How to remove your IP from Nixspam (ix.dnsbl.manitu.net)

Nixspam closed in January 2025. If your mail is being blocked "because" of it, the receiver is querying a list that no longer exists.

Check your domain free → Nixspam (ix.dnsbl.manitu.net) removal tool ↗

What it is

The list, in plain terms.

Nixspam was a DNS-based blocklist published in the zone ix.dnsbl.manitu.net, run by the German web host manitu (Manuel Schmitt) together with iX magazine. It began in 2003, went live as a DNSBL in 2005, and listed IP addresses seen sending mail to its spamtraps.

The project was discontinued on 16 January 2025. Since that date the zone contains no entries and returns no hits for any IP. The operator wound it down following the guidance in RFC 6471 for retiring a DNSBL, so the zone kept answering empty for a period rather than disappearing outright.

This means there is nothing to delist. If a receiver is deferring or rejecting your mail and cites ix.dnsbl.manitu.net, the problem is not your IP — it is that their server is still querying a blocklist that was switched off. Your reputation with any live list is unaffected by Nixspam.

Why you get listed

What a listing on Nixspam (ix.dnsbl.manitu.net) means.

Historic: spamtrap hits While it ran, Nixspam listed an IP after that IP was seen sending mail to one of its spamtrap addresses. It was a behaviour-based listing of the sending server, not of any domain in the message.

Not a current listing No IP has been listed since 16 January 2025. A lookup against the zone today returns nothing, so any current listing you think you see is a stale result or a receiver misreading an empty response.

A receiver still querying a dead list The usual reason ix.dnsbl.manitu.net appears in a 2026 bounce is that the recipient mail server has not removed the retired zone from its filters. The block comes from their configuration, not from any real listing.

How to get removed

Delisting, in order.

Removal is free. Fix the cause first — a listing you clear without a fix comes straight back.

1 Confirm there is no live listing. There is nothing to remove. The zone has held no entries since 16 January 2025 and returns no hits, so no self-service removal form or wait is involved. Any site inviting you to "remove your IP from Nixspam" for a fee is a scam — the list is gone and no one can charge to delist you from it.
2 Read the exact bounce. Find the deferral or rejection text in your bounce message or mail logs. If it names ix.dnsbl.manitu.net, you have a receiver still checking a discontinued list rather than a genuine reputation problem to fix on your side.
3 Contact the recipient's mail administrator. The operator's own advice is to write to the administrator of the receiving mail server and point out that ix.dnsbl.manitu.net was discontinued and should be removed from their blocklist configuration. manitu provides no support for this and will not respond to delisting requests, because there is nothing on their side to change.
4 Check your other blocklist and authentication signals. Because Nixspam is inert, rule it out and look at what is actually live: any listing on Spamhaus or other active blocklists, and your SPF, DKIM and DMARC alignment. A block blamed on a dead list often coincides with a real issue elsewhere that is worth confirming.

The official route

Straight to the source.

Removal happens on Nixspam (ix.dnsbl.manitu.net)'s own tool — never through a paid service.

Nixspam (ix.dnsbl.manitu.net) removal tool ↗

Return codes

127.0.0.2 Historic listing code — the only value Nixspam ever returned. No IP has returned this since 16 January 2025.

How long it takes

There is no removal timeline because there is no listing to remove: ix.dnsbl.manitu.net was discontinued on 16 January 2025 and returns no hits. Any fix is on the receiver's side — how quickly they stop querying the retired zone is up to their administrator.

Common questions

About Nixspam (ix.dnsbl.manitu.net), specifically.

How do I remove my IP from ix.dnsbl.manitu.net? You cannot, and you do not need to. Nixspam was shut down on 16 January 2025 and no longer lists any IP. There is no active removal form and nothing on manitu's side to change.

Why is my mail still being blocked by Nixspam in 2026? Because the receiving mail server has not removed the retired ix.dnsbl.manitu.net zone from its filters. The block comes from their outdated configuration, not from a real listing. Ask their administrator to drop the dead list.

Is ix.dnsbl.manitu.net still active? No. The operator, manitu, discontinued it on 16 January 2025 and wound the zone down in line with RFC 6471. It returns no entries for any IP.

Who do I contact to fix a Nixspam block? The administrator of the recipient's mail server, not manitu. manitu provides no support and will ignore delisting enquiries because the list no longer operates. Point the receiver to the end-user help page at nixspam.net.

Should I pay a service to delist me from Nixspam? No. The list is defunct, so no one can delist you from it — there is nothing to remove. Any paid "Nixspam removal" offer is a scam.

Does a Nixspam block mean my sending reputation is bad? Not by itself. Nixspam is inert, so it tells you nothing about your current reputation. Check live blocklists such as Spamhaus and your SPF, DKIM and DMARC setup to find any genuine problem.

The bounce behind the listing.

554 5.7.1 message rejected → The permanent bounce a listing most often triggers — what it means and how to clear it. 550 5.7.1 blocked → A rejection on reputation grounds — usually the same listing, seen from the sender side. Blacklist checker → Re-check your domain and every sending IP once the cause is fixed.

Do not fix it blind.

See every list you are on and every authentication problem behind the listing in one 40-second check — then let monitoring tell you the day a listing comes back.

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