added two new plants - now fish acting strange

[cazybug]

I recently added two small plants to my tank and now my fish are acting strange. My weather loach is spending alot of time just kinda laying around upside-down. And he seems weak. My guppies and danios are active as usual but they seem somewhat aggressive and agitated. What should I be checking?

 

[Jason7894561230]

What kind of plants are they?

 

[mfdrookie516]

I would be checking your water parameters... ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. The plants wouldn't cause any issues there. My first thought is that you've stirred up the substrate while planting them and maybe caused a spike in something? What are your test results? Anything else change?

 

[OhNeil1969]

How old is your tank? Has it properly cycled? If you don't know what that is check out the link in Jonathan's signature: Cycling with Fish. Plants don't stress fish. In fact, they usually do the opposite. They provide a safe haven for fish to hide/rest. They can also contribute to "healthy" water if they are properly cared for. Like the other's said, I'd be checking your ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes.

 

[cazybug]

I added what I think is a camboma (sp?) and another plant that makes babies from the tips of its strap-like leaves. Ammonia is close to 0, Nitrite is also close to 0, Nitrate is around 20ppm, and pH is close to 7.8.

 

[cazybug]

Oh, and my tank is over two years old (so it is definately cycled by now) and no other changes.

 

[OhNeil1969]

Has the only change been the addition of plants? Also, how big is your tank? It sounds that your fish behavior and the addition of plants may just be coincidence. How old are the fish? Are there any other symptoms that you may have overlooked? Where did you get the plants from? If they came from another tank with fish you may have transferred a problem from that tank. Finally, how long have your fish been acting weird? Maybe it's temporary. I know it's a lot of questions. I'm just hoping we can help find a solution for you.

 

[cazybug]

Yes, the only change at all is the addition of the plants. I picked them up from a pet store and they came from a tank there that had no fish present. Maybe they were with fish before that and carried something with them from there? Could oxygen or Co2 levels be at play? How would I tell? Maybe early signs of ich affecting the gills? The loach is probably about 3 or 4 years old.

 

[fort384]

CO2 or O2 would not be effected dramatically enough to have any effect on your fish. What is your tank maintenance schedule? I tend to agree with Rook and think possibly planting/stirring up the gravel could be at play... especially in a tank 2-3 years old (depending on your maintenance schedule).

Water parameters look fine...

Any other signs or symptoms from the fish? Have you looked closely at them for any visual cues to what the problem could be? I just can't imagine that adding 2 plants would cause any problems... how long between adding the plants and noticing symptoms?

 

[OhNeil1969]

I don't think you have an O2 or CO2 problem. Was the pet store one of the large chain stores? I ask because many of them have a filter/sump set up that links all their tanks. Even if there weren't any fish in the tank with the plants all the other tanks will contribute any infections/infestations that they may be experiencing.

 

[cazybug]

It would have been 24-36 hrs between adding the plants and noticing the strange behaviour. I did notice what looked like snail eggs on the leaves of one plant after I added it but I figured the fish would just eat them. They are gone now. (Maybe they were something else?) Can't snails carry ich without showing symptoms? What about their eggs? Can they carry ich as well?

 

[fort384]

not sure if the eggs could carry ich. Are you noticing any other ich symptoms or white spots on the fish?

I just can't connect adding 2 plants to mass issues with your fish.

 

[cazybug]

Yes, the store was one of the large chains. The tanks with the fish are lined up along the wall and the tank with the plants is set apart from that wall in the middle of the aisles. I suppose it is possible that they share a filtration system.

 

[cazybug]

Haven't noticed white spots yet but at least with ich I know what I'm dealing with. If it is ich how long does it take for white spots to appear after being infected? Maybe this is the early stages of infection before the spots are visible to us?

 

[OhNeil1969]

Haven't noticed white spots yet but at least with ich I know what I'm dealing with. If it is ich how long does it take for white spots to appear after being infected? Maybe this is the early stages of infection before the spots are visible to us?

I always thought it was the other way around. You would notice the spots before you noticed abnormal behavior. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Nah, ich usually gets in the gills first, then you'll start seeing it on the body.