# Nitrite Poisoning



## gigist (Jun 12, 2011)

Greetings,

First of all, thanks in advance for any and all advice. 

I had to do a full water change + tank cleaning because of a snail issue. I threw away all the plants and bought new ones (cleaned and quarantined)... however my tank is having a Nitrite spike. 

The male is showing signs of nitrite poisoning (dark brown gills/heavy breathing/stays at the top/and inflamed gills (on one side currently). This is what I have done:

1.) Lowered water level so the filter splashes (creating air bubbles)
2.) Added one tsp of H2O2 and wondering if I should add more (as a current fix since everything now is closed). It's a 10 gal tank with one male betta. 

Tomorrow when the pet store opens I'll be picking up some aquarium salt. What else can I do now to quickly redeemed this situation? 

I read that H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) will convert those bad nitrites to nitrates, but how much do I add (again a 10gal tank)? I have pently of new plants in there to help with the nitrates.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## teasell (Aug 10, 2011)

Take him out of the tank and into fresh conditioned water. Or do a complete water change so the poor fellow does not have tosustain more problems. I doubt aquarium salt will help unless he has fresh conditioned water either in the tank he is in ar a smaller quarantine tank till you can get your 10 gallon under good control


----------



## gigist (Jun 12, 2011)

Thanks for the reply!

Doing another water change is just going to cause more problems? My filter runs Ammo-Carb, so I'll just run into the same problem. Killing off ammonia is just going to cause the Nitrite spike again. Right? 

Remember the tank isn't cycled at all, no bio in the tank, since I did a FULL cleaning to the tank 2 days ago (5% bleach to kill the snails)... everything is new (including the filter).


----------



## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

Gigist - Do you use Prime? It's a water conditioner by Seachem. It detoxifies nitrites. You can dose the tank directly if you have it. Standard water conditioners do not detox ammonia and nitrites. If he's still sitting in nitrites then he could be in bad shape. Brown gills are caused by oxygen deprivation in the blood. Just like Teasell stated, I'd get him out of there and put him in a smaller 1 or 2 gal bowl w/freshly dechlorinated water. Do daily 100% water changes until you can get your 10 gal situated.


----------



## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

If you're doing a fish-in cycle, you have to do daily 50% water changes. The water changes will only slow down your cycle, not ruin it. I have multiple 10-gals and have cycled with fish in quite a bit. Most important is you need to be using a dechlorinator like Prime since it detox's ammonia and nitrites. This will allow your fish to survive those chemical elements as your cycle completes. Ammonia eating bacteria is what causes the nitrites. Completely removing the ammonia crashes the cycle. Too much info to put here, but we're happy to help you along the way. In your specific case, since your little guy is already sick, you need to remove him or you may lose him.


----------



## teasell (Aug 10, 2011)

Thanks flowerslegacy you said it better then I did.

Gigist if your tank is not cycled you need to do more water changes before he has permanent damage. If you don't have Prime on hand please put him in a smaller container with whatever conditioner you might have and do the daily 100% water changes till you can get your tank in working order


----------



## gigist (Jun 12, 2011)

Yeah yeah, ... I don't, I have water basic dechlorinator... which is the problem . Tomorrow I'll pick up: http://www.petsupermarket.com/Products/PetSupermarket/PID-159006004.aspx plus the salt. 

What should I do tonight? Since I don't have conditioner, if I move him to a new tank, It'll prolly just kill him faster, right? So tomorrow, buy stuff, treat temp tank with conditioner, move him. Drain water and retreat with new conditioner, test water. If everything is fine, put him back in. 

So I'm pretty much helpless right now until tomorrow?


----------



## gigist (Jun 12, 2011)

I do have some conditioner (which came in a sample kit with the fish tank), should I just use that? I don't know if it has all that detoxify stuff, but I do remember it said, "water conditioner."

Thanks!


----------



## teasell (Aug 10, 2011)

Now I am not certain about this but do you have water that has been sitting for more then a day. You might be able to temporarily put him into this water till tomorrow water that has stood for over 12 hours should have most of the chlorine out. How have you been dechlorinating your water up till now????


----------



## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

Right now just move him. The water conditioner will work fine. Just get him out of that tank. Don't wait until tomorrow.


