Columbian Shark swimming in circles

[Sharkenthusiast]

I bought a Columbian Shark about 5 weeks ago for my 55 Gallon fresh water. He seems healthy but has been swimming in circles for the past couple of weeks in the corner of the tank. he has grown substantially. All my other fish are healthy and do not demonstrate this behavior. they consist of; rainbow shark, bala shark, swordtail, neon tetras, pair of blue rams, gourami, and an algae eater. I have heard that they like a slight salinity. any suggestions? (will provide another home if unsuitable). Thank you

 

[Delapool]

Hello,

Welcome to the AA forum.

Yeees, on a brief search I think you have stocking problems to investigate. The link below may help. Any water chemistry test kits for nitrates and ph? This would check if the water is in their range preference. Other thought is might be space related.

Did you mean salinity for the shark or all fish?

AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

 

[Sharkenthusiast]

Thanks for the fast reply and the sincere welcome Delapool. the salinity was mentioned for the columbian shark as he got older. I deeply appreciate your reference and upon investigation realized just how many guide lines I wasn't understanding. I am going to take back the columbian, the bala and the common pleco. I am relatively new to this hobby and am now starting to appreciate the fundamentals of keeping a fish tank. its overwhelming when you think of all the variables.

 

[stingrays4]

Hi and welcome to AA

 

[Delapool]

Thanks for the fast reply and the sincere welcome Delapool. the salinity was mentioned for the columbian shark as he got older. I deeply appreciate your reference and upon investigation realized just how many guide lines I wasn't understanding. I am going to take back the columbian, the bala and the common pleco. I am relatively new to this hobby and am now starting to appreciate the fundamentals of keeping a fish tank. its overwhelming when you think of all the variables.

Sounds grand progress. .

There is a lot to the hobby I totally agree. Makes it interesting but a lot to get through.

One other worth investigating is a water test kit like the API master FW test kit. It's helpful for checking water chemistry is still in range (amazing what the water company does sometimes or if different water is sourced between summer & winter), but it's also useful as a basic intro into the aquarium chemistry side imo.

http://www.amazon.com/API-Freshwater-Master-Test-Kit/dp/B000255NCI

 

[Sharkenthusiast]

I have a 5 in 1 test strip by API. It measures PH, Nitrite, Nitrate, carbonate and general hardness. I just took a measurement and the readings are; 8.0-8.5, 0-0.5 mg/L, 40 mg/L, 120 mg/L, 180 mg/L respectively.

 

[sinibotia]

Test strips are bunk- if you want to save money send me your water, I'll taste it and give you a comparably accurate reading

On the of chance those readings are accurate, your nitrate is fairly high; I would do a big water change soon.