Did I Kill A Fish?

[dpalen]

I was trying to catch one of my fish to transfer it to another tank. While it was giving chase, I took a few things out, one by one. Each one was brought to sink for a rinsing and she got out of each one as I was pulling it out. Then on this one, nothing came swimming out as I was taking it out of the tank. Then while I was rinsing (under very warm water) it under running water I felt it's tail...I screamed and ran back to tank with it.....and it came out...swimming on it's side...like I knocked it out (personifying it). Well, I got it into net and into bag for transfer seconds later. It still swam funny (dizzying kind of swim..not right side up all the time). Minutes later upon release into its new home, it swam immediately (with purpose) straight to the bottom and under rock. I swear it was playing dead on me...but then, what do I know.

Did I do any permanant harm to it? (likely or not) Is there anything to do for it?

I'm worried. Should I be?

Let me know ASAP!! BTW, the fish is a Kribensis (female).

Thanks in advance!
Donna

 

[tttnjfttt]

At a minimum, the fish is very stressed out right now. first the game of chase, then being without water, then the bath in tap water, and finally being moved tanks.

Right now the best thing you can do is to keep the fish comfortable. Keep the tank dark, cover it with a blanket if you have to. If you have any stress coat, now would be a good time to add it. Also, depending on the tank mates, adding aquarium salt may be helpful.

Don't try to entice the fish out tonight, it needs to rest, and doing so would only stress it out even more.

Good luck with the fish!

 

[WILDER]

Good luck, just hope the swim bladder isn't damaged, let the board no how the fish gets on, good luck.

 

[dpalen]

As for other fish in the other aquarium...currently those two Kribenis are the only two fish in this 29 gallon tank. I put stress zyme in it last night prior to putting them into it. The tank has been used by a pair of neons and they were moved out to another tank so I can change the water (98% change, as the nitrates level was very high...thus why I ended up with just a pair of neons). I had checked the water over the past few days before getting ready to move the Kribs.

I just don't get why the Krib didn't get out of the rock before I took it out of the tank, like she did with the one prior to that, she swam out real fast as it was going up (and out). Why did she just stay in it?

Donna

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Who knows why she hid in the tank ornements, on another note though water changes over 60% are not a good idea, can be very stressful for the fish and tank ecosystem, its best to just do 20-30% once weekly ones.
Right now the fish will have very high stress levels, it will be attemtping to acclimatise itself back to the tank water and get its body temp and system sorted out- if you can keep the tank lights turned off that will help lower stress levels.
How high are your nitrates though? Have you tested your tap water for nitrates? Somtimes nitrates can come high straight out of the tap, the best way to lower nitrates is to add more live aquarium plants to the tank as they will naturally take nitrates up .
As long as the nitrAtes are under 40 though they shouln't be a problem; the stats you have to look out for are nitrItes and ammonia, if either of these are above 0 then you need do do a 20-30% water change to lower them imediatly and find out the cause of them .

 

[dpalen]

Tank is DARK everyone. No one is bothering them. Tank is in my bedroom away from the rest of the house. I did turn on light just for a minute to see if both were still there...I only can see one, but the other one could be hiding inside a rock I have in there. No where else is there any sight of her.

Anyway, regarding Nitrates, it was over 160, closer to 200 ppm. TOO HIGH FOR ANY TANK. Oddly enough, the Nitrites was just fine, as was everything else was fine, BUT the NITRATES. Tank still has the good bacteria in it, but it needed a thorough cleaning. I'm checking the water daily at this point.

The downstairs tank has the same problem, but that one never had any real plants. (The one in my bedroom did have one small one a long time ago.) I can only attribute it to negligence on my part. I did a 30% water change in it (55 gallon tank) and the reading was still as high.

I'm at a loss over it. All that is in that tank (where the Kribs WERE) is my BIG (a foot long or so) sucker (algae eater) fish. Moving him from 55 to 29 gallons won't make him happy...so I'll have to do a lesser water change there than the upstairs tanks.

I'm a novice..can you tell? Any ideas? I did order Aquamarine's Nitrate Reducer (not cheap stuff) to see if that'd help.

Donna

 

[tttnjfttt]

Nitrates are the final stage of the nitrogen cycle. Basically ammonia->nitrite->nitrate. You ALWAYS want ammonia and nitrite readings to be at zero. There are two ways to remove nitrates. The first is with plants, and the second, and more common, is through water changes. Normally 15-20% every week to every two weeks, depending on how heavily stocked your tank is. I know plecos are poop machines, translation, they produce lots of nitrates. Having one probably means you will need to do more frequent water changes.

How often have you been doing water chnages? And replacing evaportated water from your tank doesn't count as a water change.

 

[Durbkat]

Well I would advise you to move your sucker fish back to the 55g at least because he won't fit in the 29g and try to get the sucker fish a bigger tank because he needs a bigger place because they can grow to 2 feet long.

 

[dpalen]

Well I would advise you to move your sucker fish back to the 55g at least because he won't fit in the 29g and try to get the sucker fish a bigger tank because he needs a bigger place because they can grow to 2 feet long.

I never moved him to it, but was considering it. Currently he is the only one left in the 55g tank. BTW, my tap water is nil as far as nitrates (I tested it).

So far both Kribs are in the tank and alive. Neons are fine in the smaller tank too. Just my poor pleco in the 55g all by himself. I don't have a tank bigger than 55g. I'd LOVE to find someone who can provide an even bigger home. But how? I live just outside of KC, MO....so anyone near there is welcome to him if you can provide a bigger home for him.

Local Fish Store man says not to worry about Nitrates in a freshwater tank. ??? See, I'm a novice and thought I did have to worry about it. What do you all say?

Donna

 

[tttnjfttt]

If you want to try to give him away, try the buy, sell, and swap forum on this board. This way, you can check the tank size he is going into before letting him go.

As for the nitrates, in general, nitrates are the least likely to cause problems. However, high levels can begin to cause problems. Normally, it is accepted to try to keep your nitrates below 40 *some people go above this beccause of their tap water*. Make sure you stay on top of water changes. Doing weekly changes of 15-20% will avoid nitrate build up.

Glad to hear the fish seems to be doing fine!