Silver Dollar Hides From The Rest

[snue]

Recently i got a 125 gallon tank, I wanted oscar + convict + 5x silver dollars, the store recommend I cycle with the silver dollars. So I got the silver dollars the other day, everything is fine except for, one of my silver dollars hides behind a bit of wood and only plays with the others sometimes or during feeding ?? do you know what this could be, it just looks a little sad when i glance over at the tank and i see that little wee silver dollar on the other side of the tank all by itself at back of a piece of drift wood just sitting there. Could it be that its the only male or female ? They are various sizes and this one is probably the smallest. They are red hook silver dollars any help would be appreciated.

 

[snue]

Ok well 3 of my silver dollars have died, I didnt really know what to do since no one helped me here, the shop said it was swimming in the corner because it was stressed, and since no replys on here, i done a large water change thinking it was the water, after that nearly all the fish were sick, one upside down, so I took some pictures and went to the pet shop, they gave me some white spot medication, it turns the water dark blue, I put it in but the next day the dollys died, Gee's thanks, I buried them by the way and planted a tree ontop of them. My poor dolly birds. I love yous.

 

[moochy13]

the standard reply to this is your local fish store gave you crap advice, you should probably have cycled the tank without any fish. they are probably dead because your filter wasnt ready to deal with the fish waste, and as such it poisoned them.

theres a thread on here about cycling, in the new aquarium bit i think. get yourself a test kit, changing the water was the right thing to do, as long as you put dechlorinator in it. straight tap water will kill fish aswell because of the chlorine in it.

for now, the most important thing is to get a test kit - not the strips, a liquid based API one (18 quidish off ebay) - change at least 50% of the water daily, using dechlorinator, sometimes called tapsafe. and read up about a fish in cycle that you are now going to have to do to save the other dollars.

as for the white spot, unless your fish actually have any white spot (looks like little salt grains), dont use it. im currently using it as i do have white spot, mines called myaxzin and turns the water blue aswell. i have lost 2 fish since using it, but i suspect they were ill anyway. if your dollars were already feeling the effects of swimming in their own waste for too long, it may have finished them off.