High Nitrates During Ich Treatment

[McLumpy]

I'm beginning my 2nd week of treating an Ich outbreak and I just tested my Nitrates... 160ppm!!!

I want to do a water change, but I don't want to lose the amount of Ich-Attack that I currently have in my tank. It is doing well at getting rid of the Ich and my fish are returning back to "normal", but the nitrate reading has me concerned.

Tank Specs: 55 gallon/freshwater/community fish/artificial plants/est. 10 mo's ago

Parameters: (results per API Freshwater Master Test Kit)
pH - 7.6
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 160 (Nitrate level straight from tap - 5.0)

Also, the pH is higher than I like, but I have a piece of Mopani soaking and I had planned on adding it after my Ich issue is over to help decrease the pH. I also plan on doing a 50% water change, adding carbon back to the filter media, and slowly decreasing the temp after my battle w/ the Ich is over.

The last PWC was performed a week ago before I started treating the tank w/ Ich-Attack. I did a 50% water change w/ a thorough vacuum of the gravel substrate.

I have treated 2 Ich outbreaks in the past with success and never ran into a Nitrate spike like this! Any idea what would cause this? How can I drop the Nitrate level w/o stalling out my Ich treatment?

Btw, my fish are active and eating well again so I have no doubt the treatment is working! (However a few are still flashing, but not nearly as bad as they were). I figure I have at least one more week before I have won the Ich battle.

TIA for any advice!

 

[hdultra]

If it were me. I would water change and then remed the tank. You must have been really affected real bad.
I have never seen a level that high.
Try retesting and see if it's the same.
Are you still seeing spot on the little fishy's ?
Sorry I have no causes for why the nitrates would spike like that.

 

[McLumpy]

Thanks for the response!

I tested the Nitrates the day after I did the 50% wc before I started treating the tank and they were high then, (can't recall what the reading was), but 160ppm a week after doing a wc has me stumped!

I tested 3 times in the last 3 days, reads 160ppm every time. With my tap reading 5.0, I can't see how it could be that high after 1 week following a wc.

 

[hdultra]

I'm sure some of the ladies and guy's here will follow up with you.

If the spots are gone and you have not seem them in 3 days or so, I would water change and bring the tank back to acceptable levels and put the carbon back to remove the meds. If that is a true reading you already know what to do. Just my thoughts

Good Luck.....

 

[McLumpy]

The white spots are gone from all but 2 of my Neon Tetras. The Tetras, I believe are the reason for the Ich outbreak. I had purchased 4 of them 2 weeks ago and before I knew it, the flashing began and 2 of the 4 Neons and my Pleco had white spots.

Some of the fish are still flashing and my Neons still have some white spots on them... so this leads me to believe that my fight isn't over yet. Trust me, I would love to get the tank back to normal asap, but I don't want to jump-the-gun and not kill off all the Ich and have to start all over.

 

[hdultra]

In that case, I would water change and remed the tank , just keep track of how much water you take out and remed per instructions. What is the Temp in the tank.

I went through the ich thing not long ago, when I brought home additions.

 

[McLumpy]

The temp is 86F. I guess I'm just hesitant about doing a pwc during treatment because I've been told to avoid doing that or else it will eliminate the strength of the medication, (even if you replace the medication with the new water).

It's just frustrating. I have no problem doing pwc's, (and it's normally done weekly), but I guess I'm just looking for an alternative to decreasing the Nitrates before I perform a wc and replace the meds.

And, like I had posted, the Nitrates tested high a day after the 50% wc before I started treatment. So, I guess my real question is would a pwc even matter if it didn't w/ the last one? I had also considered that maybe the Ich-Attach could be throwing off my readings... but I wouldn't think so.

 

[hdultra]

PWC should lower nitrates.
What brand are you using for ich.
Kordon say's to treat every 24 hours and in extreme cases every 12 hours.
It say's do a pwc before each treatment. That's right off of the bottle.


When I did my treatment Nitrates stayed the same according to my records.

I have know idea how yours got that high, I think PWC are in you future. You gotta get them down.

 

[hdultra]

I forwarded this to someone I trust and really has allot of knowledge here on this site.

 

[OhNeil1969]

If you are concerned with not losing your ICH meds, I recommend dosing your tank with some Seachem Prime. I had a nitrIte spike recently while treating for ich and dosed the tank with Prime as recommended on the bottle. By the next day everything was back to normal. I realize that I was dealing with a different form of nitrogen, but the Prime was very effective at helping me with my problem. Maybe it will help you with yours.

 

[OhNeil1969]

BTW, I was also using Kordon Ich Attack.

