Alessa

Thanks to a bad batch of biospira i think that my fishes are suffering from nitrite poisoning....
I have also noticed the gills of my platy being kinda red (hard to tell since he is orange)
my most active gourami is acting funny, swimming erratically, not eating leaning to one side... I dont know if this is due to high levels of nitrite since my tank is not finished cycling or if these are two different things since I have another gourami in the tank (maybe they fought?).

any advice? i've been doing almost daily water changes and adding prime to detoxify the nitrite, my current readings are:

ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0.8ppm (after 50% water change)
nitrate: 10ppm
pH: 7.0

any ideas of whats going on with the gourami?

Shawnie

you are soooooooo close now alessa..i know its so frustrating but u are doing everything right.....keep up with your daily changes and prime, and it could be the fighting or the cycle affecting him...do you have any place to put him for a few days and maybe get some garlic guard or fresh garlic juice into his food? can you get a pic of him as well?? changing the decorations around after you take a gourami out for a couple hours can help the agression if thats what it is...dont give up you are soooo close with your cycleing

Alessa

im not home right now... I will post a pic of him as soon as I can... all he was doing when I left was staying close to the surface, swiming as if he couldnt see what was in front of him, leaning to one side, not eating....

no, Dont have anywhere else to put him since this is my only tank. I have seen signs of agression towards each other with my other gourami but it was nothing more than a little chasing whenever they went on each others territory i never actually saw them fighting... he is usually a very active guy

besides, he is the only one sick, the others seem to be doing well. I have also heard that common table salt aleviates nitrite poisoning... I just dont want him to die

Shawnie

im not sure about the salt, im hoping someone else will help with that soon!! but water changes are the best and you are doing that...do you have any stress coat? I sure hope as hard as you have worked fixing things that he makes it...

Alessa

yes... I will add it as soon as possible... btw, thanks for all your advice shawnie.
I hope he makes it, I also have a dog and I love animals, I hate to see them suffer specially when you cant do anything....

Amnagrla

Awww good luck.... what are the sexes of the gouramis?

What kind are they?

I'm hoping for you!

Alessa

thanks they're both males... but they're on a big tank and they have well defined territories...

Amnagrla

How big is the tank??

Alessa

28 gal

Amnagrla

hmmm How's he doing now?

Alessa

i dont know, I am not home as I said... me and my boyfriend live in the apartment but I am spending the weekend at my parents house. I called my boyfriend and he said the gourami is still listless...

BTW does anyone know for how long does the prime detoxifies the nitrite before having to add more?

Amnagrla

Normally you add it every water change... however, I've heard that when going through a problem like this it is safe to add every day.

Anyone else care to comment??

COBettaCouple

Prime does it's thing for about 24 hours or so is what I hear. Nitrite poisoning is treated by doing large daily water changes (probably about 50%).

I'd also add aeration to the tank if it doesn't have any.

If you can get Vita-Chem, Garlic Guard (or even organic garlic juice) and/or Fish Protector.. all 3 used daily can help a lot with this. 1-2 drops of each per gallon.

Alessa

my bf did the 50% change today and also added the garlic juice. Ammonia is 0 and nitrites are lowering at about .50... Unfortunately the gourami didnt make it trough the nitrite spike.
Didnt want it to be like that... it was my bfs favorite guy and he was all sad when he called... according to him the dead fish had a huge purple spot in his head and near his fins when he found him... I hope the other guys will be ok now that the water is better.
thanks to all for your replies

Shawnie

so sorry you lost him I know you worked hard trying to save him....I am glad the water is getting better..and hope the rest will be ok...goodluck!

Alessa

yes, thanks shawnie. the other guys seem to be doing fine... they are eating and swimming well... I hope they will be ok.

COBettaCouple

That's sad that he didn't make it, you did what you could for him though.