Nitrite Ain't Toxic to Fish?

[TherealplexiG]

Holla!
I have read somewhere on the other forum, some well know chemist stated that nitrite ain't toxic to fish. Just wanted to confirm that or the theory has changed over a period of time?

 

[Druide]

nitrite are not directly toxic to the animals of the tray but they lower the oxygenation ratio causes acidosis and both poor oxygenation of fish

 

[TherealplexiG]

So you mean to say it will stress the fish?

 

[Druide]

yeah mostly because your fish can't got good Spo2 ( oxygéne sturation )

 

[TherealplexiG]

Where you from @Druide ?

 

[Druide]

From France sorry for my english

 

[Lasse]

Let sort up some things

Nitrite (NO2) is toxic to nearly every organism if it build up in the blood stream of the animal (at least organisms that use iron in order to take up oxygen). It changes the iron in the red blood cells from Fe(II) to Fe (III). This will inhibit the uptake of oxygen to the red blood cells and the animal will suffocate. The blood will turn brown (Brown blood disease among farmed Channel Catfish)

Normally fish takes up NO2 from the water through the gills and it’s a well-known fact that in freshwater NO2 is very toxic. However – the uptake of NO2 from the water can be blocked out by chloride ions in the water (the exact mechanism for this is not known for me). Normally a concentration of 70 – 80 mg/l (ppm) chloride ions block the fish’s uptake of NO2 (if we not talking about very high NO2 levels). It is also a well-known fact among freshwater aquarist and fish farmers that a spoon of table salt per 100 l of water makes the fishes to survive in moderate concentrations of NO2 (without any damage).

Saltwater has a concentration of 19 900 ppm chloride ions and you do not to be an Einstein to understand that NO2 is not an issue for saltwater fishes up to rather high concentrations of NO2

For saltwater fish - not toxic. For freshwater fish - highly toxic if there is no chloride ions in the water

And I am from Sweden

Sincerely Lasse

 

[jsker]

Nitrates are simple to control, Find the source and that is usually over feeding and dose with with some type of carbon (vodka, vinegar, nopox, bio pellets etc)
Nitrates sont simples à contrôler , Trouver la source et qui est habituellement sur l'alimentation et la dose avec un certain type de carbone ( vodka, vinaigre, nopox , bio pellets etc )

 

[jsker]

Let sort up some things

Nitrite (NO2) is toxic to nearly every organism if it build up in the blood stream of the animal (at least organisms that use iron in order to take up oxygen). It changes the iron in the red blood cells from Fe(II) to Fe (III). This will inhibit the uptake of oxygen to the red blood cells and the animal will suffocate. The blood will turn brown (Brown blood disease among farmed Channel Catfish)

Normally fish takes up NO2 from the water through the gills and it’s a well-known fact that in freshwater NO2 is very toxic. However – the uptake of NO2 from the water can be blocked out by chloride ions in the water (the exact mechanism for this is not known for me). Normally a concentration of 70 – 80 mg/l (ppm) chloride ions block the fish’s uptake of NO2 (if we not talking about very high NO2 levels). It is also a well-known fact among freshwater aquarist and fish farmers that a spoon of table salt per 100 l of water makes the fishes to survive in moderate concentrations of NO2 (without any damage).

Saltwater has a concentration of 19 900 ppm chloride ions and you do not to be an Einstein to understand that NO2 is not an issue for saltwater fishes up to rather high concentrations of NO2

For saltwater fish - not toxic. For freshwater fish - highly toxic if there is no chloride ions in the water

And I am from Sweden

Sincerely Lasse

Thank you for being from Sweden, and thank you for the great post.

 

[TherealplexiG]

From France sorry for my english

No worries, My English ain't better than yours.

 

[Druide]

Thanks

 

[TherealplexiG]

Saltwater has a concentration of 19 900 ppm chloride ions and you do not to be an Einstein to understand that NO2 is not an issue for saltwater fishes up to rather high concentrations of NO2

Einstein who? LOL
Yes, i understand that the chloride out competes the nitrite passing through the gill.
How much is 0.4 mM to PPM?
I was going through this paper. https://www.researchgate.net/public...tosis_in_juvenile_turbot_Scophthalmus_maximus

 

[Lasse]

Einstein who? LOL

Albert Einstein. Its a direct translation of a Swedish expression when things are easy to understand

Du behöver inte vara Einstein för att förstå detta

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lasse]

My calculations will not give me the highest grade if it was a test at the University – but the truth is in the surroundings of 18 and 37 ppm for 04 and 0.8 M of NO2 -> If I remember my math and chemistry lectures that I had in the late sixties

I have done my calculations from this

1 M (Molar) of a substance is 1 m (mole)/dm3 (or 1 m/l). 1 mol of NO2 is around 46 grams. (N=14, O2 = 2*16). 1 M NO2 is therefore 46 grams/dm3 (l). 1 mM is 0.001 M -> 46mg/l (app 46 ppm). The concentration there they got effect in the article was 0.4 mM and 0.8 mM -> app 18.4 ppm and 36.8 ppm.

I have not access to the whole article so I do not know the salinity during the test

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It may be me you are referring to in the original post, but I'll repeat that nitrite is no toxicity concern in a marine aquarium due to, as Lasse pointed out, the fact that it is not taken up from seawater.

I give detailed tox study data here:
Nitrite and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.htm

 

[TherealplexiG]

Albert Einstein. Its a direct translation of a Swedish expression when things are easy to understand

Please don't mind. I got this bug for misquotes.

 

[Lasse]

@TherealplexiG . I'm sorry - I now see that one can get the impression that I was specifically mean you when I was trying to be funny. I should not have use the word "you" in this sentens - what I meant was "one does not need to be" . This include me and all others.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[TherealplexiG]

@Lasse
Sir, I have got mad respect for the ones who always ready to share their wisdom and knowledge to others.
Don't stress, be chilled. It's all good.