Nitrite spiking

[M0oN]

After dosing my tank with metro for 5 days it seems my biobed has been horribly affected, over the course of the past two days my nitrite and ammonia levels are spiking up to .50 ppm, no idea if they'll continue to increase.

I've added BioSpira in hopes that it will help the situation, but aside from 60% water changes what else should I consider to keep the problem under control?

As of right now the discus are acting completely normal, what are toxic levels for discus?

Thanks.
Jason

[M0oN]

Guess this should be in the water works section, sorry about that.

[Carol_Roberts]

You are doing the right thing with the water changes. I usually don't see too much an impact with metro. What type of filter do you have?

[M0oN]

You are doing the right thing with the water changes. I usually don't see too much an impact with metro. What type of filter do you have?


Two aquaclear 500 with two sponges in each...positive they were cycled before this...if my levels don't increase over this will the discus be fine?

[Carol_Roberts]

Try to keep levels as close to zero as possible with water changes Salt at 1 or 2 tablespoons per 10 gallons will help with nitrIte. Are you done dosing the metro now? If yes, your fitler should bouce back in a couple of days.

[M0oN]

Yes, however the ammonia levels were only slightly spiking the day I was done dosing and now the nitrite and ammonia have both started to sky rocket, hopefully it doesn't last long. My discus don't appear to be affected, but I'm afraid to see what long term affects would do to them. I'll take your advice, thanks a lot for the help Carol.

[M0oN]

Would it be a good idea to do 2 water changes daily until this problem is under control or is that going to damage the bio bed? I just got home from work and my nitrite levels were reading between 2.0 and 5.0!

I'm so stressed, no clue what to do and I'm praying my discus survive this problem.

[Carol_Roberts]

Yes, do as many water changes as it takes. You can use the ammonia blocker products too, but they will give false positives for ammonia.

[M0oN]

Yes, do as many water changes as it takes. You can use the ammonia blocker products too, but they will give false positives for ammonia.


After a water change the levels dropped to .25 ammonia and .25 nitrite, I'm using Prime, guess I'll just have to keep it up 2 to 3 times a day until things get back to normal.

[M0oN]

My local fish store gave me some filter floss that was completely cycled. They keep their fish in seperate tanks and not on a central unit and it's from a very healthy discus tank. I went ahead and rubbed two of my sponges with it and then put it in a small nylon bag and hung it in my tank. Hopefully this will fix the problem.

If any other problems arise I'll have to deal with them as they come, but these discus have been quarantined for nearly 3 months, treated with metro and tetracyline when they were obtained (they were wild discus) as well as given a dip for worms and flukes, so I think everything should be fine.

[M0oN]

Note that I watched these discus for an hour before considering it. They were wild strains, which is why they had been proactively treated like that. They all seemed very very healthy and did not once shy away to a corner or lose their colors.

I have all the necessary medications should a problem arise, but it was basically either this or the discus die. My nitrite levels were at 5.0 ppm this morning and after two 60 gallon water changes they were still reading at above 1.0 ppm. I think my entire filter bed was destroyed by the metro I had treated with.

[brewmaster15]

Hi Jason,

a few notes for you...
Metronidazole works on a very limited group protozoans and a few bacterias... mostly anaerobic ones.. Your biofilter is populated by aerobic bacteria. Its not likely that the metro is the cause... If you have used other antibiotics,,, like tetracycline recently ...those can harm the biofilter.

If you continue to have Nitrite spikes..... Take a nitrite measurement before adding prime and then After. I am not sure if Prime gives a false positive on Nitrite using a test kit.. But its possible. One thing that makes me wonder if you are getting false positives is you mention the Discus were looking normal.. If you had ammonia nitrite spikes... You'd probably have stressed out fish.

also... salt at 5 tablespooons/10 gal will effectively block Nitrites from being taken into and system...This is the main problem with them...They affect oxygen transport.

I realize its an inconvenience to do this but really your best bet is do lots of water changes...in time your biofilter will recover if impaired.

-hth,
al.

[M0oN]

Hi Jason,

a few notes for you...
Metronidazole works on a very limited group protozoans and a few bacterias... mostly anaerobic ones.. Your biofilter is populated by aerobic bacteria. Its not likely that the metro is the cause... If you have used other antibiotics,,, like tetracycline recently ...those can harm the biofilter.

If you continue to have Nitrite spikes..... Take a nitrite measurement before adding prime and then After. I am not sure if Prime gives a false positive on Nitrite using a test kit.. But its possible. One thing that makes me wonder if you are getting false positives is you mention the Discus were looking normal.. If you had ammonia nitrite spikes... You'd probably have stressed out fish.

also... salt at 5 tablespooons/10 gal will effectively block Nitrites from being taken into and system...This is the main problem with them...They affect oxygen transport.

I realize its an inconvenience to do this but really your best bet is do lots of water changes...in time your biofilter will recover if impaired.

-hth,
al.




Thanks a lot Brewmaster I appreciate the response.

I'll try testing a sample of tap water before and after Prime right now and post my results.

If any problems do arise I have metro, fluke tabs and ridich+ on hand, which I'm pretty sure will cover just about any problem I should run into?

I'm aware that fluke tabs will destroy the bio bed, but will the others have an affect? If so would it be safe to transport 7 4-6 inch discus to a 29 gallon tank for a week for treatment?

[M0oN]

Prime does not give false positives so it would appear that my problem is the biobed, hopefully the measures I've taken today will speed things along. In the meantime I'll continue with 2 60 gallon water changes, one in the morning and one at night.

Could somone please post an answer to my question on medications above this?

Thanks.
Jason

[brewmaster15]

Jason,
Actually Fluke tab should have no effect on you biofilter either...Least I have never seen one.


Lets take a step back...Hold onto those Meds and use them only as necessary..

Drop me an IM about these fish and tell me why you had to treat them as you have.. and what your concerns on their health is. . It may be best to Look at your fish from the beginning again.

In the meantime... WC...WC... Wc... and check on that false positive. :)


hth,
al