Juvenile Emperor

[STE.vicious]

I bought a juvenile emperor 4 days ago, he has been eating fine and swimming around with no problems.

Last night I noticed he was hanging at the top of the tank for awhile.
This morning when I turned lights on I noticed him wedged flat between a rock..I thought he was stuck so I lifted the rock and he swam out, shortly after he went back there again, I was worried so I tried to pull him out with my fingers and did, for the past 2 hours he has just been sitting there looking at the rock, seems to be breathing heavily with mouth slightly opened, I fed my fish and he didn't eat, as he has just stayed at that rock..could he be sick?

Water parameters are amm 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 and PH 8.2+

 

[Bectan01]

Hmm, I am not an expert but I do know that they need a lot of deep caves and places to hide to feel secure. Could be still getting used to the new environment too. How big is it? Has it eaten at all since you added? How did you acclimate? I don't mean to be rude but do you know how big these guys get? I would say he won't be happy in small quarters, live aquaria suggests 220g. Who are his tank mates? Beautiful fish tho...

 

[STE.vicious]

Hmm, I am not an expert but I do know that they need a lot of deep caves and places to hide to feel secure. Could be still getting used to the new environment too. How big is it? Has it eaten at all since you added? How did you acclimate? I don't mean to be rude but do you know how big these guys get? I would say he won't be happy in small quarters, live aquaria suggests 220g. Who are his tank mates? Beautiful fish tho...

He is small only around 4cm. Yep he was eating plenty the past 3 days just not today. My LFS is only 5 mins away so I bought him back and left the bag in the aquarium for around an hour then let him in. Currently in the tank with 2 clown oscellaris, mandarin, anemone and coral banded shrimp.

 

[Bectan01]

Oh ok, did you match water (salinity)Or just temp? I bought a fish from my LFS once and just out interest I tested their water. The salinity was really low compared to my tank, like 0.21 compared to my 0.26 I have heard stores keep their salinity lower to keep disease at bay. Could be that?

 

[STE.vicious]

Oh ok, did you match water (salinity)Or just temp? I bought a fish from my LFS once and just out interest I tested their water. The salinity was really low compared to my tank, like 0.21 compared to my 0.26 I have heard stores keep their salinity lower to keep disease at bay. Could be that?

Just temp, I suppose if that's the issue there wouldn't be much I can do now? Would that kill him after he seemed to be going fine for days?

 

[Bectan01]

It could, drip acclimation is the best method for introducing new livestock. What's your salinity at? Some fish and inverts cannot tolerate swings in salinity. Does it have a nice cave to hide in? If not it may be stressed too, that's very important...

 

[STE.vicious]

It could, drip acclimation is the best method for introducing new livestock. What's your salinity at? Some fish and inverts cannot tolerate swings in salinity. Does it have a nice cave to hide in? If not it may be stressed too, that's very important...

Salinity is 0.22 do you think I should raise that? Yes there is a few places to hide in the tank

 

[Bectan01]

I keep mine at 1.026 because I have a reef. I think you are fine where you are if its fish only. It's more important that the salinity doesn't fluctuate so if you are planning on raising it you must do it very slowly, over the course of at least a week, longer if you can. May I ask where you are based? Most folks are from the US on here and are usually sleeping at this time

 

[STE.vicious]

I keep mine at 1.026 because I have a reef. I think you are fine where you are if its fish only. It's more important that the salinity doesn't fluctuate so if you are planning on raising it you must do it very slowly, over the course of at least a week, longer if you can. May I ask where you are based? Most folks are from the US on here and are usually sleeping at this time

Right..I might start to raise it slightly then over the next 2 weeks or so, I want to eventually get corals but won't start that for a few more weeks. I'm from Australia. I gathered that, there isn't too people responding at this time haha.

