Hi NO2 !!!

The Apisto. cacatuoides pair looks apsolutely gorgeous; A. cacatuoides female;
A. cacatuoides male;
I was testing one liquid fertiliser for potted plants, to see how it acts. Well, it raised the NitrIte NO2 to 10 ppm, and NO3 to 200 ppm !!! I was expecting all fish to die in no time. I did perform a huge water change and NO2 is still on 10 ppm! I am not sure tests are really accurate these days. The fish behaves very normal; eating, searching for food, picking on stuff around the tank...no signs of stress! I expected fish to be close to the surface, not eating and so on. 2 of my Red Nose Caridina did suffer as a mater of fact. The neritina sp. Zebra is not moving at all. I guess inverts do react to this issue. It was a mistake testing with a new set-up like this one. The fertiliser had N,P,K a lot and for that reason I had to test. But it doesn't say what is the source of N ! I guess it was the Ammonia, otherwise how to explain high NO2 levels. I will continue water changes, I am also floating fast growing plants, Egeria densa, Hygro polysperma, and Rosanervig. I am dosing CO2 DIY though an ceramic diffuser (mist) 1 bps.
I added 8 Nannostomus marginatus aka the Dwarf Pencilfish, a few days ago. If I had the test earlier I would have known that NO2 is high, but didn't have it :-( The fish how ever is behaving very natural. No signs of stress. I am a bit confused. I have never experienced Hi NO2 levels before.


Photos by Dusko Bojic.