High nitrites for about a week now..and a sick oscar

[Fishbro]

So I started my tank 3 weeks, 2 days ago and my nitrites are through the roof. I know this is the second stage of the nitrogen cycle but I'm curious to how long it is going to last?

I have a 55g with 2 baby tiger oscars in it. I just put them in around 4 days ago. They both seem happy and always make me feel guilty for not feeding them more. Lol!

The only problem is one of them has come down with Ick, so I slowly increased the water temp to 86 degrees, added aquarium salt and added Ick medication. (i took out the filters) After 2 days of treatment he is doing about the same, no signs of improvement and no signs of getting worse. He eats fine and always shakes around when I come by, what else can i do for the little guy?

Don't give me the lecture of "should have waited to put fish in." I understood the risks when I put the fish in a non-fully cycled tank.

 

[Rokuzachi]

Fish in cycling is just fine as long as you're on top of things. You won't get any lectures from me.

Once the life cycle of the Ick is complete, that's when you'll kill it. The little cysts are resistant, so when they burst and drop their stuff into the water, that's when the meds will hit it. That's what the increased temp does, is speed up its cycle.

If you use Prime, you can use a 5x dose to temporarily detox the nitrites. The prime will bond to it and prevent it from entering the fish's blood where it will restrict their ability to absorb oxygen. Salt also helps with this. I mention this because stress can be what causes diseases and such to take hold, and lowering that factor as much as possible will help them get over illness and resist it better in the future.

 

[Fishbro]

How do I know when the life cycle is complete?