Regular Member Lynn Posted December 7, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted December 7, 2003 My daughter's tank was just tested and the Nitrate was over 200 and the Nitrites was 3.0. Olny the pH was good at 6.8. I did a 25% water change with no results noted. What can I do? No salt in this tank, but it will be soon. The look just fine. I wouldn't have beleived they were not OK. This_is_an_old_tank_been_up_for_years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member my nemo Posted December 7, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted December 7, 2003 The best thing you can do is do a larger water change. MAybe 50% to lessen the amount of nitrites and nitrates. Keep doing daily water changes and add salt to your tank to help your fish from stress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lynn Posted December 7, 2003 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 7, 2003 I will do that right now. I wil take out another 5 gals it is only a 20 gal tank. Or should I take out more? Is it one table or teaspoon to every gal? I never can remeber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member my nemo Posted December 7, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted December 7, 2003 I put 1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons. So gor your tank its should be 4 tablespoons. Also try doing a 50 % water change since your nirites and nitrates are so high. Oh yeah you have to use Aquarium salt, kosher salt, or pickling salt. ( salt with no additives) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Black oranda Posted December 8, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted December 8, 2003 Belive me you don't want to go a table spoon for every gallon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lynn Posted December 8, 2003 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 8, 2003 I didn't know that. I just put ten tablespoon in and was going to put the other ten tomorrow. I just checked the Nitrates again. They are better not good at 160. I hope I didn't put too much salt in it. There was no salt in it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lynn Posted December 8, 2003 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 8, 2003 OK, now I am worried. I hope I didn't hurt her fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Black oranda Posted December 8, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted December 8, 2003 Ah! 20 table spoons of salt that's like half a box of salt meh i hope your fish are okay Salt doesn't melt that fast lol wait.... does slat even melt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Fishyfan Posted December 8, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted December 8, 2003 How many fish does your daughter have in her tank? You need to get the nitrites and nitrates down as quickly as you can. 40% water changes daily, along with a very through gravel vacuum will do this slowly but surely. Cut the feeding right down too( by at least half). Is there a chance your daughter is overfeeding? How and what does she feed them? As for the salt, 1 tablespoon per gallon won't kill them so dont worry! Although it might have given them a bit of a shock as normally you would add that much over a 36 hour period. In this situation I'd put in 3 tablespoons for every 5 gallons although this will be difficult to work out now that you've put in more. Leave what you have in there there, and during water changes just add the 3 tablespoons to every 5 gallons of NEW water added (not the whole tnak again). Gradually the salt level will decrease to where you want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lynn Posted December 9, 2003 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 9, 2003 Fish are fine, so far. I have done a ten gal water change. She only feeds then once a day, but I seen how. Man, I will have to teach her how to feed the fish. Way too much. I told her only a pinch. I will check the Nitrites and the Nitrats again tomorrow. She has a snail and he is OK, so I guest they all are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Fishyfan Posted December 9, 2003 Regular Member Share Posted December 9, 2003 You might want to remove the snail while you're treating with salt as they are fairly salt intolerant and it could kill him. As for feeding, all the fish can eat in 3 minutes twice a day maximum. This means adding a tiny bit, waiting for him to munch it, then adding a tiny bit more and so on for 3 minutes. Then remove any leftovers immediately. Sinking pellets are generally a better option than flakes (much more nutritious) and these would be easier for your daughter to count out and feed. 3 or 4 pellets would probably be plenty for a small fish at one sitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lynn Posted December 10, 2003 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 10, 2003 I trid pellets, the fish couldn't get in thier mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vickyth Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 You might try getting one of those cheap plastic pill cases, the ones with individual compartments for each day of the week. Then you can measure the food for each day into the case at the beginning of the week and she can dump one day's worth at a time into the tank. Just a thought! Cheers! Vicky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Lynn Posted December 11, 2003 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 11, 2003 Thanks, That is a great idea. I will try it. I can keep up how much and if she is feeding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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