New tank, need assistance

[Rixhephtos]

Hi there!

I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of fish keeping, so I'm in a bit of a pickle here. We've kept fish for years, always done the same things and never had issues (what we were told to do by fish pet stores), so I'm confused as to what went wrong here and wondering what I can do to fix it.

A little backstory- He was originally sold to us misidentified (as a Synodontis nigriventris, when he was actually a Mystus leucophasis) with a few other fish a kept in a 10 gallon tank. His smaller buddies started mysteriously dissapearing, and he was growing much bigger than the 4 inches they told us he'd get. So we swapped just him to a 20 gallon tank.

I've recently learned that he needs at least a 55 gallon tank, and so I've bought him a 55 gallon and transferred him to that. It's just him in there with all his old plants, decorations, gravel (and some new gravel), same filter (apparently the one we had was meant for 55 gallon tanks), and we transferred over a significant amount of the water as well. We added the tap water conditioner to the tank, portioned equal to the amount of water we added that wasn't from the old tank. These were all steps we've taken before with our previous tanks, with him, and never run into an issue.

He was fine for a night, but now he seems to be gasping. He'll swim around for a while, then sit under the stream of the waterfall from the filter and gasp for a bit, then go back to swimming around.

Is it an oxygen issue? Some sort of chemical imbalance?

Here is a close up of him- https://streamable.com/h296k5

And here is the tank as a whole- https://streamable.com/6icca2

I don't have any test kits handy to test any sort of level of anything, but the tank temp was 76 F, if that means anything.

I'd really appreciate any help on the matter, especially if you guys can point me where to get test kits that'll help solve whatever his issue is.

 

[Autumnsky]

In the close up pic it seems he has some white dot salt grain type spots, maybe Ich?
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/freshwater-ich-yuck/

Sometimes changing the old water to the new, disproportionately different parameters, even though you added some of the old water.

The stress of changing and difference of water parameters could have been hard on him.

Did you rinse the old gravel with tap water, untreated with dechlorinator?

If so you might have caused a blip in the amount of beneficial bacteria / BB which is in the tank and alive now to process fish waste and food waste.

Did you also change the filter pad in your clean up? This is essentially where the majority of the BB grow and the gravel hold a good amount as well.

So sorry you, in trying to help this guy are having issues in the tank right now! And instead of bliss there is concern.

What was the water changing schedule for the other tank?

Did you rinse off all new gravel and other items, use any soap / cleaning products? around the tank?

What kind of dechlorinator are you using?

Do you know if you have hard or soft water?

Use a household water softener?

Had any sunscreen hand sanitizer on your hands arms and didn't wash if off before changing the tank? Could have killed BB...

If it is Prime or other brand which treats /neutralizes ammonia, nitrite and Nitrate, do a huge water change, 50% or more, if you can't figure out any of these issues is it. AND use the maximum recommended emergency dose for treating the tank. With Prime I think it is 7 times the usual dosage.

If it is Ich and loss of BB then you might want to try some SeaChem Stability. Then follow the Ich treatment recommendations.

Of course it would be best for advice if we knew the parameters and what might have happened.

I would add an air bubbler /stone if you have one or for now you can lower the water level a few inches which causes more splashing /aerating to help him.



Knowing if any

 

[Autumnsky]

And this one
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/ich-ick-white-spot-or-whatever-else-you-call-it/

edit
Also the temperature to be as close as possible to the same in pwc water and the tank water.

 

[Rixhephtos]

Okay so, this is a lot, let's go bit by bit.

Good news is, he seems to be doing better today, not gasping as much, and he's under the bridge that's under the waterfalls instead of near exclusively staying under the waterfalls.

I don't see any white dots on him, only a slightly whiter patch of skin?

I did rinse the old gravel with untreated tap water... but not terribly much, I knew enough to not blast it and try to save as much bacteria as possible, but he hadn't been eating as much so there was a lot of food debris in the gravel and I needed to get that out. I barely rinsed his decorations, and put those in the new tank.

I did change the filter pads, but it was past due for a change and I didn't think about the BB. I know now to keep them for the future.

I had a bit of an evaporation problem with the last tank so I was adding about a gallon of (treated) tap water every week or two.

I completely butt blasted the new gravel for a while to get it as clean as I could. Only chemicals used ever were a drop of bleach per one gallon of water to clean the tank before use, then a bit of vinegar diluted with water, then multiple rinsings with water before the tank was used. None of the decorations or gravel or filter itself were touched with any soap of any kind.

I'm using API Stress Coat + for dechlorination.

Unsure if I have hard or soft, I believe hard though.

I do not use household water softener.

Only thing I did before touching any of the fish stuff was wash my hands and arms with soap and water, and I was sure to get off excess soap.

We've been looking at bubblers and stones, I've held off on purchasing only because I'm not sure what strength air pump I should use. Would a Tetra Whisper 20 suffice? Or go for a 40 or 60? My only issue with the 60 is that it's a dual pump, whereas the 20 and 40 and single, and I think I'd only need one hose. I'm looking into a 12 inch air stone to sit in the back of the tank by his favorite log to hopefully aerate that side and encourage him to get back to that side of the tank.

