Is sweetnitanitro around? Or any other fish experts?

[peggotty]

I need some advice about my dd's fish please . my dd has had her fancy goldfish (think it's called a blue oranda) for about 7 months now. I did a bit of research about keeping fish before I got it, but sadly not enough, as not only did we get a tank which is too small (only 17 litres) but we got the fish and tank in Pets At Home!!

Anyway, the problem I have now is that I have tested the water recently for the first time and it is showing high nitrate, which is probably only to be expected in such a small tank. I really can't afford to buy a bigger tank at the moment, and will also struggle for somewhere to keep a large tank but will try to do this asap. What can I do at the moment to try and get the nitrate down? It was still showing as high after a 20% water change, can I change more water in a few days, rather than waiting for a week? I also took out some plants which looked like they were dying - could some new plants help with nitrate levels? Any advice appreciated!

Yes I'm here

To get the nitrAte down you need to do plenty of water changes. You'll need to check your tap water nitrAte too because it can be quite high. NitrAte needs to be less than 40ppm, the lower the better (ammonia and nitrIte need to be zero at all times).

As long as the pH and hardness of your tap water is steady then you can do a few water changes a week. Sudden changes in pH and temperature are bad for the fish so check any water you put in and don't forget to dechlorinate it. Don't clean the filter every time you change the water, once a week is enough.

Plants can help with nitrAte but dying ones will contribute to ammonia levels which will in turn increase nitrAte levels so if you do have plants make sure you trim off any dead bits.

If you are on a budget then try freecycle for a new tank, there's always someone giving one away. It's going to be constant struggle to keep a goldfish healthy in a 17 litre tank so the sooner you can get a bigger tank the better.

Hope that helps a bit!

Thanks that's really helpful. Checked my tap water today before doing another change and the Ph and Hardness of the water is within safe range. I always use a de-chlorinator. I've only been rinsing the filter sponge about once a month, it should obviously be more then? THe Nitrite levels seem to be fine, which is something, as I understand that they can quickly be fatal if they are elevated.

I tried freecycle for a tank a couple of weeks ago but no joy, although I'll keep trying.

Thanks again for your help!

Whoops, I should have been clearer about the pH. It needs to stay the same, sudden changes are really bad for fish. When you do a water change you should check that the pH of the water you are putting in is the same of that in the tank to avoid a sudden change. You should let tap water stand for about 24 hours before checking the pH because there are all sorts of chemicals added to tap water that can mess up your reading. Ideal pH for a goldfish is around neutral but anything between 7 and 8 is OK.

Filter cleaning depends on what filter you have and how heavily stocked the tank is. If the filter sponge gets clogged up then you won't get a decent flow of water through it and the good bacteria will start to die off. On the other hand, too much cleaning will also kill off the good bacteria so you need to get it just right. I usually just give it a good squeeze out in a bucket of water from the tank, get the gunk off and stick it back in. It doesn't need to be pristine.

I'm confused now whether the nitrIte level or the nitrAte level was high in your tank. I am quite easily confused though

It's the NitrAte levels which are high - sorry I probably wasn't being clear! . Another quick question (sorry!) should I always leave water to stand for a while before putting it in tank at a water change, as I usually put it straight in after adding the tap-safe stuff?

Oh right, high nitrAte isn't as deadly as nitrIte . You don't need to leave the water to stand if you are using tap safe or any other dechlorinater, you just need to give it a good stir and make sure all the chlorine bubbles have gone.

You can get a product called nitrate minus (think it's made by tetra, it's in a yellow bottle) that will reduce the nitrAte in your water. I think it was designed for lazy busy fishkeepers so that they would have to do fewer water changes but I wouldn't take that risk. It is useful if you need to lower tap water nitrAte or if you have an emergency though.

Brilliant, thanks for all your advice