Dharmie Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 (edited) I did a test strip in my tank today, and for the first time since ive had it, the nitrites are at about 2.0 i think. One of my fish has developed a bubble on her eyelid as well. She has fry in her mouth. And another of my fish has what looks like a cut or something on his head. Im not sure if these are realated, but id really like some tips! I also have some ammonia stuff for my tank, and i think i read that ammionia and nitrites go together. Would it help to use that? I am going to do a half water change also. Thanks Edited February 19, 2010 by Dharmie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbruun Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 You need to get a liquid test kit instead of the strips. The liquid kits are actually accurate. And you need to do a large water change if your nitrite is at 2. You need to get it down to 0. The find out why your nitrites have gone up. What is your ammonia and nitrate at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 have you overfed the tank in the past day? have any of the fish died and you didn't notice/remove from the tank right away? a nitrite spike would happen after an ammonia spike, and ammonia spikes happen when there is excess 'dead' stuff (food, dead fish, etc). i agree with tim, get a liquid test kit. strips are crud. API freshwater master kit is the best. it may seem like a fair bit of money (average cost is 25 to 30 bucks, depending on where you go) but well worth it because you can do so many tests and the regents (the liquids) are good for about a year (they have an expiry date). plus, it's always fun to pretend you're a mad scientist with little vials and chemicals! hahahaha! until you have a new test kit, i'd be doing minimum 50% water changes daily, just to be on the safe side. keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baos Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 strips are fine. But it's good to get results double checked. Otherwise do a water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakdrob Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 strips are fine.  But it's good to get results double checked.  Otherwise do a water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 strips are fine.  But it's good to get results double checked.  Otherwise do a water change. The API Freshwater Master test kit is probably the best route to go. Allot of people use test strips but know they can be inaccurate so have the liquid for a backup and to occasionally double check to make sure the strips are continueing to do their job accurately. Good on you for checking in the fist place though and for asking for help. Many don't and fish die. Anyway As they stated before me some of the reasons there could be a spike and to do a water change Here is what i'd suggest on top of that if you can. 1. Double check with a liquid test kit asap 2. Get some Stability to bolster the bacteria in the tank. 3. Read up on the nitrogen cycle to get a basic idea of what the heck that gunk in the filter actually does. Good Luck and i wish i could help on the scratched fish and bubble eye but the best thing i can reccomend is Quarentene them if you can. L Here is a really in depth link on many FAQ's and another that is the specific one for the Nitrogen Cycle. It can get really techy but continue reading and you'll get a good understanding of the cycle even if you didn't get half of the techy stuff. It really isn't as bad as i make it sound so just read the second link through and you won't be sorry. Terse map of the Aquaria FAQ'sNitrogen Cycle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 strips are fine.  But it's good to get results double checked.  Otherwise do a water change. The API Freshwater Master test kit is probably the best route to go. Allot of people use test strips but know they can be inaccurate so have the liquid for a backup and to occasionally double check to make sure the strips are continueing to do their job accurately. Good on you for checking in the fist place though and for asking for help. Many don't and fish die. Anyway As they stated before me some of the reasons there could be a spike and to do a water change Here is what i'd suggest on top of that if you can. 1. Double check with a liquid test kit asap 2. Get some Stability to bolster the bacteria in the tank. 3. Read up on the nitrogen cycle to get a basic idea of what the heck that gunk in the filter actually does. Good Luck and i wish i could help on the scratched fish and bubble eye but the best thing i can reccomend is Quarentene them if you can. L Here is a really in depth link on many FAQ's and another that is the specific one for the Nitrogen Cycle. It can get really techy but continue reading and you'll get a good understanding of the cycle even if you didn't get half of the techy stuff. It really isn't as bad as i make it sound so just read the second link through and you won't be sorry. Terse map of the Aquaria FAQ'sNitrogen Cycle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dharmie Posted February 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 (edited) Thanks so much! I did a water change last night, and checked it again, and they are still up. have you overfed the tank in the past day? have any of the fish died and you didn't notice/remove from the tank right away? a nitrite spike would happen after an ammonia spike, and ammonia spikes happen when there is excess 'dead' stuff (food, dead fish, etc). No fish have died, but i did feed them some blood worms recently. Maybe its from the bits at the bottom?? I will vacuum the tank tonight and see how that works! I have some 'ammo-lock' its an ammonia detoxifyer. Would that help?? Edited February 19, 2010 by Dharmie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 i've never used any of the chemicals to take care of ammonia and/or nitrite issues. i just do big honkin' water changes and test frequently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 (edited) I'd suspect faulty strips if a large 1/4 of the tank water change didn't affect the reading at all. Bring a sample into the petsmart nearest you and they'll do a free test with their strips for a comparison. If it did then keep it up. Vaccume up that excess food it really could be the source of your problem. If large amounts of it made it into the filter then you might want to very gently rinse the media in the tank just before you do a Water change to get rid of the undecomposed excess matter it most likely sucked up(Only if you have a Hang on back filter. If you have a cannister then it's not worth the hassle). Ammo Lock and the like won't help with Nitrites as all they do is take the ammonia in the water and turn it into its less toxic form and the bacteria then takes it and converts it into Nitrites and then NitrItes. UNLESS it says it detoxify's BOTH ammonia and Nitrites it's worthless in this situation.Other than that a double dose of prime and Stability with the Water Changes should ensure things don't get worse and would help to improve the situation as Prime detoxify's Nitrite and Ammonia and Stability will add the extra bacteria that will give the tank an extra boost to speed up it's conversion of Nitrite into NitrAte. Oh and before the next Water Change you might want to test for NitrAte and if it doesn't exist in the tank then you really need to double check those strips with something else as that is the end product of the nitrogen cycle and only Heavily planted tanks with few fish don't have large buildups of NitrAtes. Good luck L Edited February 21, 2010 by Ishkabod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 I'm going to suggest something different here. Have looked at your filter and water flow?? Is it time to clean or to change some media?? I don't use any tests but notice when a tank is looking "off". Then I do water changes but also clean the filter and put in some new media. Seems to work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dharmie Posted February 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 Is my 'Media;' the black sponge? I am never sure what to do with that. Is it safe to rinse that just in tank water?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ichthyosporidium Posted February 28, 2010 Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 (edited) Is my 'Media;' the black sponge? I am never sure what to do with that. Is it safe to rinse that just in tank water?? Media is what is in your filter. The 'black sponge you are describing is just that. Most likely a carbon impregnated sponge or fiber pad. Yes it would be ok to rinse in some tank water that you have removed from the tank. It is what I do for any sponges or pre-filter material (ceramic tubes, lava rock, sponges, coconut fiber, poly wool, etc.) One thing, What type of filter are you running as this would help determine the type of maintenance recomended. Edited February 28, 2010 by Ichthyosporidium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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