fish acting weird.. help!!
- Thread starter kamuii
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4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
Sounds like a stressed fish -- whether it's disease stress or otherwise remains to be seen. Fish that do this a lot are often stressed about not having enough horizontal space to swim across. Firefish don't have really high needs in this regard but that doesn't mean that this particular fish doesn't want/need it.
Is it breathing heavily? Eating less? Scratching or flashing?
Is it breathing heavily? Eating less? Scratching or flashing?
Scarybo
Active Member
Sounds like it could be disease. Do you have a QT set up. If not I would get the equipment and set it up.
GHsaltie
Valuable Member
To me he looks like he's lingering around the powerhead in those pictures. I would be concerned about velvet in this instance. Here's a right up on it, https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/
melypr1985
totally addicted
Nitrates aren't high for a fish unless they are off the charts.... example: over 100 ppm or so. Even then, it's rare for it to bother fish much. Of course, if you have that high of nitrates then you probably have other issues happening that can effect your fish. But the nitrates alone usually aren't the cause.
What is your ammonia level? How many gallons is that tank?
Nitrates are low for fish only tank, what are your ammonia levels? 1 week old aquarium might not have cycled probably.
Your ph is on the low end, and its a closed lid aquarium, im assuming not enough oxygen in the tank and co2 is present at higher than normal concentration causing the ph drop. Is there enough flow to break the surface to ensure oxygen dissolving in water? Or maybe a skimmer that can create bubbles for extra oxygen.
If not, i recommend adding air stone and check if symptoms dissapear, if not then you might dealing with disease.
Do you notice scratching? Or maybe sensitivity to ligt. Hanging by power filter indicate low oxygen supply to fish due to parasites in gills or probably not enough oxygen in water. Heavy breathing will confirm that.
Your ph is on the low end, and its a closed lid aquarium, im assuming not enough oxygen in the tank and co2 is present at higher than normal concentration causing the ph drop. Is there enough flow to break the surface to ensure oxygen dissolving in water? Or maybe a skimmer that can create bubbles for extra oxygen.
If not, i recommend adding air stone and check if symptoms dissapear, if not then you might dealing with disease.
Do you notice scratching? Or maybe sensitivity to ligt. Hanging by power filter indicate low oxygen supply to fish due to parasites in gills or probably not enough oxygen in water. Heavy breathing will confirm that.
4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
no scratching or flashing, he stopped a few minutes after i posted the thread. my tank is 2 months old, and i've had the fish for a week. my ammonia is at 0 and so is my nitrItes. i have lots of bubbles in my water and my water movement is decent. i'll see how he is tomorrow and i'll keep you guys updated. he wasn't sensitive to any light, although he does seem a bit stressed. i'll keep an eye on him.
mcarroll
10K Club member
Not much cover in that tank and it looks like he's alone.....I'd expect him to be skittish until conditions change.....add some non-threatening company and some corals (or other decorations if not coral) to improve the overall space.
melypr1985
totally addicted
I was going to suggest adding more rock to the tank as well. Firefish are also called dartfish for a reason. They need plenty of rockwork to hide in when scared. They will have several "bolt holes" to dart into when they feel threatened.
Paul B
10K Club member
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It's not nitrates, mine are 160. I can't tell what it is from here but that tank is very new and you may experience all sorts of weird problems for a few more months until the bacteria grow more and settle down.