 

[Bectan01]

Yeah cool. Where abouts in oz? I am in Melbourne. How long has the tank been running? What kind of lighting do you have? I ran my 200L (4ft ) tank for about a year before adding corals.
Angels are not really reef safe so be cautious when buying corals, could end up being an expensive meal for your fish!

 

[Jmkb02]

I bought a juvenile emperor 4 days ago, he has been eating fine and swimming around with no problems.

Last night I noticed he was hanging at the top of the tank for awhile.
This morning when I turned lights on I noticed him wedged flat between a rock..I thought he was stuck so I lifted the rock and he swam out, shortly after he went back there again, I was worried so I tried to pull him out with my fingers and did, for the past 2 hours he has just been sitting there looking at the rock, seems to be breathing heavily with mouth slightly opened, I fed my fish and he didn't eat, as he has just stayed at that rock..could he be sick?

Water parameters are amm 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 and PH 8.2+

Angels, well all salt water fish need to be slowly acclimated over a period of time before the are added to a system. Do you know how it was caught or if it was born into captivity? Angels are also def not reef safe and will eat most corals in a reef. How big of a system do you have? Also what are you feeding?

 

[STE.vicious]

Yeah cool. Where abouts in oz? I am in Melbourne. How long has the tank been running? What kind of lighting do you have? I ran my 200L (4ft ) tank for about a year before adding corals.
Angels are not really reef safe so be cautious when buying corals, could end up being an expensive meal for your fish!

Sydney. Tank has only been running for 7 weeks. I have the aqua 620 125lt. I will be upgrading the lighting with a few led strips before adding coral.

Angels, well all salt water fish need to be slowly acclimated over a period of time before the are added to a system. Do you know how it was caught or if it was born into captivity? Angels are also def not reef safe and will eat most corals in a reef. How big of a system do you have? Also what are you feeding?

No unfortunately I did not ask. I am feeding frozen brine shrimp at the moment (he was eating a lot prior to today), he's just been sitting at that rock staring at it for hours heavily breathing and flapping his fins around.

 

[Jmkb02]

Sydney. Tank has only been running for 7 weeks. I have the aqua 620 125lt. I will be upgrading the lighting with a few led strips before adding coral.

No unfortunately I did not ask. I am feeding frozen brine shrimp at the moment (he was eating a lot prior to today), he's just been sitting at that rock staring at it for hours heavily breathing and flapping his fins around.

I'm sorry I don't understand, you have a 125 liter tank? What is the stock list?

 

[AquaRick]

Odds are the fish wasn't acclimated properly and is stressed and in shock from changing water habitats so quickly. Drip acclimation over a period of an hour is usually standard. It's cheap too. Just get some airline hose and a bucket. Tie a knot in the airline and adjust to allow about 2 drops per second into the bucket. Feel free to take out half the total water in the bucket every 20 mins or so.

 

[STE.vicious]

I'm sorry I don't understand, you have a 125 liter tank? What is the stock list?

Yes 125 litre tank, 2 clown oscellaris, mandarin and anemone..I just tested my PH before its actually 8.0, could this possibly be the reason? I'll put in some PH up, maybe that may help him?

 

[AquaRick]

pH isn't the issue. 8.0 ph is fine. Also, as a general rule, don't add in anything to your tank you're not testing for.

 

[Jmkb02]

Yes 125 litre tank, 2 clown oscellaris, mandarin and anemone..I just tested my PH before its actually 8.0, could this possibly be the reason? I'll put in some PH up, maybe that may help him?

Well I hate to be the one who tells you this, but your angel is about to overtake your tank. They get well over a foot and you usually need at least a 450 liter tank and a full grown will need at least 825 liters. Also with a tank that new, you may have a very hard time with that mandarin and your anemone. Usually you wanna wait at least 6 months for an anemone and even longer for a mandarin.
With all that being said, the ph should be above 8.2 for your anemone, and it will help if or when you decide to keep corals. With the current situation at hand, it is probably a combination of acclimation and ph. Hopefully he gets better soon