Naughty me!

I keep forgetting to test my water in the big axie tank as it's always fine and I just got kind of complacent about it I suppose (if that's the right word).

Anyway today I tested the ammonia first and it showed a raised level (1ppm), so I went ahead and tested everything. What a shock! The nitrates were OK, within range about 20ppm but the nitrites were sky high, off the chart which goes upto 5ppm and the pH was around 7 or a little lower.

I'm feeling really bad, this could have happened for two reasons. Firstly, I cleaned out my external canister pump week before last and before I thought about what I was doing I rinsed the media inside with water straight from the tap. Silly mistake I know. I thought that there would be enough bacteria on the wood and plants etc in the tank that it would be OK (Yes, I know now that I should have been testing the water after that mistake). Secondly, my smallest axie Paddy is still on frozen bloodworms because he's too little to eat the earthworms and won't eat them cut up. And you all know what bloodworms are like for mess, so I think that I might have missed some bits of blood worm, though I only did a full vacuum of the tank floor two days ago. I have a bare bottomed tank so I know there's nothing lurking in the substrate causing problems. (temperature between 16 -18 degrees)

I'm thinking that as it seems my tank is going through a cycle it must be my mess up with the filter. I'm assuming the only way to get through this is to keep testing the water and perform daily water changes (20%) until my tank is back on track?

Finally, the reason I actually tested the water in the first place is because Paddy, my little wild type, is always floating and I knew if I posted the first thing asked would be water parameters! Good job I tested! Anyway, he was in the smaller tank until recently and was always floating in there, in fact he has floated since I got him. He can swim to the bottom and doesn't seem to struggle to do so, but the last couple of days has not eaten his bloodworms and I'm worried. He doesn't look skinny, he just sits right at the surface all day (and any time I see him at night) holding onto the weed that floats there. The top of his back is often out of the water. He is a very slow grower too, he's only about 4 inches and I've had him a couple of months, he hardly seems to have grown. He doesn't have any obvious signs of stress or illness, do you think I should fridge him anyway?

By the way none of the axies in the tank (3 of them) look any the worse for wear despite the tank readings, so hopefully I've discovered the problems before they've been badly affected by the water quality.


Any comments, suggestions or input will be greatly received.

Sorry for the mammoth post!

Hi Kerry

Don't worry it happens sometimes, main thing is you have been very thorough in your analysis and are onto remedying the issues.

Floating like you describe is abit out of the norm for axie behaviour but it doesnt sound like to much of an issue as there are no other signs of stress. You may want to try a diet variation, pellets, earthworms or strips of beef heart.

I have a similar problem (high nitrite reading) which I mentioned a few days ago in a thread. Everything else seems to be ok although a lower ph than usual. I was a bit suspicious of a painted statue that my 8 yr old insisted on having in the tank as I noticed paint was peeling off it so I quicky pulled that out and commenced 50% water changes daily for 4 days. I also noticed patches of brown algae on the glass and am wondering whether that may have triggered the high NO2 reading. Of course, I'm not sure but I dont think there is a quick fix to cure the high nitrate in the water - or maybe Im wrong.
Sometimes it's such a challenge to get that water right for your axie.....

Hi MA,

Firstly algae (although not very pretty) can be your friend! Like aquatic plants, they help buffer against ammonia, nitrite and nitrate spikes by using them as nutrient source. Nitrates are the end product of the cycling process and can only be effectively removed via regular water changes. Any other chemical quick fixes are not recommended as the mask any underlying problems, complicates the monitoring process and can actually interfere with the cycling.

There are two main groups of beneficial bacteria in the tank. One group converts ammonia to nitrites and the other converts nitrites to nitrates. Sometimes, subtle changes in the tank, such as pH, hardness and even temperature, allow one of these populations to grow better compared to the other. This is because each of these population types have specific optimal environmental conditions that promote its growth, although there may be some overlap. It would take time for the right population ratio and quantity to equilibrate.

Cheers.