How to treat high nitrite in an aquarium
What does it look like?
- High nitrite test results
- Invisible issue
What are the fish doing?
- Acting irritable - 'scratching', jumping, twitching, shimmying
- Breathing at the water's surface
- Fish appear pale or dark
- Flicking against objects
- Gasping, rapid gill movement
What should I do?
- Complete a 25% water change and retest after a few hours
- Add Fast Filter Start to boost the natural bacteria in your filter to process the extra nitrite
- Support the health of your fish using Aquilibrium First Aid Salt
- Continue to regularly test your water
Why does this happen and how do I prevent it?
Nitrite is a naturally occurring chemical in your aquarium and is created through the breakdown of ammonia by bacteria in your biological filter as part of the Nitrogen cycle. The main causes of high nitrite are:
- immature or damaged biological filter
- over stocking
- over feeding
To prevent high nitrite levels:
- Complete regular water changes of up to 30% and test your water
- increase aeration
- maintain a healthy filter (if you need to clean elements of the filter use water from the aquarium as tap water will damage the bacteria that remove Nitrite)
What treatment should I use?
Fast Filter Start
Fast Filter Start contains cultures of selected bacteria to rapidly start up the waste breakdown in your aquarium
Fish health problems often occur in new aquariums because filter bacteria takes several weeks to become established and cannot effect...
Find out more >Use with any of the above
Aqualibrium First Aid Salt Additive
Aqualibrium first aid salt is a unique physiological salt formula which helps freshwater fish maintain a constant internal salt/fluid balance.
Find out more >Not what you are looking for? Back to Diagnose What's Wrong >
Visit the Interpet Aquatics website
Treatment dosage Calculator
Testing your aquarium water
Doing a water change