 

[McLumpy]

I'm using Kordon Ich-Attack, (the green bottle that says "Herbal Formula"). I'm actually treating twice a day right now because my Pleco, (along w/ a few other fish), were so lethargic to the point where I'm sure I was going to lose the battle if I didn't act quick. They have all bounced back after one week and I had planned on only treating once a day for another week or until there were no more signs of Ich.

The bottle I have says: "Ich-Attack does not require water changes before each treatment. Do at least a 20% water change at the end of treatment."

I assume this means that it's not necessary to do a water change until the entire treatment is done? I wouldn't think that they would suggest to do a pwc after adding the medication to the tank.

I'm really starting to think that I should have considered getting a Guinea Pig instead of getting back into freshwater fish. LMAO I don't recall my first fish tank being this big of a pain!

 

[McLumpy]

If you are concerned with not losing your ICH meds, I recommend dosing your tank with some Seachem Prime. I had a nitrIte spike recently while treating for ich and dosed the tank with Prime as recommended on the bottle. By the next day everything was back to normal. I realize that I was dealing with a different form of nitrogen, but the Prime was very effective at helping me with my problem. Maybe it will help you with yours.

I appreciate the input! Thanks!

Actually, after I saw that my Nitrates were so high, (before the Ich treatment), I added a capful to the water I was replacing after I did a thorough vacuum/pwc. Is it safe to add more Prime directly to the tank water w/o doing a wc? If so, how much would you suggest?

 

[McLumpy]

I forwarded this to someone I trust and really has allot of knowledge here on this site.

I see that you did. I truly appreciate your help! I would be lost w/o the guidance from the kind folks on here!

 

[hdultra]

You get through and everything be be great. After it's all done you'll be back in your chair watching your healthy fish swimming all over the tank.

My Kordons I used was Rid ich + The one I have is different than yours.

I wish you the best. Yes This is the best place ever for little fishes.

 

[McLumpy]

You get through and everything be be great. After it's all done you'll be back in your chair watching your healthy fish swimming all over the tank.

My Kordons I used was Rid ich + The one I have is different than yours.

I wish you the best. Yes This is the best place ever for little fishes.

Thanks for the well wishes! I'm sure my fishes will be well soon.

Oh and yes, Rid Ich is what I used before, but stupid Petco didn't have it so I went w/ Ich Attack. It smells like really bad BO, (of course IIRC, so did Rid Ich), but still... blek!

 

[OhNeil1969]

Ich Attack is really for tanks that have invertebrates and plants (Rid ich would kill them). If you think Ich Attack smells bad, wait until you smell the Prime (my opinion). But to answer your previous question, it is ok to add Prime after doing a PWC. You'll probably need to add more than a capful for a 55 gallon tank. I added a capful for my 29 gallon tank and it worked great. To get rid of the nitrItes I added the recommended amount as indicated on the bottle: 5x the normal dose. You may need to add as much as 3 capfuls to your tank.

 

[McLumpy]

Ich Attack is really for tanks that have invertebrates and plants (Rid ich would kill them). If you think Ich Attack smells bad, wait until you smell the Prime (my opinion). But to answer your previous question, it is ok to add Prime after doing a PWC. You'll probably need to add more than a capful for a 55 gallon tank. I added a capful for my 29 gallon tank and it worked great. To get rid of the nitrItes I added the recommended amount as indicated on the bottle: 5x the normal dose. You may need to add as much as 3 capfuls to your tank.

Oh, trust me, I've had the fun of smelling Prime too. Heh.

I only added a capful of Prime because I believe the instructions state that a capful is equal to 60 (?) gallons of "new" water. I was, in my mind, adding a little extra in hopes to decrease my Nitrate level. I just know that 1 capful is equal to a little over my tank size, (55 gal), so I normally only add what is equivalent to the amount of "new" water I add after a pwc.

Perhaps I'm not adding enough and that's why my Nitrates are so high? I have only used Prime w/ this tank, (not w/ my last one), but I fear I have misunderstood the directions.

 

[OhNeil1969]

There is a section of the instructions that speaks of emergency treatment. Like I said before, it is primarily aimed at nitrItes. My thinking is that it may also help with nitrates (does say on the bottle that it will detoxify nitrates). Ultimately, the best way to treat nitrates is PWC's. However, since you're trying to keep your med levels up, you may want to try and see if it can help. BTW, did you remove the carbon from your filters? Carbon will absorb the meds and render them ineffective.

 

[McLumpy]

Yeah, I read that it helps detoxify Nitrates but I was obviously being too cautious and didn't add enough Prime. I think what I'll do is add 2 capfuls to 1 gallon of "new" water, (I need to add more water to the tank anyway due to evaporation), and retest my Nitrates tomorrow. I'll update this thread tomorrow night to let you know if it helped. If it doesn't, I will have no choice but to do a pwc.

Oh and yes, I removed the carbon from the filter media, (that's the first thing I did).

I truly appreciate your help! Have a great night!