Well I was happy to see nitrates in my water this morning. but my nitrites are holding steady...... maybe i'll see a change there tomorrow? here are my readings:
I planned to do a 25% water change today to make the nitrite situation more bearable for the guys, should I? i'm wondering if doing this will interfere with the cycle that appears to be starting to move finally. the guys are in very good spirits today! i think they are going to make it! i'm so happy, I keep stopping at the tank to say "hi guys, you look great! hang in there its almost over!"
Woo hoo! You are almost there! Just do a small water change. I'm not sure how much stress is on them at .50 on the nitrites, but it just might help give you peace of mind. It won't be long now!
A nitrite reading of .50 shouldn't be very harmful at all. I bet your fish are going to make it now, as long as you keep the nitrates in check with weekly water changes, although it can get much higher before harming them. Soon you'll be able to get more fish! I know how you must feel--I'm cycling my own tank (fishless) right now.
Thanks gang....... well my readings were identical today to yesterday's readings. URGH! I am such an instant results kind of person this is driving me crazy. Must be patient......... i did about a 10% water change today and put a double dose of cycle in the filter. Do you think I should keep doing small daily water changes until the nitrites are at 0ppm?
Swimfan,
Any amount of nitrite is not good for fish, but after reading an article from a board of folks I trust, it says to do water changes to keep the nitrite level below 1. Since you are at .5, you might want to skip the water change unless it gets higher. You are almost there!
Thanks for the good site Gunnie, that was a good read. The article did say this stage could go on for what seems like forever, and it sure does seem like that right now. Levels are still exactly what they were at the beginning of this thread. I know it has only been 3 days, but it is driving me crazy.
Now, strange thing with my fish today. They had been doing so well, but today are quite lazy, each sticking to their side of the tank. I don't know if anyone has any experience with black skirt tetras, but mine are usually translucent, and then get blacker as night falls, and thru the night. Then they get light again during daylight. Today, they are staying black, and my big guy seems to have a slit in his skirt. I hope they are ok!
Hmm, that's strange that they are a different color. I'd check all the perameters and possibly do a small water change since any change in behavior could be bad. Wait, I just thought of something... it could be that your tetras are supposed to be black, but they were stressed before so they lost their color, but they are starting to get it back now. A lot of fish don't show their colors until they've properly settled in. I'd still check your water, though.
oooooOOOOOOOoooooooohhhhhh. good point omorrokh. i'll test the water right away (although i did it first thing this morning as well) and do a small water change. as usual i'll keep ya posted! tx again.....
last one, sorry they are so huge, but if i resize them you can't see them that well. they turned back to their more silvery colour after i did the water change ..... when they get black tonight, i'll try to get some good pics of them in their night-time colour to show.
tapping foot on floor - getting impatient...... water levels holding exactly where they've been for the last several days.
anyhow, here are my night shots of the guys. the flash screws the look of them up, makes them shinier and silverier than they actually look, but you can see how distinctly more black the skirt and top fin are. they actually in real life are quite spooky when they change colours like this.
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..... when they get black tonight, i'll try to get some good pics of them in their night-time colour to show.