Lethargic fish after cycle

[BK-ATC]

Hi there. I've been following this site for the past month and a half now since I've started up my first freshwater tank and have gotten a lot of great info from you guys. So I have a 15 gallon with 5 glofish tetras (the ones genetically modified from white skirt tetras). I know this was probably too many fish to start with but my daughter was very excited about them and I caved. So I did water changes at least every other day to keep the ammonia below 2ppm. Unfortunately I didn't discover Prime until 3 weeks into the cycle, so the fish were pretty much getting the full brunt of the ammonia. Well luckily less than a week later the ammonia was gone, had the nitrite spike for 2 days, then *boom* it was cycled. For the past 2 weeks ammonia and nitrite have been at 0 and I've kept the nitrates below about 20-30ppm. Luckily all the fish lived, but they've still been acting quite lethargic. Maybe this is normal behavior, but they all just kind of hang out in their spots not swimming around that much until feeding time (which they still go crazy for). I'm just wondering if the behavior is due to permanent ammonia poisoning or if they will snap out of it eventually or if this is just normal behavior. I'm wondering if just adding a couple more fish will liven them up. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[trennamw]

What have the temp and the pH been? If ammonia never got above 2ppm it's possible it wasn't that toxic. You can google toxic ammonia calculator, or something similar, to see how much of that ammonia is "bad" ammonia at your pH and temperature.

Do the fish seem distressed? Or just sedentary?

How much is the tank decorated?


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[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Hello BK...

Tetras aren't tough enough to come through the nitrogen cycle in good health. The exposure to ammonia and nitrite has likely made them weak. My guess is, these fish won't last long. The best thing you can do is keep their tank water waste free by removing half of the old water and replacing it with treated tap water a couple of times a week.

If you want to make the environment a bit more comfortable for the fish, then add some individual stems of Hornwort. Just drop them into the water, no planting is needed.

B

 

[trennamw]

Here's what I was looking for. There are also actual calculators online.

http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Ammonia

Guessing 7.5 pH and 76 degrees ... If I did the math right the ammonia was probably in the range it calls tolerable, but having some long term effects.

The glo fish are also anecdotally more fragile.



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[BK-ATC]

Thanks for the replies. Been away from the computer for a couple days. trennamw, pH has been about 7.2 with temps at 77 degrees. Currently in the tank are three annubias plants, a store-bought piece of wood, a store-bought rock, a 4 inch bubble stick, and 1.5 inches of light blue small gravel at the bottom. I would say there is plenty of room for them to swim around if they wanted to. To be honest, I don't really know the difference between a fish being distressed or sedentary. If I had to guess I would say sedentary. They do OCCASIONALLY swim around and act semi-normal, but thats normally first thing in the morning when I turn the light on and right before and after I feed them. Otherwise, they just kind of float there. I tried reducing the lighting to just 2 6000K LEDs and a couple of blue lights because I read that tetras can be a bit light-sensitive but it didn't seem to change much.

BBradbury, I looked up hornwort when I was originally setting up the tank and it seems like I would have to change the water just as often because the needles continuously fall off in soft water (which is what I have) and will have to clean the gravel at least once a week. I am intrigued by its ability to absorb nitrates, but I feel my annubias do that pretty well too.

I don't really know a lot about fish behavior, I just feel like their quality of life isn't that great. I think I will add one or two new fish in the next week and see what they do. Maybe add another plant or two as well for the nitrates. I feel like the plan going forward would be easier if their condition was leaning one way or the other, but they are just in this weird, uncomfortable limbo.

 

[BK-ATC]

Also, I have been doing 40-50% water changes about every 4 days or so and using API Stress Coat Plus for the conditioner. Not sure if that's the best conditioner to use but I haven't really heard otherwise. I would assume using Seachem Prime would be pointless after the tank has cycled, correct?

 

[trennamw]

A lot of people like Prime as their conditioner for every water change. I personally prefer API stress coat because I like the research and the aloe in it, and don't see the need for the stuff that neutralizes toxins.

Sounds like normal behavior for that variety of fish.


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[BK-ATC]

I suppose it could be normal. This is just my first time owning fish and I'm not really sure what to expect. I guess, for now, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and try and keep them as happy as possible. Thanks for the input, I really appreciate it.

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[dalto]

While it is possible your fish are suffering lingering issues from ammonia poisoning it is also possible they just don't have anywhere they want to go. If your tank is a standard 15 it would be 24" long. The fish may not perceive that there is somewhere better to be. The glotetras in the dealers tank where I shop tend to do the same thing in a similar space(20h).

 

[trennamw]

Well put, Dalto. No greener grass so to speak.


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[BK-ATC]

Well that's partly relieving and partly disappointing. I know these guys are suitable for even a 10 gallon tank, but I can see your point. I don't feel like my tank is too crowded with decorations/plants, but I'm not sure I would want to add a whole bunch else unless it was more plants. Other than buying a bigger tank, is there something I can do to stimulate them more?

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[BK-ATC]

This my tank currently. Is there anything you guys might recommend adding or changing?

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[BK-ATC]

I was thinking of adding some ghost shrimp and a snail here pretty soon and possibly one or two more fish.

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[trennamw]

My initial thought would be that the more fish, the less they will move around ...


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[dalto]

Some fish are just more active than others. If you had a much bigger tank and a much bigger shoal I suspect you would see different behavior.

Just to be clear, I am not saying your tank is too small. Just that the behavior you are seeing is likely to be expected.

If you got other fish that chased them around it is possible you would see more activity. However, that probably wouldn't be particularly good for the fish.

The original Glofish were based on Danios and would probably be a lot more active.

Your tank setup seems fine to me with the large leaved fake plants providing lots of cover.