Blue Damsel Acting Weird

[sodertech]

I have a 40 Gallon w/ Bio Wheel 400, PC, 24'' Actinic, Few Coral, Clown Perc, Yellow Tang, Fame Angel and Blue Damsel. My water is fine PH is ideal, Nitrates and Nitrites Ideal, Amm is safe. For about 5 days now my Blue Damsel will not eat much, he was the only fish in the tank up until Friday, then i added the tang, angel and clown. The Angel eats little and the Damsel eats less. The tang and the clown eat normally.

 

[sodertech]

In addition to that the Blue Damsel is breathing heavily as well. He has been hiding and now he is in the middle of the tank, breathing heavily.

 

[phases99]

Did you add all those fish at once? When you say ammonia is safe and nitrite is ideal do you mean 0? The more exact info you give the more we can help.

 

[sodertech]

three of them at once, ammonia and is safe and the nitrite is 0

 

[phases99]

You have dramatically increased your bio load and your bio filter needs time to catch up. Damsels are usually the hardiest of the bunch so watch the others closely. A 25% water change can not hurt here. You should also get yourself a more precise test kit for ammonia. Quarantine is the preferred method for adding new livestock. You could have introduced disease to your tank. Please read through some of the articles here at AA before adding any additional fish. Good Luck.

 

[sodertech]

K, all of the other fish seem to be doing very well. I Just did a twenty about three days ago. How do it set up a Quaratine tank?

 

[phases99]

You can use at least a 10g tank with heater and a simple filtration system (sponge or hang on back) seeded with bacteria from the main tank. Keep it bare bottom with some PVC or anything the fish can hide. Use at least 50% of the water from the main tank and monitor water parameters closely. This will give you an environment to treat new or sick fish. You can medicate if necessary without treating your main tank.

 

[sodertech]

Ok, what about the Damsel. I was just wondering, I have a Marine test kit and i am about to test my ammonia with the liquid stuff. What do i do if it is too high, etc...


Sorry, I am just worried about my fish.

 

[phases99]

Water changes are #1. But for an emergency you can add some Prime or other ammo-lock type of product.

 

[sodertech]

OK, Ammonia is good, i just checked. Should I add something for the bio load?

 

[lando]

There is really not a lot you can do to boost bio-filtration. As mentiond, the best course of action is water changes. You can try products like Bio-Spira but you may just be throwing your money away. Time is what you need to get your bio-filtration to catch up with the increased load.

 

[Brad]

If the other fish are much larger than the damsel, he is probably just frightened. If this is the case, things will work out as they find the proper pecking order.