----------



## teasell (Aug 10, 2011)

That water conditioner should work just fine. Put into tap water let stand for a few minutes then pour into temporary tank. Hope your guy will be all right. Go and get some prime tomorrow I use it and so far I will say it's a great product


----------



## gigist (Jun 12, 2011)

teasell said:


> Now I am not certain about this but do you have water that has been sitting for more then a day. You might be able to temporarily put him into this water till tomorrow water that has stood for over 12 hours should have most of the chlorine out. How have you been dechlorinating your water up till now????


 I have water basic dechlorinator from Top Fin. Removes Chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals. But not Nitrite.


----------



## gigist (Jun 12, 2011)

teasell said:


> That water conditioner should work just fine. Put into tap water let stand for a few minutes then pour into temporary tank. Hope your guy will be all right. Go and get some prime tomorrow I use it and so far I will say it's a great product


Okay, I'm hoping the water conditioner is good and I don't know how much to put. My dechlorinator takes like 2 drops per gal, but I know this conditioner takes a lot more. 

I'll be picking up Prime tomorrow (right when they open).


----------



## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

Although Prime is an excellent water conditioner, many standard conditioners work great. The good thing about Prime is that it detox's ammonia and nitrites which is necessary when doing a fish-in cycle. If your betta was living in a tank under 5 gals, you could simply use a standard water conditioner and do water changes 2x week. So, if you remove your guy to a smaller container tonight, just use your standard water conditioner and he'll be fine. If he's in anything under 2 gals, you'll want to do daily, 100% water changes to keep him healthy. With that said, I'm concerned that you're seeing nitrite poisoning after only 2 days. This tells me that perhaps your guy is experiencing something different. Ammonia eating bacteria takes a while to grow, which in turn converts to nitrites. This is impossible after only 2 days. You mentioned using bleach. Were you sure it was rinsed completely?? When I set up a new 10-gal and add one betta, I don't have to touch my tank for at least 3 days before ammonia starts to rise over .25ppm. You may need to check your 10-gal for bleach poisoning. If you smell ammonia in ANY WAY, you have to break it down again. Most important is to just get your guy out of that 10-gal and sitting in clean, dechlorinated water.


----------



## teasell (Aug 10, 2011)

Usually those conditioner samples carry enough conditioner for a few changes but don't worry to much about over use as it's pretty difficult to over condition. Instuctions should be on the packet along with an expiration date


----------



## gigist (Jun 12, 2011)

Thanks for all this help, I have the fresh water sitting there, will move him in in 15 minutes. Same temp as the main tank, problem is this tank doesn't have a heater. So I'll be staying up all night to monitor his health.


----------



## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

Yep, we've all been there before - staying up to watch over our sick bettas. Any way you can float his little tank in the big heated tank? If your QT tank is glass, you can move your heater over. Just turn it way down. I have lots of 2.5 gals and I use 50W heaters turned down to 76. Some folks put their QT's on top of their fridge where the heat from the appliance keep it warm. I've never tried that, but I've heard it works.


----------



## gigist (Jun 12, 2011)

Seems like he's breathing really hard right now (more so than before). Hopefully it was from chasing him around with the net (he's stubborn). Either way, he's in the temp tank, if the temp drops below 78, I'll bring the heater over.


----------



## flowerslegacy (May 10, 2011)

You should post a new thread in the Disease Section for possible Nitrite Poisoning. We have some great folks who can direct you with his brown gills, heavy breathing, etc. I know that warm water is important when you're treating for health issues. Anything under 76 can effect his immune system and he'll need all the energy he can get in his current condition. I'm not a health expert or I'd advise you!


----------



## gigist (Jun 12, 2011)

Thanks! I have since opened a new thread and posted a video of his breathing: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=864435


----------



## cajunamy (Apr 28, 2011)

Please don't add anymore hydrogen peroxide. I would never use it, no matter what I read on Google, simply because I've never heard first hand stories of it's use, and I am not even 90% sure about it, no matter what I read on the internet.

Also, from aquaria wiki, it is said that the hp will kill all bacteria in the tank .. including your good bacteria. Thus you will lose any cycle you had already and have to start over again.


----------

