Male Sword Tail Acting Funny

[BettaBum873]

yesterday I purchased the newest addition to my fishy family, a male tuxedo swordtail. When I saw him in the pet store he was very active and looked healthy, but now he just kind of stays in one spot, only swims around a little and I haven't seen him eat yet. Other wise he looks healthy. Could he just need time to adjust to the new environment? All of my other fish swam around right away. Hes in the tank with 2 female swordtails and 3 albino corys.

Stats:
10g
nitrate:0
nitrite: 0
ammonia: less than .2
ph: 6.8
temp: 78 degrees

 

[Annastasia]

First off, welcome to the forums!

It's possible he may be stressed from the move. How long did you acclimate him for? Also, your water stats are a bit worrying. No NitrAte generally indicates the tank isn't cycled. Do you have a lot of plants? How long has this tank been set-up? 10g also is on the small side for Swordtails. Do you have a plan to upgrade soon?

For now, I'd keep an eye on him. Give him a day or so, and see what happens. He doesn't seem sick at all, except for just staying in one spot?

 

[BettaBum873]

The tanks been set up for about 2 weeks. I'm hoping to upgrade to a 20g at some point, but funds are a big issue right now. I hope I'm not doing something wrong. I'm very new to this

 

[Annastasia]

Don't get discouraged, things should work out fine.

So you just set up your tank? I'm going to assume you didn't cycle it, am I right? Did you just add fish off the bat? Any information you can give would be great.

What I'm going to guess, is your tank is cycling now, and it may have been stressful for the Swordtail to go from a cycled one to a non-cycled one. I suggest you take a look at the topics in the Beginners FAQ, as they are very helpful. Hopefully we can figure out what's going on with your tank, and causing your male Swordtail to act this way.

 

[BettaBum873]

Thank you for ur help. He's looking a bit better. i switchd him into a tank that i had been cycing longer and has a much lower ammonia level.

 

[BettaBum873]

Now he's really starting to go downhill, but I don't know what from. I switched him into another tank, thats been cycling longer. The stats are:

Ph: 6.7
ammonia: 0
nitrate: 10
nitrite: 0
temp: 78

He just foats at the back of the tank in one spot. Hes not eating, and I think hes losing color. Hes not breathing heavy or anything, and hes not laying at the bottom or swimming erratically so I don't think its swim bladder. I don't know what to do.