FoundMoney
Fish Crazy
Some of you may have seen my thread in the New World forum on the new pair of cockatoos I bought on Friday night. I was concerned about them, especially the male, since yesterday because he became very inactive.
Since sometime yesterday, I think in the late morning, I noticed the male sat in one spot, hidden in some plant cover. He looked alright - he was not breathing heavy and his fins weren't clamped - but he just didn't move. It didn't seem right to me because he appeared to be more active the previous day and should have gotten more used to the tank and less afraid. Instead, he seemed more scared and less willing to come out and eat.
I work from home so I just took a lunch break and looked in on the fish. At first, I was happy because the male moved and was in a different part of the tank. He was swimming in between some plants, rock and driftwood and I almost thought that maybe he was clearing out some kind of a cave for himself. I watched him for a few minutes and then he went back behind the driftwood into the back corner of the tank. I thought he was feeling a little fiesty because I saw a couple of tetras dart out from back there. "Maybe he's establishing his turf?" I thought, encouragingly.
Then suddenly I see him and he looks like he's dying! He's hidden himself in between some plants again but he is lying on his side and breathing very heavily. I hate to say it but he looks so bad that I expect that when I go back downstairs after work that he will be dead.
Probably just to make myself feel better, and to hopefully save the female if there is something wrong with the tank, I quickly did a 17 % water change (5 gallons out of 30) and inserted something I bought one time at the lfs called a "polyfilter". Supposedly, it filters out harmful chemicals and impurities, including ammonia.
I also did a quick test for ammonia and everything seemed normal. However, now I don't trust myself with the test kit. It's one of those kits where you take tank water and add drops and look for a color change. At first glance it looks like 0 ammonia, but I keep second guessing myself and keep wondering if I'm seeing a tinge of green in the yellow liquid. Unfortunately, the lighting in my house if very bad. I suppose of there was ammonia present then I would definitely notice, but considering that the cockatoos are a sensitive fish maybe even less than .25 ppm will cause a problem.
The sudden change in the fish was remarkable though. It was almost as if he ate something when he was picking among the plants that made him sick. Is it possible there was some kind of pocket of ammonia or other chemical that poisoned him? Still, I may have just witnessed the tipping point, as I said I had been worried about him for the past 24 hours.
Unfortunately, I had to go back to work. I'm really under the gun for the next couple of days and if I wasn't worried about the fish I probably would have worked through lunch. I'm not sure what else I can do. I think the male is probably a gonner, judging by the way he looked when I left him. I don't know if there is anything else I can do. Incidentlly, the polyfilter apparently changes color if there is ammonia present. If there is it should turn green, otherwise it just turns yellow, then brown, then black as it aids in mechanical filtration. It looked to be turning yellow for the 30 minutes or so it was in the tank.
I welcome any suggestions on what to do or your sympathy. This will be my first fish death and I'm very sad and sorely disappointed. However, I do take comfort in the fact that almost everyone has lost a fish and that it's just part of the hobby.
Since sometime yesterday, I think in the late morning, I noticed the male sat in one spot, hidden in some plant cover. He looked alright - he was not breathing heavy and his fins weren't clamped - but he just didn't move. It didn't seem right to me because he appeared to be more active the previous day and should have gotten more used to the tank and less afraid. Instead, he seemed more scared and less willing to come out and eat.
I work from home so I just took a lunch break and looked in on the fish. At first, I was happy because the male moved and was in a different part of the tank. He was swimming in between some plants, rock and driftwood and I almost thought that maybe he was clearing out some kind of a cave for himself. I watched him for a few minutes and then he went back behind the driftwood into the back corner of the tank. I thought he was feeling a little fiesty because I saw a couple of tetras dart out from back there. "Maybe he's establishing his turf?" I thought, encouragingly.
Then suddenly I see him and he looks like he's dying! He's hidden himself in between some plants again but he is lying on his side and breathing very heavily. I hate to say it but he looks so bad that I expect that when I go back downstairs after work that he will be dead.
Probably just to make myself feel better, and to hopefully save the female if there is something wrong with the tank, I quickly did a 17 % water change (5 gallons out of 30) and inserted something I bought one time at the lfs called a "polyfilter". Supposedly, it filters out harmful chemicals and impurities, including ammonia.
I also did a quick test for ammonia and everything seemed normal. However, now I don't trust myself with the test kit. It's one of those kits where you take tank water and add drops and look for a color change. At first glance it looks like 0 ammonia, but I keep second guessing myself and keep wondering if I'm seeing a tinge of green in the yellow liquid. Unfortunately, the lighting in my house if very bad. I suppose of there was ammonia present then I would definitely notice, but considering that the cockatoos are a sensitive fish maybe even less than .25 ppm will cause a problem.
The sudden change in the fish was remarkable though. It was almost as if he ate something when he was picking among the plants that made him sick. Is it possible there was some kind of pocket of ammonia or other chemical that poisoned him? Still, I may have just witnessed the tipping point, as I said I had been worried about him for the past 24 hours.
Unfortunately, I had to go back to work. I'm really under the gun for the next couple of days and if I wasn't worried about the fish I probably would have worked through lunch. I'm not sure what else I can do. I think the male is probably a gonner, judging by the way he looked when I left him. I don't know if there is anything else I can do. Incidentlly, the polyfilter apparently changes color if there is ammonia present. If there is it should turn green, otherwise it just turns yellow, then brown, then black as it aids in mechanical filtration. It looked to be turning yellow for the 30 minutes or so it was in the tank.
I welcome any suggestions on what to do or your sympathy. This will be my first fish death and I'm very sad and sorely disappointed. However, I do take comfort in the fact that almost everyone has lost a fish and that it's just part of the hobby.
