Nitrites are 5.0 with fish in tank what to do

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Megagalvatron1

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 15, 2019
Messages
17
Hello I’m new to the forms here. I joined because I have a lot of problems with my tank and I don’t know what to do. Of course going to Petsmart and Petco I get many different answers and going online I get more confused than when I started. I’ll try to get as much information as I can so hopefully I can get some help to get this tank fixed. I really don’t wanna lose my fish or frog.
This is my first aquarium I’ve ever personally had to take care of. I grew up in a house with a lot of aquariums but never really did any of the work. My children wanted to buy a beta fish so they bought it and put it in a 1 gallon filtered tank. I made sure I purchased beta water and filled the tank up with that. They also bought a Pleco which at the time I did not know would grow as big as it would, that has since been taken to Petco and donated and somebody else has purchased it. They put a bunch of algae wafers in the tank which then caused the tank to turn gray so I knew I had to do something immediately. I made sure The beta didn’t move around or Swim it just laid on the bottom so after some research I went ahead and got him a 5.5 gallon tank (two weeks ago yesterday). I put a heater in it kept at 78°, some silk plants, 3 moss balls And some other fish. I honestly never knew anything about cycling a tank or anything like that I went to Petsmart and bought water that said it was pre-treated and that came with beneficial bacteria and said I could then start the immediately once I fill the tank with that. I had three shrimp and African dwarf frog and a beta.
I did know I supposed to monitor pH and all that so I for the first week would go to Petsmart and have them check and everything was always within range. I did add a few more shrimp I ended up at one point having 13 shrimp. After a week I did add a albino Cory.
A problem did arise on the first night when my froggy jumped out of the tank. It was out of the tank for about half an hour I assume as we ate dinner cleaned up and all which did take a while. When I found it it was hard I put it back in the tank and it sunk like a rock. Slowly did come back to life but stayed hidden for over a week. Once it finally did come out it was very pale and skinny. When it finally started moving about I spent time trying to figure out how to feed it. It’s a Fine now but at first I did not want to eat at all. I tried hand feeding it at all. I finally realized once it was ready it started eating all I had to do was drop frog pellets into the tank and it would find them. Because of the fact that it was so underweight I did feed it a few pallets twice a day about 5 or 6. Any pellets that were left over of the shrimp would take care of or the Cory.
I would feed my beta fish a few pellets each day. One or two of them would end up in the filter. Sometimes I would give the beta dried worms or shrimp. On the day before my tank had a nitrates spike I fed the frog on a little bridge I have. It did leave some food on the bridge more than I’d like as I didn’t notice it didn’t eat them earlier and the shrimp never went up to the bridge to eat it. I figured I would need to clean this up the next day. The next day I noticed a shrimp was dead and decapitated the bottom of my tank. I figured the frog must’ve ate one. I did a water change which was my second one since I had it. I changed about a gallon of the water and vacuumed it out I did however scrub some bacteria off of the heater not realizing it was beneficial bacteria and I should’ve left it. I also noticed I was missing a few more of my shrimp this day.
I figured I would go to Petsmart and replace some of the shrimp but I also want to know what was going on with my tank as I was just concerned with the fact that I was missing a lot of shrimp about five. My beta was also constipated. After looking up about the constipation decided not to feed them for the next two days as my frog had been eaten twice a day for a week and the beta was constipated. When I took my water and had it tested at Petco the nitrites were 5.0. PH was fine the water is hard and nitrates were also high. Ammonia was fine. This was two days ago. They told me to buy stability and put that in the tank and hope for the best. Yesterday I just added the stability. Online I see I should be trying to do water changes and so forth. I did change my water today 2 quarts worth. I’ve put in the stability in the tank also. Nitrates and all are still at five. I don’t know what to do as I really don’t want to lose my frog beta or catfish.
I have witnessed today that the beta and the frog are probably part of the reason why I don’t have the shrimp as I watched them kill one. The beta killed it and then the frog and beta were fighting over the corpse. They would literally take turns eating it. Either my frog nor my beta seems affected but I know this is not good conditions. I don’t know what I should do what can I do to get these nitrates down. I do not have a smaller tank to move anything into. Should I change my filter? Or maybe rinse it with tank water to see if that helps? I’m not sure if any nitrates would be in a filter or not. The filter is very green. Also could the nitrates be what’s causing my frog and beta all the sudden to be extra aggressive when it comes to the ghost shrimp that they were not bothered by for the last two weeks?
I’m sorry this is so long I just know from the two weeks of reading this while I’ve been dealing with this tank that people like as much information as they can to try and help. I also know a lot of this does have to do with me being a complete beginner when it comes to this. I tried my best to do as much research as I could and all after this beta was already in the house to try and figure out how to make sure he was happy. I also did research on what was considered good tank mates for it. Up untill all of this the beta it was not bothered by anything and what actually swim right with the shrimp or the frog and all the sudden now it’s eating the shrimp. Also sorry for the wall of text. When I typed it I made paragraphs but when I posted my paragraphs when away.
 
