Stanley

[flutterbudget]

[*]Test Results for the Following:

[*]Ammonia Level? 0

[*]Nitrite Level? 0

[*]Nitrate level? 5

[*]Ph Level, Tank (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)? 8.2

[*]Ph Level, Tap (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)? 7.6

[*]Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops? API drops

[*]Water temperature? 68

[*]Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running? 75, 3 days

[*]What is the name and size of the filter(s)? Fluval 304, 2x Aquaclear 30 - total 560gph

[*]How often do you change the water and how much? Will be at least 50% weekly, probably more since I don't expect my cycle to be stable yet in the new tank.

[*]How many fish in the tank and their size? 3 (two are 2.5 - 3 inches not counting tails, one is maybe 2 inches not counting his tail)

[*]What kind of water additives or conditioners? Prime

[*]What do you feed your fish and how often? 1 - 2 times daily, hikari pellets, peas, spinach, occasionally frozen foods and fruits

[*]Any new fish added to the tank? yes

[*]Any medications added to the tank? no

[*]Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? no

[*]Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.? More bottom sitting than I would like

Background on my tank situation: Stanley and Mr. Fish were in the 30 gallon tank together until Wednesday, Floyd was in QT. I moved everyone to the new 75 gallon tank Wednesday. The 30 gallon had been cycled, I moved both aquacler filters from that tank and added a small amount of media from them to the new uncycled canister as well.

Background on Stanley's behavior: Stanley bottom sat occasionally during his QT, but not anything that really worried me. Mostly it was at the beginning of prazi treatment. After he went in the 30 gallon (in October) I didn't see any bottom sitting for a while. Then he started sleeping on the bottom part of the time, but I didn't see him down there during the day.

It took a long time with daily water changes for my 30 gallon tank to be completely cycled, but it seemed to be stable finally for the last several weeks. I was still checking parameters daily to make sure. About a week ago, I noticed Stanley spending a lot of time on the bottom. I immediately tested my water (it had been about 12 hours since my last test) and nitrite was at .5! I did a HUGE water change and cleaned all the nooks and crannies. I found a glob of stuff under a rock that I think was plant matter and some slime in the nearby filter. After I cleaned that up, the parameters went back to normal and Stanley went back to acting normal. I thought that's all it was.

Wednesday before the move I saw him on the bottom some, but the parameters were good. He became a lot more active again after I took out the bubble wall to move it to the other tank.(?) After the move, he was busy and active and exploring. Starting yesterday and most of today he will sit on the bottom in a corner for 15 minutes or so and then swim around a bit and look for food and then go sit for a few more minutes and so on. If I go over to the tank he comes to see me. If one of the other fish swim by, he gets up and swims around. He's very interested in food.

I'm wondering if he's having trouble with the current. I wondered that from time to time in the smaller tank as well. I tried today to reduce it some. I pointed the spray bar at the back wall and turned down the flow on the aquaclears a bit. It seemed to perk him up for a while. But now he is back to mostly sitting in the corner again. He looks fine. I can't see anything wrong with him. But I don't like this bottom sitting.

The other two fish are very active and they all seem to be getting along with each other. Although Floyd is new since they were never all together until Wenesday, this seems to have started before then so I don't think this is something he brought into the tank. They have all been salted and prazied previously.

What do you guys think?

Edited December 11, 2010 by flutterbudget

[Cynders]

Sometimes new fish will bottom sit in a new environment. When I had my Red he bottomsat for a week in the corner. He's active when other fish come nearby and when you come near? If he eats well that's a good sign. How's his dorsal look when he bottom sits? He's not clamping at all?

Also the water temperature, do you have a heater? Fancies tend to not like cooler water so much.

Edited December 11, 2010 by Haruka

[flutterbudget]

I'm planning to get a heater. Probably tomorrow morning. My water had been very stable at 70*, but it's starting to get pretty cold here and I don't think it's going to stay warm enough through the winter.

As far as his dorsal. It's really hard for me to tell anything by that because he has one of those droopy, foldy dorsal fins. You know what I mean? He's not clamping, but it's not up either. But I'm not actually sure he can get it up straight. It's always been that way.

Edited December 11, 2010 by flutterbudget

[Cynders]

Sounds good.

I definitely know what ya mean, I Had two fish like that. Ever since you've had stanley anything different about him? How long was Floyd quarantined. But it seems like Floyd had a clean bill of health. Maybe try twice a week water changes since things are stabilizing. I'm still thinking it may just be due to a new environment. Some fish take longer to adjust.

[flutterbudget]

Since I've had Stanley he's grown and I think some of his black has faded a bit gradually. Other than that, no he's the same goofy little fish until he started this lazy behavior... I gave them some Spinach earlier and he attacked it with the others.

