Hello from KY

[Kelli]

I have a 55 gal freshwater tank. Approx 3 months. Carbon filtration and bubbler.... I had just one small fantail goldfish and one small pleco to start. About 3 weeks ago I added an oranda and a black moor, both about four or five inches from head to tail tip. Now my nitrites are around 3.0 for about a week. I've done gravel vac and water change at least four times in the past week. Nitrates are 0 but nitrites stay elevated. I noticed my pleco had ich about four days ago. I've been using quick cure and his spots are gone. But still the nitrites are up. I've salted the tank (tbsp per 5 gal). Temp is 74-76. Do I keep treating ich since it's no longer visible and what about my nitrites? Please excuse any non response as I live in the woods and only have an iPhone that loses signal intermittently. Thanx.

 

[rive1404]

Welcome to AA! The presence of nitrite may indicate the bioload you introduced to the aquarium by adding the new fish may be too much for the bacteria that is currently present in your tank. Keep up the water changes, and in time the nitrifying bacteria will catch up to convert all the nitrites to nitrate.

I'm not too good with treating ich, so I can't help there. Sorry. Good luck.

I'm from KY, too!

 

[dkpate]

Well, the QuICK Cure probably killed your beneficial bacteria, and you might have to start the nitrogen cycle all over again.

 

[neilanh]

Welcome to AA!!!

The nitrIte spike is due to the new fish. Those are large, messy fish that you added, and your tank is adjusting now to the new bioload.

You'll need to continue to do water changes to keep the nitrItes low (below 0.5ppm if you can) while the tank adjusts to the new bioload.

As for the ich, I'd treat with the heat method. Slowly increase your tank temperature (a few degrees a day) up to 85 degrees and leave it there for 2 weeks. This will actually accomplish 2 things for you. 1) the heat will kill off the ich parasite, and 2) the warmer water will help the bacteria multiply quicker that consumes the nitrItes for you.

Do you test for ammonia as well? I'm surprised you haven't seen a spike on that yet (or perhaps it already happened and returned to 0)

 

[Aquarium1]

+1 for all those above, good advice. Welcome to AA nice to have another fellow Kentuckian aboard

 

[dkpate]

Since you are already using meds, I would stick with that. Don't you only use it for 3 days anyway?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Welcome to AA Good advice given above. Water changes are going to be crucial right now

 

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Kelli]

Well thanks. I will do all of the above although I'll have to get a heater....do I need to keep salting? I'm leery of hurting the pleco although he/she seems to be improving. I only have the water test sticks that change color and the nitrite is the only one elevated. I got the fish from a really good aquarist but to ask him any questions is like self torture. He's not very nice. . Thanx for the help I am new to this. Oh and I was told I didn't need a heater bcuz goldfish need so much O2 that heat might somehow reduce that for them...I feed them once daily also is that too much?

 

[dkpate]

You should get a liquid test kit also, since the strips are notoriously inaccurate. The liquid one is cheaper in the long run too. You can get them for $18 at walmart.com.

 

[logansmomma1228]

Heat and salt work wonders for ich! Welcome to AA

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

welcome to AA! the only thing i'm wondering about though, gold fish are supposed to be cold water, if you put a heater in it gold fish may not like it too much. i know i had a gold fish in a heated tank and he didnt do to well.

 

[Kelli]

Thankyou! I'm still so new at this....:/. I hope my fish can survive me....

 

[Kelli]

Is it possible to do too many water changes and although my tank is 55 gal isn't some water displaced by the gravel and the decorations? What do I measure dosage of anything at if there technically is NOT 55 gal in there??? Should this even be an issue....

 

[dkpate]

I did 50% water changes, but I had a smaller tank. If you have .4 ppm, and you do a 50% pwc, you should have .2ppm, and so on. You can do 2 water changes a day if you need to. Not back to back, but spaced out. And make sure you use dechlorinator if you need to (city water) and keep the new water as close to the same temp as what's in the tank.
Just guess on the 50%. Take out half the water. But if you haven't done a pwc in a while, only do about 15% so you don't shock your fish with a pH swing.

 

[mgamer20o0]

Welcome to AA.