Nitrites in goldfish tank

Hey everyone, I hope y’all are well and staying safe. I have a 38 gallon tank, that houses 1 Ranchu, a PearlScale and a goldfish we rescued from Petco that I’m not entirely sure what specific type it is (he’s the same size as the small PearlScale). We had a nice flow to the tank, until recently, when our nitrite levels began to spike. We had never had this issue in any of our other tanks, and have began treating the issue by doing major water changes every day and adding something like stability to the water. But there’s been no positive improvement in the water and we are pretty worried as we really aren’t sure what to do next. Our fish aren’t acting odd. They seem content and show no signs of red belly or anything.

I’m just wondering what we need to do in order to get rid of this nitrite issue and move forward with a clean, healthy tank. Any advice is greatly appreciated and welcomed!

I also want to add, that yesterday we removed 80% of the sand substrate we had in the tank. Our fear was that while we were consistently vacuuming the bottom, some waste was trapped in the sand, hence why we moved it out. It was more of a last ditch attempt than anything else.

Water levels:
Ammonia: .25ppm
Nitrite: 1.0 ppm
Nitrate: 5.0ppm

 

Is your tank cycled? How long has this tank been running? You have ammonia and nitrates and that indicates it’s not cycled.

 

How long has the tank run?
Do you habe any live plants in the tank to help ?
If you are using tap with chems I would suggest you stop and buy purified water with minerals still in it and exchange with that.
What type of filter are you using?

 

How long have you been doing daily water changes? I ask because it took me 5 straight days of water changes before my nitrites dropped to zero. Others have reported it dropping quicker and for some it takes longer. Once your nitrite eating bacteria catches up with your ammonia eating bacteria it should drop to zero. I recommend you continue the daily water changes. 50% each day should be sufficient. If your ammonia doesn't go above .25 ppm it is possible that it isn't actually that high. For some reason lots of folks are reporting that they never see a true zero reading.

 

Hey Aquaman! I won't bother to restate the other's questions, but I do have a few to add. How new is this issue? Keep doing water changes, they will help. Have you done anything to your filter lately, i.e. replace a filter pad?

 

Thank you so much for the replies. We’ve had the tank in action for 2 months. This is something that has just recently occurred. The tank was cycled, but I’m beginning to think I did something that caused it to crash? (I’m not sure what else could have happened)

I’ve been doing daily water changes for a week now, and haven’t seen much success, if any. I’m always testing their water, even before it went bad.


There are a few plants in there, but perhaps I need more. I count around 7-8 total, all ranging in size.

I use the Tetra Bio disposable filter.

And I do use tap water, with added chems to make it suitable for the fish.

I hope I got as much info in as I can. I really appreciate the feedback.

 

Thank you so much for the replies. We’ve had the tank in action for 2 months. This is something that has just recently occurred. The tank was cycled, but I’m beginning to think I did something that caused it to crash? (I’m not sure what else could have happened)

I’ve been doing daily water changes for a week now, and haven’t seen much success, if any. I’m always testing their water, even before it went bad.


There are a few plants in there, but perhaps I need more. I count around 7-8 total, all ranging in size.

I use the Tetra Bio disposable filter.

And I do use tap water, with added chems to make it suitable for the fish.

I hope I got as much info in as I can. I really appreciate the feedback.

Adding more live plants will help! Anacharis, hornwort, java fern, ect. will all help make a difference. By chemicals I assume you mean water condotioner?
Also did you change out a filter pad? Did you add a new fish recently?

 

One more question. what are your using to test the water? Well more than one. Did you change your filter before this happened?

 

I added the 3rd goldfish, about 7-10 days before this happened.

I changed the filter a few days ago, but only because I thought I needed to get rid of the one that had been in the bad water for a while

I use a mini plastic water dropper to gather the water, and I actually test it with the API Freshwaster Master test kit

 

I added the 3rd goldfish, about 7-10 days before this happened.

I changed the filter a few days ago, but only because I thought I needed to get rid of the one that had been in the bad water for a while

I use a mini plastic water dropper to gather the water, and I actually test it with the API Freshwaster Master test kit

Ok, it seems like changing the filter before the tank had gotten used to the extra bioload caused the issue. You just threw away good bacteria on accident, when your tank needed it if you see what I mean. It will take a little to adjust, keep doing water changes and get some more plants.
It will return to normal eventually. Keep testing the water too.

 

I added the 3rd goldfish, about 7-10 days before this happened.

I changed the filter a few days ago, but only because I thought I needed to get rid of the one that had been in the bad water for a while

I use a mini plastic water dropper to gather the water, and I actually test it with the API Freshwaster Master test kit

Ouch. I think we have gotten to the bottom of the situation. By adding another fish and soon after you removed and replaced the filter media. Lots of bacteria grows on that filter media. By replacing it and removing some of the substrate you removed the majority of the bacteria.

It is just going to take time and water changes to build it back up. The filter shouldn't be replaced until it is literally falling apart or water will no longer run through it freely. When that happens you need to run both new and old filter media long enough to allow the new one to get seeded.