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View Full Version : Help! Nitrite Over night?


gnorts
01/01/2009, 09:54 AM
So I check my levels almost everyday probally not necasary but im new and trying to make it a habit Well yesterday I notice that there was no nitrites in the water at all and this morning I woke up to see a my newly added goby(not even a day old in the tank) was dead. so not jumping to conclusion I thought maybe it was just stress and shocked. Decided to test water and notice I have a nitrite reading of 1 PPM . Immediatly did a 10 gallon water change and It lowered it a little but not to 0 what could have cause this. Im afraid for my other fish. They all ate this morning and seem to be fine showing no signs of stress? will this level out and everything be ok? other readings are

Ammonia - barely reading above zero hard to tell.
Ph is lower then usual at right around 8 normally 8.2
nitrate has been at 20 and still remains there trying to lower that.

LTCrunch
01/01/2009, 10:15 AM
how long have you had this tank set up?

jenglish
01/01/2009, 10:41 AM
I think that more than likely your goby did die of shock and the slight rise in ammonia and nitrites is simply there temporarily being a bit more tissue breaking down and ammonia present than your bio filter is used to dealing with.

How did you acclimate your goby?

gnorts
01/01/2009, 11:01 AM
DRIP Acclimation for 2 hours and as far as my other fish will they be ok? or should I wait until later and do another 10 gallon water change?

gnorts
01/01/2009, 11:06 AM
Up until this point (After the cycle) all parameters where as follows

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Salinaty - 1.025
Nitrate - 15-20
PH 8.2

jenglish
01/01/2009, 11:24 AM
Fish in general will be fine w/ brief exposure to low levels of ammonia or nitrite. You were likely just experiencing a mini cycle w/ the death of a fish. Your acclimation procedures seem fine. Perhaps the fish was unhealthy when you got it. With that low of a reading I would not really worry about doing more water changes. I would of course watch all the other fish for any signs of disease as it sounds like from your description you are not using a QT before introducing to your display. I think for now you should just watch and see but I would not be overly worried given the present information.

tmz
01/01/2009, 11:55 AM
Nitrite is not toxic to marine fish untill you reach extremely high levels beyond the maximum of most test kits.Ammonia is.
The numbers you show should not cause any harm.

If the goby was not in quarantine , then the other fish may be exposed to a pathenogen or parasite, if that is what killed, it so I would watch them closely.

Acclimation techniques depend on the bag water.

For shipped fish that have been in the bag overnight or longer, keeping them in the opened bag water for several hours can be harmful. As the fish urinates,etc. ammonia builds up as ammonium in the low ph water( low since it is laden with CO2 from the respiration of the fish). Ammonium is a less toxic form of ammonia. When the bag is opened and the ph rises as the CO2 blows off into the air and the ammonium speciates to more toxic ammonia rapidly.Many shippers use oxyugen filled bags to offset the CO2 buildup in the water, but you can't be sure of the ammonia content and ph over a long period of time.

You still need to avoid moving a fish into higher salinity since doing so will cause osmotic shock. In many cases shipping water for fish is at lower sgs, typicaly 1.015 or so. Ideally, you would only raise sg by .001 per day to avoid any stress. So who can acclimate for 10 days?
You can and avoid ammonia toxicity too,if you employ a quarantine tank and adjust the salinity and temperature in it to match the bag water. Just ask the shipper for th sg Then float the unopened bag for 15 to 20 minutes to tune up the temperature. open the bag and place the fish into the quarantine tank quickly.You now have time to adjust sg to match your display and an opportunity to observe and treat any illness as well as an opportunity to let the fish gain strength and try different feeding methods.

For fish you acquire locally drip acclimation is a preferred technique .

There are many reasons to use a quarantine tank for new fish.

gnorts
01/01/2009, 12:59 PM
yea I know all about the quaratine and would love to. I know im losing more money and opening oppurtunity for disease in the DT but I cant have a quarantine tank. Living at home right now home from college just not aloud to :(