My New Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami Is Acting Strange..

[Jerrek]

I just bought Samson, my powder blue dwarf Gourami yesterday, and for the majority of the time he has been in the tank he has been doing this:

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjWQN2w0T5E

It has consisted of him swimming up and down around the back right corner of the aquarium. I can't figure out why he is doing it, or how to make him stop, but it is worrying me just a bit.

He is kind of swimming around the filter, but doesn't seem to be paying any attention to it. I am worried because I haven't seen him eat yet, the one time I did try to feed the fish he got scared and hid underneath a plant when I opened the lid to the tank.

For a few details:

I am completely new to this whole aquarium thing, and jumped in way before I knew anything. I bought the tank (10 US gallons) about two weeks ago and have had it running since. Before I knew I needed to let it establish a cycle without fish I decided to buy a few. The tank started off with an African Dwarf frog that I've had for about two weeks before the purchase of the tank, and then last Wednesday I purchased 2 red wag platties (1 male, 1 female) and two sunburst wag platties (both female).

Everything concerning those fish has been going very well. They are active and voracious eaters, and seem to get along with everything else in the tank.

Yesterday I decided to buy a Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami, and a blue mystery snail. The snail has been pretty mobile, much to my surprise, exploring all around the tank. Samson however has been very shy and timid. He spent the majority of his 'exploring around' time hiding behind the plastic plants in the back, near the bottom of the tank.

The platties have really paid no attention to him, and everyone seems to get along well, but a few hours since his introduction to the tank Samson started doing the up and down movements.

I thought maybe this was just his way of coping with stress, and that he might be done by this morning but he is still going. I thought maybe the tank was having a mirror effect, and he thought he was swimming by another fish of his species, but why just at that spot? And why keep doing it when the room is completely dark?

I don't have a master test kit yet, but I do have the ammonia test, and have been trying to keep the tank at 0ppm, doing regular water changes. I just tested the tank and it is about .25 ppm right now, so I'll probably do another change tonight (and I've been using a dechlorinator in the tap water, and have also started using a bacteria supplement to help start the cycle.)

I know I've probably introduced to many fish at once, but I don't think it is a tank issue.

If you have any insight or suggestions I'd really appreciate them.

So far I am really enjoying this hobby and love my tank, I just want to make sure all of my fish are doing well!

- Jerrek

 

[rachael.chesnutt]

I have a powder blue too, and he did that the first day I put him in. Except he did it in the front corner. He kinda just swam up, down, up, down. I later realized he could see his reflection, and that of the tank. After the first day he stopped and now swims all over the place.


He could just be getting used to his surroundings?
Trying adding some sinking food to your tank, and see if he nibbles at that.

 

[Jerrek]

I have a powder blue too, and he did that the first day I put him in. Except he did it in the front corner. He kinda just swam up, down, up, down. I later realized he could see his reflection, and that of the tank. After the first day he stopped and now swims all over the place.


He could just be getting used to his surroundings?
Trying adding some sinking food to your tank, and see if he nibbles at that.

I was thinking it could be the reflection getting his attention as well!

Along with Samson and the snail I bought some cubes of frozen blood worms so I tried one of those out for the fishes dinner tonight.

Needless to say, they were a huge hit in the tank! The platty really gorged themselves on it, and the frog was out looking for them as well. Above all though, Samson noticed them immediately and ate! He didn't eat nearly as much as the platties did, but I am just happy to have watched him eat at all. This broke him from his trance for about 5 minutes, while he swam all along the bottom of the tank, but shortly after he was back to his up and down. He has expanded out some, instead of just being in the corner he cases about to the middle of the back wall now.

I did a 20% water change, and that really hasn't effected his routine at all yet. I did take a video of him eating, and will try and put that up soon.

On a side note, I think one cube was way to much for my tank. The platty ate A LOT but I think they may have been over fed.. The rest of the worms just sat at the bottom of the tank, hopefully just waiting for the frog or possibly one of the fish to come and eat them.

 

[Jerrek]

I have a powder blue too, and he did that the first day I put him in. Except he did it in the front corner. He kinda just swam up, down, up, down. I later realized he could see his reflection, and that of the tank. After the first day he stopped and now swims all over the place.


He could just be getting used to his surroundings?
Trying adding some sinking food to your tank, and see if he nibbles at that.

I was thinking it could be the reflection getting his attention as well!

Along with Samson and the snail I bought some cubes of frozen blood worms so I tried one of those out for the fishes dinner tonight.

Needless to say, they were a huge hit in the tank! The platty really gorged themselves on it, and the frog was out looking for them as well. Above all though, Samson noticed them immediately and ate! He didn't eat nearly as much as the platties did, but I am just happy to have watched him eat at all. This broke him from his trance for about 5 minutes, while he swam all along the bottom of the tank, but shortly after he was back to his up and down. He has expanded out some, instead of just being in the corner he cases about to the middle of the back wall now.

I did a 20% water change, and that really hasn't effected his routine at all yet. I did take a video of him eating, and will try and put that up soon.

On a side note, I think one cube was way to much for my tank. The platty ate A LOT but I think they may have been over fed.. The rest of the worms just sat at the bottom of the tank, hopefully just waiting for the frog or possibly one of the fish to come and eat them.

