Polypterus (Dinosor eel) Question

[JoshFD]

Hi all. I hope there isnt a thread about this already, i looked and wasnt able to find one, so hopefully not.

Anyways i have a polypterus, who up till now has been shy. Today hes been very active. Mostly going up and down the glass with some speed. When he notices im in the room, he goes and hides. Is he just being curious and checking things out?
I've checked the water and everything is normal, Ammonia is 0, Nitrate is 5, Nitrite is 0 and pH is 7.6.

Thanks

 

[sinibotia]

He may need more space. "Glass surfing" is usually an indication of wanting food, or being cramped, or something wrong with water quality in my experience. Polypterus do get quite large so make sure you have enough space.

 

[JoshFD]

I would hope he has more than enough space. Currently in a 60gl and hes(assuming he is a he lol) 4 maybe 5" long. I did a water change two days ago, will check the quality again tomorrow morning.
The lights have been off for roughly an hour-hour and a half and he seems to have calmed down quite a bit. Thanks for the reply!

 

[sinibotia]

He could also just be getting used to his surroundings! I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it becomes a habit.

 

[JoshFD]

Thanks every one for the feed back. It's nice to know that you are all here to help, and are so wise. Ahah.
So update from yesterday, i think it was a mixture of looking for food and checking everything out. That said, i did check the water chem this morning and the Nitrite was a little out of wack. Did a 25-30% water change and of course will check it tomorrow.

New issues just popped up, heater isnt working properly now. It's a Fluval E300 and am having all the "common" problems with it... currently sitting at an odd angle in the tank. Getting a new heater tomorrow and sending this one back.

As for my fishy friend, he seems happy today so im hopping there is no issue. If anything else changes with his behavior or water chem ill post back in this tread.

Thanks again every one. Have a good one.

 

[Coursair]

Fish can also be sensitive to barometric pressure. Some hide and some go crazy if a storm is coming.


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