracyn last Sunday, but I didn’t notice the nitrite spike until 3 days or so after I administered the antibiotics. I’m thinking that could be the cause. I didn’t do a full 5-day treatment, I only treated once and let it sit in the tank and let the fish absorb the meds for a few days 

 

Thoughts?

 

[Shadow]

On 7/29/2023 at 12:30 PM, Zac said:

Hey all,

The past 3 or so days I’ve had a small nitrite spike according to the API test kit. The reedings were between 0 and .25. Like a dark blue, but not quite purple yet. It’s been pretty consistent and hasn’t been getting any worse. The odd thing is I never saw any ammonia at all. One day they were both at 0, then the next day nitrites were between 0 and .25. My nitrates are around 20ish (the oranges are hard to read on the kit😅). Anyways…here’s what I’ve been doing since I noticed the spike:

-Did a 20% water change 2 days ago and have been adding prime daily. 
-Yesterday added a dose of fritzyme (1/4 cup per 10 gallons. My tank is 30. I added 2 full 1/4 cups and then a half of the other because my tank probably holds 25 after all the decor)

-one medium sized feeding per day

I haven’t noticed any improvement. I plan on doing another 20%-25% water change tomorrow. 

I did dose Maracyn last Sunday, but I didn’t notice the nitrite spike until 3 days or so after I administered the antibiotics. I’m thinking that could be the cause. I didn’t do a full 5-day treatment, I only treated once and let it sit in the tank and let the fish absorb the meds for a few days 

 

Thoughts?

 

Don't freak out, how old is the tank overall? These things happen even to well established tanks and honestly, .25% is barely readable and only should require you monitoring it and your water parameters. I had a small spike about 2 weeks ago in my all Kitty tank because they were being very wasteful and I was slightly delayed in my weekly water change. Did a partial one day and two days my usual 20%, after that all was well. Also, why are you dosing your tank with antibiotics? Have you had a issue?

[Zac]

On 7/29/2023 at 3:01 PM, Shadow said:

Don't freak out, how old is the tank overall? These things happen even to well established tanks and honestly, .25% is barely readable and only should require you monitoring it and your water parameters. I had a small spike about 2 weeks ago in my all Kitty tank because they were being very wasteful and I was slightly delayed in my weekly water change. Did a partial one day and two days my usual 20%, after that all was well. Also, why are you dosing your tank with antibiotics? Have you had an issue?

The tank is about a year old and I was dosing antibiotics because I had brought a new fish in without quarantining (dumb mistake) and I had ich along with a secondary bacterial infection from the ich. I’m not super worried it’s just odd. All the fish are acting fine though so I’ll just keep an eye on it and perform my weekly maintenance as usual