First off you added fish to an uncycled tank so you will have to be doing several water changes to get the water within acceptable levels. I'm talking back to back 50% water changes. You will have to test your water preferably with an accurate kit such as an API Freshwater Master test kit. With a fish in cycle you have to test water frequently so buying a test kit is handy.

After your several back to back water changes you will more than likely be doing 50% water changes every other day. So be prepared for this. Luckily for you, your tank isn't that big so this shouldn't be that difficult.

If your nitrites are 5 ppm it's at lethal levels. Remember, if you do a 50% water change your nitrites will be 2.5ppm. Your goal is 0 so you can see why it will take multiple water changes to lower this number.

Don't worry about pH. Fish adapt. But it's good to know your pH. You can use tap water with a dechlorinator such as Seachem Prime. There's no need to use anything else.

The other route is to purchase filter media containing beneficial bacteria. This will cycle your tank within a day or two. You can also get BB from old gravel or substrate from a cycled tank.

As far as your stock...... shrimp do get eaten by bettas and frogs. Also, Cory cats should be in schools and not kept by themselves. Cories should not really be kept in a 5g tank at all. I'd keep snails instead of shrimp and cories in your set up.

Im sure you probably have more questions but will start off with this.
 
I actually have the master tester kit that’s what I’ve been using. I did the 50% water change as well as added some more stability in it. I figure I will then check the nitrites later tonight and see if this made a difference. I was nervous about attempting to feed them but saw the beta kept chasing around the last two shrimp and figured maybe I should get him some food. The tank made sort work of the frog and betta food.
As for the Corey I did find that out after the fact. The people at Petco only had one Cory by it self in the tank and told me it would be perfectly fine by itself. My goal was to have this 5 gallon tank for a while and if it all worked transition to a 10 gallon so I could add another frog as well as some more Coreys. As I honestly don’t know that much I’m very surprised that the two shrimp, frog, betta, and Cory have lasted in the tank with this high of nitrate for this long. Of course then you hear stories about people putting in there Bettas in tap water and them lasting forever with no conditioner so maybe I shouldnt be surprised.
The nearest pet store from me as I half an hour so I actually don’t have any water conditioner. That’s why I’ve been buying the pre-treated betta water (from wal mart). Part of me does wonder if maybe there’s an issue with that water. But I have no idea. Maybe I should actually just check it.
 
You can test your tap water for everything in your test kit. If your gonna test the pH of your tap make sure to leave it out in a glass for 24 hours before you test it.

If you are buying fish and water from Walmart they should have dechlorinator.....if I'm understanding you right....and you can use your tap water with the dechlorinator. The only issue would be if your tap water was extremely bad where you live but you can figure that out by testing it.

If you are gonna be serious about keeping fish it's worth using Amazon or other websites and stocking up on a few things like dechlorinator, quality fish food, medications, KH and GH test kits, and a TDS digital test pen....there like $10.

Also, it may be in your best interest to get a 20 gallon long tank as your next tank. Then you can keep the different fish you want and you'll have the room. Keep your 5g as a quarantine tank to treat sick fish if need be.

The only way you will get rid of nitrites and most harmful things in your water is with water changes...... several and frequent. Like I said, your tank isn't cycled so you will be battling water quality issues until it's cycled. So prepare to change out water frequently.
 
Thank you so much for the advice you have given me so far. I did want to give a quick update as I’ve done two of those water changes and now nitrites are down to one. I’m starting to think that they were higher than five and my kit was just telling me five because Its as high as it went. Everything is still alive in my tank too. I have seen that Walmart does sell all of that stuff that you were talking about the dechlorinator and all. I honestly don’t know if it’s easier to do that or just keep buying the pre-treated water that I’ve been buying (2 dollars a quart). Right now constantly haveing to change out the water might be cheaper. I also did pick up some prime and added that with each water change to try and help. As for the cycling of the tank I have heard different things at this point my tank is almost 3 weeks old how much longer will it take for it to be fully cycled.
 
If you are using Seachem Prime then there's no need to buy treated water. Prime will dechlorinate your tap water and is a very good product to use regularly.

A cycled can take anywhere from 6-8 weeks. The biggest thing is patience. Once it's cycled it will all be worth it. Just hang in there and keep changing the water out and keeping your readings low. 1 ppm nitrites is still to high. Get it to 0 or .25 ppm maximum. Ammonia and nitrites will affect your fish eventually if left in the tank so you want to keep them very low.
 
I know I have to get nitrites down to zero. I was just happy that they were finally going down somewhat. Yes I am using seachem prime. Thank you for that advice I filled up my 2 gallon jug with tapwater and put some prim in it and I will check it tomorrow to see if that made it safe to use. That would be very helpful if it works thank you.
 
Prime will dechlorinate your tap water within seconds. No need to set it out unless you are trying to temperature match. I imagine you have access to hot and cold tap water. Get yourself a cheap thermometer and match your tank temp with your tap water as you are filling your jug/bucket. Add prime then put it in your tank. Easy as that.

