Gasping Fish

[Glouglou]

Nitrogen cycle:


I quote this from: http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm

It give some light on the problem...

t IS possible to add too much ammonia to the tank (generally several times the amounts suggested in either recipe), as some individuals discovered by mistake (thanks Boozap). What happens in this case is that the ammonia will spike very far off the chart, then the nitrite will spike as well (also way off the chart), and it will continue to spike for a very long time. Why? There are a couple of possibilities. The first is that the filter media and surfaces in the tank or oxygen levels are simply insufficient to grow and maintain a bacterial colony massive enough to convert all of the ammonia and all of the nitrite to nitrates. Another likely possibility is that the ammonia levels are high enough to inhibit growth (through a biofeedback mechanism) of the bacteria rather than promoting it. The solution is quite simple, however. If you realize that you've added way too much ammonia, simply do a water change, or if necessary a series of water changes, to bring the ammonia and/or nitrite levels back into the readable range on your test kit. Then proceed as normal with daily additions of ammonia until the tank is cycled.

[Sue]

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"Symptoms of nitrite poisoning include gasping and rapid gill movements, which could be mistaken for a shortage of oxygen. In extreme cases, fish can actually die of suffocation because nitrite binds to the oxygen-carrying component (haemoglobin) in the blood."

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and since Nitrite is an ion, the salt binds it and makes it less harmful for the fish

all makes sense now! its a very informative discussion for me!

Sorry for the thread jack but its been bugging me for a few days that the above didn't make sense to me. I just couldn't picture salt (free ions in water) binding the haemoglobin or nitrite. So I was left wondering what the devil is it doing.  I found an interesting link which says that if you have enough  'salt', the chloride ion out competes nitrite for absorption through the gills. Its a fairly intersting read they call it "brown blood disease". Here's link FWIW:  http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is1390.htm

[fischkopp]

Sorry for the thread jack but its been bugging me for a few days that the above didn't make sense to me. I just couldn't picture salt (free ions in water) binding the haemoglobin or nitrite. So I was left wondering what the devil is it doing.  I found an interesting link which says that if you have enough  'salt', the chloride ion out competes nitrite for absorption through the gills. Its a fairly intersting read they call it "brown blood disease". Here's link FWIW:  http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is1390.htm

Sue, thanx for posting this link. I find it a great explanation why and how to use use salt for compensation of nitrate excess in the water.

Its great to understand this relation. However, if i see gaspering fish i will still do a water change first.

[neon]

I just transferred the fish I had in my old tank to the new.  Everything has been fine for the last few days, I did another water change and the levels are very low.  The fish all seem fine too.  Thanks everyone for your input.

[dan2x38]

that's great!!!