[sorry for the long history - but I think it helps you help me!!] I have a cycled 10 gallon tank that has a small colony of cherry shrimp (about 8 shrimp). Let me ammend the word "cycled" slightly - the filter itself was fishless cycled and then ran for five months on a 5 gallon tank, the first 3 months with Neon Tetras borrowed from my main tank. Then I moved the Neons out and added the shrimp colony for 2 months, and then I moved the cycled filter, water, and shrimp to this new 10 gallon tank last week to make room for fish.
Yesterday I added a shoal of 6 peppered cory, and 2 red fire dwarf gourami. I anticipate entering some sort of mini-fish-in-cycle situation, as the filter has been accustomed to the small shrimp bio-load from the 5 gallon tank. However, the tank has not shown any signs of increased stats after 18 hours (it's still early).
Tank stats as of this morning:
Temp 77.4F
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0-5
KH=4
pH = 7.4
I added the corys and gouramis yesterday at dinner time using a 2 hour drip method. I filled a bucket with water from the tank, put a heater in it, and then started the slow drip into the fish bags as they floated in the 10 gallon tank. Then netted them into the tank.
This morning one of the corys was floating, vertically, nose up, at the surface. I thought it was dead - but upon wiggling my fingers at the surface, it would swim back down to the bottom for a minute or so before floating back up to the top.
Here is a picture snapped a few minutes ago:
I am guessing this might be:
1. Stress from the tank transition, although it was very gradual.
2. Swim bladder disease?? For which I would like suggestions for treatment that would not kill my cherry shrimp.
3. Swallowed air bubbles while feeding?
Would it help lower its stress if I place it in a floating breeding insert tank covered floating plants and aeration? Suggestions for feeding it? I read on some forum posts that blanched peas might help.
Thanks for reading my long winded questions...
Yesterday I added a shoal of 6 peppered cory, and 2 red fire dwarf gourami. I anticipate entering some sort of mini-fish-in-cycle situation, as the filter has been accustomed to the small shrimp bio-load from the 5 gallon tank. However, the tank has not shown any signs of increased stats after 18 hours (it's still early).
Tank stats as of this morning:
Temp 77.4F
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0-5
KH=4
pH = 7.4
I added the corys and gouramis yesterday at dinner time using a 2 hour drip method. I filled a bucket with water from the tank, put a heater in it, and then started the slow drip into the fish bags as they floated in the 10 gallon tank. Then netted them into the tank.
This morning one of the corys was floating, vertically, nose up, at the surface. I thought it was dead - but upon wiggling my fingers at the surface, it would swim back down to the bottom for a minute or so before floating back up to the top.
Here is a picture snapped a few minutes ago:
I am guessing this might be:
1. Stress from the tank transition, although it was very gradual.
2. Swim bladder disease?? For which I would like suggestions for treatment that would not kill my cherry shrimp.
3. Swallowed air bubbles while feeding?
Would it help lower its stress if I place it in a floating breeding insert tank covered floating plants and aeration? Suggestions for feeding it? I read on some forum posts that blanched peas might help.
Thanks for reading my long winded questions...