Crashjack
Well-Known Member
I started this quarantine with C. Isosceles, C. Exquisitius, and H. Melanurus. All fed early but were reclusive. Isosceles started getting somewhat lethargic while Exquisitius and Melanurus would hide (swimming... not wedged between pvc elbows or buried in the sand), and would dart from one hiding spot to another. Isosceles stopped feeding, while the other two would dart out for food. Before I started medicating, Exquisitius dropped dead though he had fed the evening before... probably hours before. I started GC and copper treatment, and Isosceles died the next day.
I am now 21 hours in to my second GC treatment and near where I plan do stop dosing Coppersafe, which is already higher than the full-dosage I used with my C. Ryukyuensis and C. Rubeus. The Melanurus is still very skittish, but goes crazy for food... even at this stage of the two medications. The Ryukyuensis and Rubeus got more skittish as copper levels increased but were never as skittish as this Melanurus. Now, this Melanurus is a lot smaller than the Ryukyuensis. but the Ryukyuensis spent most of its time more out in the open. This Melanurus spends a lot of time under the powerhead/sponge filter (my powerhead/filter runs horizontally, from front to back on one end of the tank). When not there, it swims through the 3 pvc elbows, which are oriented around his sandpile in a Tupperware container. Almost all of his activity is oriented in these areas. He really only enters open water or goes near the surface when going after food, and he darts back once he gets a piece, then comes back for another. Admittedly, my Sterilite Tote QT is only 17.5 gallons with 10 gallons of water in it, so there isn't a lot of room, but for the size of the small Melanurus, is big enough (it was big enough for Ryukyuensis which was much larger).
With all of this background, my question is simply, is this normal Melanurus behavior under these conditions?
I am now 21 hours in to my second GC treatment and near where I plan do stop dosing Coppersafe, which is already higher than the full-dosage I used with my C. Ryukyuensis and C. Rubeus. The Melanurus is still very skittish, but goes crazy for food... even at this stage of the two medications. The Ryukyuensis and Rubeus got more skittish as copper levels increased but were never as skittish as this Melanurus. Now, this Melanurus is a lot smaller than the Ryukyuensis. but the Ryukyuensis spent most of its time more out in the open. This Melanurus spends a lot of time under the powerhead/sponge filter (my powerhead/filter runs horizontally, from front to back on one end of the tank). When not there, it swims through the 3 pvc elbows, which are oriented around his sandpile in a Tupperware container. Almost all of his activity is oriented in these areas. He really only enters open water or goes near the surface when going after food, and he darts back once he gets a piece, then comes back for another. Admittedly, my Sterilite Tote QT is only 17.5 gallons with 10 gallons of water in it, so there isn't a lot of room, but for the size of the small Melanurus, is big enough (it was big enough for Ryukyuensis which was much larger).
With all of this background, my question is simply, is this normal Melanurus behavior under these conditions?
