What the...? HELP! QUICK!

[bosk1]

Okay, ignore my previous rant about the [acronym:f93db32c41="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:f93db32c41] yesterday. I tested my water yesterday. I got: 0/0/10
The [acronym:f93db32c41="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:f93db32c41] tested it yesterday. They told me it was 0/.25/10. I looked at the nitrite test, and it was 0, not .25. (they are using the AP liquid test kit, as am I)

I tested the water today after I got home from work. I got: 0/.25. (Didn't bother testing nitrates) Hmm... That's strange. Zero to .25 on the nitrites. I started doubting myself, but I'm absolutely certain that my test kit read zero nitrites yesterday, and when I looked at the [acronym:f93db32c41="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:f93db32c41]'s test vial, it also showed zero. So I figure I'll do a [acronym:f93db32c41="Partial water change"]pwc[/acronym:f93db32c41] just to make sure I don't get a worse spike. So, 50% [acronym:f93db32c41="Partial water change"]pwc[/acronym:f93db32c41]. I go out for a while and come back to...

Nitrites between 2 and 5 [acronym:f93db32c41="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:f93db32c41] and one clown loach dead! I don't get it! How could 2 separate test kits show zero one day, a test kit show .25 the next day, and then above 2 a couple of hours later after a 50% [acronym:f93db32c41="Partial water change"]pwc[/acronym:f93db32c41]? In any case, I must have seriously screwed something up. But right now, I just want to save my remaining fish. What do I do? The only thing I can think of is another massive [acronym:f93db32c41="Partial water change"]pwc[/acronym:f93db32c41], and more to follow tomorrow. This is very upsetting!

[Lonewolfblue]

Ouch... That's about all you can do, other than adding Bio Spira if you could get some, or do a [acronym:a04be84818="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:a04be84818] on an existing cycled tank with gravel vac and add that to the tank. That's what helped speed mine up, since I had access to a cycled tank. Let us know how things go...

[Lonewolfblue]

Are you down to just the fish in your signature? If that's all that's in the 55G, then once you do a massive [acronym:3bac7666df="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:3bac7666df], should be easy to keep the nitrites down til it cycles, as it's a small bioload. But first things first, get the nitrites down.

[bosk1]

Tested again just to make sure. Right at 2.0.

[acronym:5cba68a333="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:5cba68a333] in progress...

[Lonewolfblue]

Also, you just want to feed lightly. The hardest part is getting the nitrites down, but once it's down, will be easier keeping it down with regular daily [acronym:45c2522c9c="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:45c2522c9c]'s.

[bosk1]

Okay. 60% [acronym:a79c5ff959="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:a79c5ff959] complete. Man, I'm gonna be good with that python by the time this is over! Anyway...

The smaller of the two loaches was loving the [acronym:a79c5ff959="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:a79c5ff959]. He was swimming all over the place, and then when he realized where the water was coming in, he played in the stream until the tank filled and I pulled the python out. I'm a bit worried about the larger one. He was acting very listless earlier. He just sat there on his side, not moving--which may be just normal loach behavior, but he just didn't seem active. He moved around a little bit when the new water started coming in, and is now sitting upright in a different part of the tank. His breathing seems a bit fast, and his gills seem a bit dark. But I don't know what else I can do at this point. My little blue gourami seems okay, but I'd still like to see her come out in the open. I will check my nitrite level again in a bit once the water has a chance to circulate. Then, it's off to bed. Hopefully, things will hold relatively steady while I am at work tomorrow. If they don't...well, there's not much I can do until I get home.

[bosk1]

Okay, I'm back. Thanks so much for all the feedback, both in this thread and in the pm's I have been getting.

I guess I have to swallow my pride and admit I messed up. But the thing is, I'm not sure what I messed up. Aside from the loss of fish, which is frustrating enough, the other thing that frustrates me about this is thinking I understood what my tank was doing, and then having this happen and not know why. My nitrites were zero, according to my AP kit, and my [acronym:bff28297e4="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:bff28297e4]'s AP kit. Then, 0.25, which could mean they were in between 0 and .25, and crept up a little. But then to spike at 2.0 withing hours after a 50% [acronym:bff28297e4="Partial water change"]pwc[/acronym:bff28297e4]...I just don't get it--especially with the low bioload in a 55 g tank! As a little more background, I saw my nitrites creep up over the last few weeks until they were about 5, and then come back down again until they disappeared. This fact, combined with me verifying that the [acronym:bff28297e4="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:bff28297e4]'s kit was showing zero is what led me to disregard what they had initially told me.

Okay, and I just checked the nitrites again. After the 60% [acronym:bff28297e4="Partial water change"]pwc[/acronym:bff28297e4], I'm still showing 2.0. This makes no sense to me. It is not, and has not been the same color as the 5.0 reading on the chart, but hasn't moved from 2.0 after changing 60% of the water a little while ago, and 50% earlier tonight. This just defies all logic as I understand it.

[Crusis]

I agree. That's definitely odd. I hope you find the answer, I'd like to know it as well. Sorry for your losses, Bosk

[malkore]

Bosk,

so you have the AP nitrite kit...and you say when you added all the reagents, it turned purple, then faded to the light blue which you felt indicated 0.00ppm right?

Because, I have the AP nitrite kit too, and when using it, it ALWAYS starts off powder blue, and then turns purple if nitrites are present.
Either AP changed their kit reagents, or you may have a faulty kit that wasn't reading properly.

Keep nitrites down thru [acronym:4fbe52e97b="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:4fbe52e97b]'s. 2.0 shouldn't be that toxic to most fish, but I can see the clown being the most sensitive.
Nitrite blocks the fish's ability to absorb oxygen when 'breathing', so as long as it's kept under 2.0ppm the remaining fish should be fine. Other than some stress, they won't be permanently damaged.

[bosk1]

Before my nitrites started to spike about 2+ weeks ago, the reaction in my test vials was as you describe. After I saw them appear to peak and come down, it would get the bright magenta color in the beginning after mixing the water (approximately the 2.0 reading color), and then it would fade to the light powder blue over the 5-minute waiting period. Since the kit says the reaction is supposed to take 5 minutes before you are supposed to get a reading, I ignored the initial color. The color after the 5 minutes was definitely the powder blue 0 color. I don't know if this is the case or not, but perhaps if the nitrites get too high, the reagent will not function properly and will give false readings. That's the only explanation I can come up with. I also considered that perhaps I got a bad batch of reagent (there could be a number of causes for that), but the [acronym:18fe2b7215="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:18fe2b7215] got the same results.

Anyhow, I tested again this morning. Same reading, if not a little higher. Another 60% [acronym:18fe2b7215="Partial water change"]pwc[/acronym:18fe2b7215], and I'm off to work. We'll see what happens.