I'm fairly certain I know the answer to my question, but I'm hoping for advice on what to do....
I recently acquired 2 beautiful denisons barbs. I understand they should be kept in schools, but there were no more to buy (and I wasn't aware at the time). They were drip acclimated, and swam around happily for 2 days. Now, one of them is hovering over a castle, and has remained in that spot for an entire day. I noticed the tank hit 81 degrees today, and read that denisons barbs prefer 77 degrees or under. My tank is usually 80 degrees. I'm assuming the temp is my issue here, but why were they both fine for 2 days? And, why is the other one swimming through and around the driftwood like a happy fish? Finally, what should I do to fix this?
Some background:
I have a beautiful 55g tank with adolescent angelfish (5), blue rams (2) and a bala shark. My ammonia is 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10, ph approx 7.6, kh-6, gh-8. I use driftwood to soften, and a RO/tap mix conditioned with prime. I run an aqua clear 300 and a whisper 20 (with only a pad and a purigen). I cycled with dr. Tim's one-and-only, and the tank is only not quite a month old, but I followed the instructions....and never saw more than .25 nitrites, which disappeared in a day). I am currently suffering through a bacteria bloom (part of my problem???), so pics aren't clear. I'm on day 4 of the bloom, so hopefully only a few more days. The only aggression I ever see is between the angels. They nip (each other only), and are chums the next morning. No injuries. Every other fish (including the second barb, are brightening their colors, happy, and healthy. Did I just get a bad fish (I did go back to the lfs 5 times over 2 weeks to see if they showed any changes or problems. None. I also kept them in quarantine for a few days before adding to tank). Thanks for your opinions and help!
I recently acquired 2 beautiful denisons barbs. I understand they should be kept in schools, but there were no more to buy (and I wasn't aware at the time). They were drip acclimated, and swam around happily for 2 days. Now, one of them is hovering over a castle, and has remained in that spot for an entire day. I noticed the tank hit 81 degrees today, and read that denisons barbs prefer 77 degrees or under. My tank is usually 80 degrees. I'm assuming the temp is my issue here, but why were they both fine for 2 days? And, why is the other one swimming through and around the driftwood like a happy fish? Finally, what should I do to fix this?
Some background:
I have a beautiful 55g tank with adolescent angelfish (5), blue rams (2) and a bala shark. My ammonia is 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10, ph approx 7.6, kh-6, gh-8. I use driftwood to soften, and a RO/tap mix conditioned with prime. I run an aqua clear 300 and a whisper 20 (with only a pad and a purigen). I cycled with dr. Tim's one-and-only, and the tank is only not quite a month old, but I followed the instructions....and never saw more than .25 nitrites, which disappeared in a day). I am currently suffering through a bacteria bloom (part of my problem???), so pics aren't clear. I'm on day 4 of the bloom, so hopefully only a few more days. The only aggression I ever see is between the angels. They nip (each other only), and are chums the next morning. No injuries. Every other fish (including the second barb, are brightening their colors, happy, and healthy. Did I just get a bad fish (I did go back to the lfs 5 times over 2 weeks to see if they showed any changes or problems. None. I also kept them in quarantine for a few days before adding to tank). Thanks for your opinions and help!