Is it possible that he's just flabbergasted by the difference in oxygen level between the two tanks, and that it's just an adjustment period needed? Is that a thing? He went from a 20 to a 55 with the same filter/aeration, no bubbler in the last tank either.

Thank you so much for the suggestions, I'll keep a close eye on him and see how he develops, but he does already seem to be doing a bit better. I've never done such a huge tank change before, either has he, and both of those facts could definitely be contributing to his issues.

 

[Rixhephtos]

Also, I was looking into live plants to add to help with coverage and aeration. Any suggestions on super low maintenance ones I could put in there for him? Or should I wait until the tank is more settled to add live plants?

 

[Autumnsky]

Anubias is a great easy plant. Comes in different leaf shapes and sizes from micro tiny to very large.

The thing to remember with these is the long stem the leaves come off of is the rhizhome and rhizomes should not be planted. They can sit on soil and the roots love to go in the substrate. Or use attached /wedged into driftwood or rock crevices.

A nice big plant also easy care is the African water fern Bolbitis heudelotii sometimes can get really huge, but it usually stays a regularly useful size and can be trimmed as necessary, also has a rhizome stem, use as noted above.

Cryptocoryne wendtii has a number of color forms and do great and are low care. Other Crypts are almost all easy care. Just double check care on different varieties.

One of my favorite long ones, very easy and beautiful is Cryptocoryne Balansae. Great growing and awesome texture.

Anyhow about the fish, it is likely the difference in water from old and new was a big difference. As you do occasional water changes and top off water with tap water, the mineral contents increases as evaporation leaves condensed water remaining in the tank, then adding more minerals, and organics (possibly nitrate) it compounds, making the total dissolved solids / TDS very, very high.

Removing just some water periodically doesn't dilute the tank water / remove enough to make a difference. Over time the concentration /TDS, etc. in the tank is vastly greater than the tap water TDS. And making a change to new water is very dramatic, and stressful.

Now with changing the pad,you lost a great deal of BB, and rinsing the gravel also you have little BB colony left remaining.

Would recommend following "fish in" cycle procedure. Details below.

Get a test kit so you can make sure things stay in the safe level. Maybe you will want some new additions to the bigger tank in the future, since there is so much room available in the middle.
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/i-just-learned-about-cycling-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now/

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/fishin-cycling-step-dark-side/

 

[Rixhephtos]

I was looking into the Aponogeton (unsure what exact species because it might be a hybrid) that's sold at a local pet store. I've read it grows really fast and as long on you're on top of pruning you should be fine. Is that a good beginner plant too? I'd need fertilizer tabs with it though, right?

I was also looking into getting two 1.5" airstones for the back of the tank, opposite side of the filter, for more air. Do you think that'd be too much? Would the Aponogeton hate the amount of current it might create?

As for testing, what kits would you recommend? Should I add plants before or after things are nice and settled test wise?

Also, would there be a possibility to add more fish to the tank, or is it fully stocked with a fish his size? I've read he's only got a small list of fish he's compatible with, most of them get to be big boys too (I was quoted a minimum tank size between 55-176 gallons for a tinfoil barb and I'm just shocked at that, though they are a 13 or so inch fish I read),but I was looking at getting 5 or so rosy barbs (not without significant okay from someone with more experience though). They grow to about 6 inches and he's about 7-8 so he shouldn't pester them, right? My only concern is they're fin nibblers and he's got a longish tail. I did read that getting 5 will reduce the stress and thus the fin nibbling.

I assume I should stabilize the tank before adding them if I do end up purchasing them though, correct?

I'm sorry, I know so little about stocking and keeping in general and you guys are the only forum actually answering my questions :/ Last forum I posted in was quick to criticize me and berate me for being misinformed, and when I asked for actual advice I got one or two responses, and now nothing.

 

[Autumnsky]

Plants love ammonia and nitrates, fish no. So plants are fine. They will help take up /use the fish waste as fertilizer.

The Aponogeton is fine and will die down and at some point, and take a break then should come back if well cared for. You can place it at an angle from the outflow between the flows.

I recently bought a Fluval Q2 adjustable air pump only one output. I like it. You can get which ever brand you want I DO find the adjustable feature an excellent option. I can always put a air tube splitter / gang valve if I need 2 air stones.

As for other fish. I had a big Goby which just vacuumed up my Tetras, like Neons and Glowlight.

If your guy is a Mystus leucophasis, that is a big surprise from the smaller fish you thought. My misidentified Goby was also told to me to be a max thin 4" and was appx. 7.5", hahaha, not funny.

What I just noted reading the below is that your fish can have lighter colored flecks on it's body. So maybe not Ich, maybe flecks?
https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/mystus-leucophasis/

Rosy Barbs are pretty but can be nippy. Having several females to one male could help. As well as a nice size group.

Right now I have a beautiful group of Congo Tetras and love them so much I am moving them to a new tank! Though not positive they would be okay as your fish got huge though.