Parasite plague

[jay0705]

Ha ha ha oh I know. They get paid dam good too.
Not to hijack this poor girls thread. Just shows how far sw has come. If I can do it honestly anybody can. Just be patient and do your homework

 

[mssamurai]

Okay more questions...came home to dose second copper amount. Decided to check water parameters. My nitrites are off the chart!! But no ammonia detected. I have test kit and ammonia badge, as I know copper can give false readings for ammonia. I changed out 4 gal in 10 gal. Nitrite reading still really high. Any ideas? It's only been running 3 days. I wouldn't expect such high numbers so soon. Tested my display as a control (zero reading).

 

[jay0705]

Canister filters can harbor nitrates, so they could be coming from that.

 

[mssamurai]

But it's my nitrites that are high, nitrates are only reading 5ppm.

 

[lmforbis]

Maybe the copper is interfering with the nitrate test. Not sure if that is happening but many tests that have color changes as an end point that color change is caused by a metal ion. Plan on frequent water changes for a while.

 

[jay0705]

But it's my nitrites that are high, nitrates are only reading 5ppm.

Oops my bad, misread it. Imforbis is rt tho it could just be a false read from copper. W no ammonia I don't see how nitrites would be up.

 

[lmforbis]

I miss read that too. Still could be interference from the copper.

 

[bang guy]

How high is the Nitrite level. It's nearly impossible to achieve a harmful Nitrite level in a saltwater tank. Nothing wrong with the water change as long as you replace the copper but you have nothing to fear from the Nitrite.

What happens is the copper seriously reduces the number of bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate. Your Nitrate level is probably in a reasonable range I would guess since it's not being produced.

 

[mssamurai]

The nitrite test was showing 5ppm. I've never seen a nitrite level this high. I'm at full dose in copper. Lost my Cardinal this morning. I'm down to 2 chromis and 1 lemon head goby. This is so devastating. The cardinal never even showed a single symptom. Makes me wonder if I'm dealing with something other than ich. As of today I have lost 10 fish in less than 2 weeks.

 

[lmforbis]

They frequently they don't show symptoms. The parasite gets in their gills though. Copper is a poison to the fish as well as the parasites the fish can usually handle it though. It is possible the fish were already too sick to get better.