Well when I got him a few months ago he was beautiful in color. Now he is completely black and scoots along the bottom of the tank as if hes lazy..I treated the tank with life guard and he seems to be doing better but still fights with the other blue every time I remove the divider... these guys are small and have alot of tank room to grow into so what can I do to help this guy out.. he does seem stressed out ALOT... any suggestions would be appreciated!
Sad Elect. Blue Depmsey
- Thread starter bigsky_25
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dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
What are your water parameters? How long has the tank been set up, a couple months? What is your water changing schedule?
Nitrate and Nitrite are both 0 and my ph is 8 with a temp of 78... I cycled my (therapy tank) and now have him in there by himself and he seems to be doing better. I covered the entire tank with a light white sheet to let some light in but for the most part was for him to not get disturbed. His appetite is improving and looks as if his color wants to come back. I'll keep him in the 20 gal for a while until I know hes ready to hold his own back in the big tank. Even looks likes hes starting to grow again. OH....?.... is there something that would cause a young fish to have slow growth rate? My other one is getting big fast!!! thanks again every one for your help... I really do appreciate it! I've gotten so attached to these little guys and just wanna keep them happy!
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
I am glad to hear he is doing better! Covering the tank was a good idea, less stress.
Do you have a ton of plants? Because you should have some nitrAte. What is your ammonia reading? Cycling a tank takes 4-6 weeks.
He might have just been getting bullied, and that's why he wasn't growing, I am not sure though. Maybe the other one was getting all the food?
Do you have a ton of plants? Because you should have some nitrAte. What is your ammonia reading? Cycling a tank takes 4-6 weeks.
He might have just been getting bullied, and that's why he wasn't growing, I am not sure though. Maybe the other one was getting all the food?
I took the some of the water from both tanks to the local aquarium shop and she tested the water.. blew my mind to find the ammonia reading so high... tested the "therapy tank" and readings were better.. she advised that I slow down on the feeding and to a 50% water change for the next 4 days and bring water in for testing again after. I was doing a 20% change every week so the ammonia issue seems odd...any way the up side of things is he is looking better and I'm doing something right! Oh also plant issue.. I dont have a ton yet just a couple.. looking into co2 because its becoming addicting 
Homedog98
Aquarium Advice Addict
Does your LFS use strips or liquid? The strips are often inacurate. I would suggest buying the API freshwater master kit. About 30 American bucks.
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yeah, do water changes to get that ammonia down, so your fish don't get ammonia burns. If you have to do 2 water changes a day, do it.
Like Homedog said, try to get yourself an API liquid test kit ASAP.
Like Homedog said, try to get yourself an API liquid test kit ASAP.
ok so I went and bought a test kit for nitrite and ammonia.. I've done 2 50% water changes one yesterday and one early this morning. I tested and this is the readings... NO2 is .50ppm and the ammonia is reading .25ppm... now.. I have about 5 small plants in the tank as well... they are only cuttings... would that have something to do with my nitrite levels being so darn high? I'll be posting pictures soon of my tank in the proper forum.. if you guys can take a look that would be great! I'll let you know when they're up
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
The plants won't make your nitrites go up, and you need to keep those below .25 also.
Plants actually help get rid of the baddies I believe, so that's a good thing.
Keep up the water changes.
Plants actually help get rid of the baddies I believe, so that's a good thing.
Keep up the water changes.
Homedog98
Aquarium Advice Addict
That's cool, but plants are a double whammy. They're good because they eliminate ammonia, but for that reason, they're also bad. Think about it, if something else eats the good bacteria's food, what does the good bacteria get to eat? It'll be fine, but it might take longer to cycle because of it.
posted pictures of my tank in my profile. Should be able to check it out.. its only of my heathly EB but my other is looking better and better by the day.. when he or she is full recovery I'll post pictures of that one too!
water change after water change and my nitrite is still at .25... my ammonia is reading 0 so thats good... I picked up some easy balance with nitraban in hopes that this will help balance things out. Unfortunately I dont know any one with a tank or I would grab their old filter and throw it in there... every one seems to be hanging in there so I'm gonna keep a close eye on things and keep doing some research!
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