nitrite is still to high

[rhonda]

i have an 8 foot fronny tank with 9 fronnys from 8cm-14cm  i have been doing daily 1/4-1/2 water  changers  but it wont drop from 1 what can i do. i have a few more fronnys coming wednesday and it right .should i be adding anything to the water???

[Dead Fish Floating]

Ok if ya wanna add something make it more aeration and filtration!!
Grabbing a spare cycled filter from someones tank would be best.
Not knowing the history I'll just make a couple points.

1) Bacteria need a lot of oxygen to live, breed and convert chemicals. SO increase surface agitation and that'll let ya cross that off the list of chokepoints.
2) Don't feed the fish for a while. These are Africans, heck they can go a month without eating, just look at their chicks hey! This will give the bacteria a chance to remove all the nitrite from the water.
3) Don't clean the filters unless the flow really is being slowed down to much. When you do clean ensure you only ever use water drawn from the aquarium to squeeze them out in. NEVER UNDER THE TAP and if your filter uses replacable cartriges....  then get a better filter. Throwing or killing the bacteria every time ya clean the filter is a death wish on ya fishys.
4) Give more details in your next post. Tank stats can help people understand the problem much better. Heck it may be a 90% waterchange could help but without knowing the details it could also waste them all.

anyway haven't even had a lurk yet so will leave it there.
Fronnys are expensive fish to put into an uncycled tank, but they are still cichlids.
Ya will prob be right......   but better to be safe than poor and sorry.

[DeagonTheo]

Why on earth are you doing water changes.
Do not feed at all till nitrites go down to 0.
Do not clean filters.
Do not add any more fish untill nitrites go down, if you do, you will find out why this is an expensive hobby, and you will be looking for another hobby very soon.
Theo

[GTR73]

I think you're confusing nitrites and nitrates, but more importantly how long has the tank been cycled?
You really need to make sure your tank is properly cycled before considering anything.

Remembering the cycle:- fish poo/wee/perspiration -->creates ammonia -->ammonia eating bacteria create nitrites --> nitrite eating bacteria create nitrates -->water changes and plants remove nitrates

Basically, if everything is balanced your nitrites will be taken care of by nitrifying bacteria and you'll end up with nitrates to get rid of.
After a tank has cycled as above (normally takes 4-5 weeks), it'll be adjusted to your current fish load. That's why you should always only add one or two fish maximum at any time, so it can cope and adjust accordingly.

Your nitrite level probably indicates that your tank isn't properly cycled. However your water changes are for removing nitrates from a cycled (bio-established) tank, so I think daily water changes isn't giving a chance for any beneficial bacteria to establish itself in your tank.

It's mainly your nitrates and ammonia levels to watch out for (especially ammonia as this is highly toxic to fish).
Don't clean your filters too regularly as this will kill off your beneficial bacteria that lives in the filter media and helps keep the tank cycled. Don't scrub clean rocks for the same reason. And don't use tap water as chlorine in it will kill those beneficial bacteria.

"Dead Fish Floating" and Theo have given good advice on where to go from here.
Depending when you first set up the tank, I wouldn't add any more fish for a while until you know your tank is cycled. I also wouldn't feed them for a couple of days and lay off the water changes, reducing to weekly 30% changes.

Most importantly I'd grab your ammonia test kit and watch those levels like a hawk. As your tank gets itself established this is the one thing to watch out for. If ammonia does spike you'll have to remove your Fronnies into a safe tank for a while, as the main tank gets established.  :-\

Probably not what you wanna hear but your Fronnies are too valuable to risk in a tank that doesn't seem cycled.


Hope this helps with your question.