Floyd was quarantined for a couple days less than 4 weeks. He was salted and had several rounds of prazi. He never showed any signs of any issues. Didn't even react to the prazi. I really don't think it is anything he brought in.

I'm sure this is silly, but Floyd and Mr. Fish really seem to have become inseparable. I wonder if Stanley is feeling a bit left out since he's smaller and less er, athletic?

[Helen]

thre are a lot of things that could be contributing to this.. the normal is movement, of any sort.. anytime they need to be handled and so forth.. some fish behave like this until they are fully aware of their surroundings and feel safe.

he could also be going through a growth spurt and sort of quietly waiting for it to pass..

or he could just be playing it safe with the other two until he's sussed them out enough to become social with them.

the heater you intend to buy soon could help to speed things up..

if he looks healthy, maintains a good feed and is generally ok (no excessive yawning or other abnormal signs) i say just let him be and he should come around in his own time. also check that he isn't being bullied.. sometimes they retreat like this if there is a bully in the tank.

[flutterbudget]

I haven't seen any bullying. He holds his own just fine at feeding time. He and Mr. Fish were together and friendly for at least two months, but I think he isn't sure yet what to think of Floyd. I wonder also if it could be because there is so much open space in this tank. There is much less "terrain" than he was used to. Maybe he just feels exposed. He is definitely growing, I hadn't really thought about a growth spurt. He's always the first one in line if he thinks there might be food coming, so maybe it's nothing serious.

[Helen]

at this stage, i'm with the nothing serious thought at the moment too.. but do keep a close eye on him incase anything changes.. how old is he?

[flutterbudget]

I really don't know. I assume quite young. But as he came from a lfs, I can't really be sure. I got him in September and he was so little that I put a votive candle holder in his qt for a hiding place. He's probably put on half an inch or more in body length since then. And some wen growth. I say "he" but the only one I actually know is male is Mr. Fish.

[flutterbudget]

Here is a little video of them all with the spinach a bit ago. Watching this, he certainly seems ok. And he hasn't gone back to his corner yet. Maybe I worry too much...

http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y99/raptor4a/Fish/?action=view&current=100_3638.mp4

Edited December 11, 2010 by flutterbudget

[Helen]

would you look at those little savages? they're adorable..

re the tiles, i recall you recently "installed" them lol. how did you prepare them? were they boiled? scrubbed? are they teracotta or porcellin? glazed teracotta?

wondering if perhaps something there is causing him to be a little unhappy?

[flutterbudget]

They are a natural stone. I dropped vinegar on them and they didn't fizz. I scrubbed them and boiled them and soaked them just like I have done with any rocks I've used previously. They aren't sealed or glazed or anything and I just laid them in there. They aren't stuck down with anything.

Edited December 11, 2010 by flutterbudget

[Helen]

they should be fine then.. just remember to keep checking underneath them from time to time incase anything nasty decides to harbor underneath them. they really do look pretty.

[flutterbudget]

I'm definitely keeping an eye on it. So far stuff doesn't seem to be getting under there, just some poo I had to suck up around the outside edges. But it's early. I can look under the stand and see the bottom of the tank and tiles, so I should be able to see any yuckiness that might happen. I'm hesitant to blame the tile, since I can't see any logical reason they should be a problem. Just flat rocks really. But if he starts acting worse or it goes on for too long, I'll take them out and see if that changes anything.

I guess for now I'll just keep watching. Maybe it's just fishy anxiety or something. I'm pretty sure I remember he didn't much like the barebottom qt tank at first either, so maybe he just needs to adjust.

Edited December 11, 2010 by flutterbudget

[flutterbudget]

Ok. Crazy fish lady that I am, I've been sitting and watching the tank in the dark for quite a while now. And Stanley is just busy busy buzzing all over the place and checking every little crevice for leftovers and poking around the plants. This is really making me think maybe it's a stress thing. It's almost like he was waiting for the lights to go off.

[Helen]

ooooh.. yes, you have now joined the crazy koko's fish keeper's club

and if that's what's going on, then it is highly possible darling stanley was suffering a bit of stress with everything that was going on..

good work

[amynmitchell]

It sounds like he is just settling in. I swear sometimes they do the weird stuff when they think we are watching and then if you glance out of the corner of your eye all is normal.

[flutterbudget]

Well, he was the same today. Sleeping in the corner of and on all day. And then as soon as I turned the lights of he's all busy again. Sigh. I guess if he just wants to be nocturnal fish until he's used to things that's ok...

The other two slept a lot today too. I think they all partied all night.