Keep us updated on your progress. [emoji106]
 
I’m keeping it overnight as I’ve already changed the water today. Nitrites are now .25. Hopefully after one more change it will be down to 0. Thanks again you’ve been very helpful. I did lose a shrimp. I’m pretty sure it got eaten it was small
 
So my filter is telling me to change it should I? It’s a top fin silenstream small filter. I’ve heard some people say not to.
 
I'd let it run a few more weeks. Just feed your fish 4 days a week. When you do clean it use tank water or dechlorinated tap water. Don't scrub it clean. Just enough to clear up the filter if it's got gunk built up on it. A lot of times just swishing it around in water cleans it up.
 
I finally got nitrites to 0. Everything is were it should be. I did find out my tap water is acidic though (about 6.4) What is a good safe for plants fix for ph.
 
Your pH is fine. Are you wanting to raise it for the shrimp? Don't use chemicals to alter your pH. If you want to raise it naturally add crushed coral to your substrate or add diluted baking soda to your tank water at one TEAspoon per 5 gallons of water. Another option is using bottled spring water or mixing your water 50/50 with spring water and tap water. I've recently seen bottled alkaline water at grocery stores that you could mix 50/50 with your tap water.
 
I was just going by my master tester kit saying it should be 7.0. If 6.4 is good that great. Right now I’m In Monitor mode. I figure I’ll give it some time before I replace the shrimp. Not going to add as many. My daughter keeps asking about another frog. In your opinion would that be to much. 2 frogs a Cory and betta plus some shrimp? I keep seeing different opinions. Some say fine some say to much. Or should I add a Cory so at least there is two to be together.
 
I think you are already slightly overstocked for the type of fish you have right now and the size of your tank. I definitely wouldn't add anymore until your tank is cycled.

IMO you shouldn't have cories in a 5.5g tank at all. And they should be kept in a group of at least 4.
 
I found out about the Cory after the fact. It’s ironic I returned the Pleco because it was too big and this is what they told me to get instead.Both the frog and the Cory just swim and stare at there reflection. This is why part of me feels that if it’s possible I should get one or the other. This is a big reason why I want to get a bigger tank. But want to make sure I can take care of this one first. The good part is everything is holding stable on my tank since my last post. I’ve not had to do anything to it. I did have a question about my filter. You said I should wash it with tank water should I do that now or wait a few weeks? Also when will I know my tank has been fully cycled?
 
If the filter is really gunked up you could swish it around in old tank water and put it back in. Don't scrub it or make it completely clean looking.

You'll know your tank is cycled when you no longer have ammonia and nitrite readings but your nitrates are reading higher. Essentially you should be able to go an entire week without an ammonia reading or maybe a .25 ppm reading on day 7. If you were doing a fish less cycle you would gauge your cycle by adding 2 ppm ammonia and within 24 hours you should have a reading of 0.
 
Well after a few days of everything staying within range my nitrates went up. Nitrites and ammonia are still 0. I put my filter in tank water and swished it around. I had to wipe a little, not a lot just to get the big chunks off. After I did this my little monitor went from red which means change it back to blue. How often am I actually supposed to change my filter in a 5.5 gallon tank? I have had some stuff that looks like brown algae growing on my silk plant. What’s a good way to get rid of that? Should I just let leave it and hope the shrimp get to it? Or do I need to actually take to plan out and wipe it down? Or can it be wipe it down while in the tank? Also I assume it might be brown algae but I’m not sure as it looks like brown stains on it. I did about a 25% water change and added some more prime and stability in it.
 
I would think you'd clean your filter anywhere between 2-4 weeks. Really depends on how much gunk you're getting.

The brown algae is diatoms. That's normal for a new tank. Shrimp will eat it. Nerite snail's and oto's will also clean it up.

If it gets to bad, reach in your tank during a water change and rub it off your plants with your fingers.
 
So I don’t know if it was a good idea or not but I change my plastic plants to real plants. This did seem to bother my beta for about a couple hours as even though one of the plastic plants was a little hard he like to hide under it. He flared at the plant I put in in a little bit got mad at it snapped at it and now he put swims to it all the time and hides in it. I didn’t think this would affect anything and I was trying to accomplish in my tank only hoping it would help keep any ammonia and nitrites down. He does seem to spend a lot more time now swimming in the plants now that he actually can. I have continued to keep my nitrites at 0. I was wondering as I keep hearing different things what your take is my kit says my nitrates should be 40 or lower and mine are reading 20. Some places are telling me though they should be about 10. I do have a few live plants in my aquarium now so what should be the acceptable range? So since my post on the 20th I have not had nitrates go up at all and nitrates went up. As it’s been about 10 days and this is been holding steady at the same play spot does this mean my tank is now cycled? as it almost 5 weeks or is that still in the cycling process? Again I wanna thank you so much for all the help you’ve given me going to the pet stores and talking to people even people that said they had a bunch of fish no one ever told me about doing the 50% water changes and I was the only thing that seems to been able to hold my tank and get it where it needed to be. You’ve been a lot of help thank you so much. One lady who everyone told me was the best person to go to at the pet store assured me everything in my tank would die. Besides losing some shrimp mostly to the beta eating them nothing died. She also told me to get stability when after my own research prime is what I needed to quickly fix it to keep the fish alive.
 
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