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSM7nLnaXh0

There is the video of Sam eating, shortly after I stopped filming he started doing the up and down thing again, and has been doing it since. I checked the water again and there was still traces of ammonia present, so I did another 2.5 gallon change.

I'll check again in an hour or so, and then probably do another small change before I head to class in the morning.

The fish all seem very active, and besides his strange behavior, Samson seems alright.

 

[Jerrek]

After the second water change ammonia levels are back to 0 ppm.

I'll test and change accordingly again in the morning, and purchase the API Freshwater Master Testing Kit tomorrow after class.

 

[Jerrek]

Well seems things are going okay today, did a one gallon change this morning, and another 2.5 gallon water change around 5PM, before the change the water only tested slightly above 0ppm, not quite .25. However I did not have a chance to go get the master test kit today, hopefully tomorrow.

The fish all seem happy and are actively swimming around. Sam is still chasing after his reflection in the glass. I'm pretty sure that is what he is doing, as I caught him just chilling at the bottom of the tank last night when the room was completely dark and I just popped in for a drink.

I've decided to cut back the feeding to once every two days after reading extensively that excessive feeding during a fish-in cycle can cause more problems.

I'll keep this updated!

 

[Jerrek]

Things are steadily improving! I did one 1 gallon change last night before bed, testing the water for ammonia again before the change and it seemed to be at 0ppm. I tested water again this morning at it was slightly above 0ppm but not quite .25, so I did another gallon water change, and will test again when I get back from class for lunch.

Samson is swimming around the front of the tank now! I guess he got bored of his reflection in the back, or there just wasn't enough light in the room to see himself good enough back there (the blinds were drawn.) I also caught him just hanging around the tank last night!

The fish all seem happy, although I think they are starting to get hungry, every time I open the lid everyone comes up to the top waiting for dinner, so I think I will feed them sparingly tonight.

 

[SharonCC]

Don't overdo the water changes, as there needs to be a little Ammonia to allow the bacteria to feed and grow...If you keep the Ammonia at 0ppm, the tank will never cycle...

 

[Jerrek]

Don't overdo the water changes, as there needs to be a little Ammonia to allow the bacteria to feed and grow...If you keep the Ammonia at 0ppm, the tank will never cycle...

That is good advice, because I think that is what is happening here;

I did manage to go out and get the API Freshwater Master Test Kit today before lunch, and here are my results as of around 1:30 (eastern):

Nitrate came up at 0ppm.
Nitrite came up at 0ppm.
PH (high) of the tank came up at between 7.8 and 8.0.
PH of straight tap water came up between 7.4 and 7.6.
PH of conditioned tap water came up between 7.4 and 7.6.
Ammonia was between 0 and .25ppm

I know the PH levels are high, but the instructions say that it should be okay for the live bearers (Platty), what about the Dwarf Gourami, African Dwarf frog, and Blue mystery snail?
I read that the PH altering chemicals aren't worth using, is this true? I wont be able to buy anything right now anyways, seeing as how this test kit broke the bank for me.

Clearly it seems that my cycle has yet to start though..

 

[Jerrek]

Update!

I did a two gallon change about 8ish eastern, after feeding them and cleaning the gravel a bit. About 10:30 I tested the water for ammonia and it came up 0 ppm.

Everyone in the tank seems to be doing well, and were pretty happy when I was feeding them! Samson is still a little timid around the platties, they are such greedy little fish, but he did eat his fair share. I made sure not to over feed them and nothing seemed to really sink to the bottom (except for the sinking pellets I put in for the frog.)

Samson has been all over the tank now, and I just took a video of him swimming in loops against the glass in the front of the tank. At least here it is easy to see him.

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzH_znah7f8

All four platties kept coming over to watch him, wondering what the heck he was doing!

 

[electric yellow]

I have a powder blue too, and he did that the first day I put him in. Except he did it in the front corner. He kinda just swam up, down, up, down. I later realized he could see his reflection, and that of the tank. After the first day he stopped and now swims all over the place.


He could just be getting used to his surroundings?
Trying adding some sinking food to your tank, and see if he nibbles at that.

I was given a powder blue for my birthday yesterday and he has been doing the same thing. I only got the one given to me and thought he may be stressed from not having a buddy but he seems ok today. I might try the sinking food thing too as he doesnt seem to catch the idea he has to swim to the top of the tank for the food the others eat.

 

[Jerrek]

I have a powder blue too, and he did that the first day I put him in. Except he did it in the front corner. He kinda just swam up, down, up, down. I later realized he could see his reflection, and that of the tank. After the first day he stopped and now swims all over the place.


He could just be getting used to his surroundings?
Trying adding some sinking food to your tank, and see if he nibbles at that.

I was given a powder blue for my birthday yesterday and he has been doing the same thing. I only got the one given to me and thought he may be stressed from not having a buddy but he seems ok today. I might try the sinking food thing too as he doesnt seem to catch the idea he has to swim to the top of the tank for the food the others eat.

How did the sinking food work out? Samson is doing wonderful! He seems to spend the majority of his time now in the front of the tank, not always doing loops, but usually looking at (or through) the glass.

This morning I did an ammonia test and it came up reading less than .25ppm, but I did a one gallon water change just to be safe and then left for classes.

I tested everything around 6:30 PM eastern, and these were the results:
PH 8.0
Nitrate 0ppm (I hope I am doing this test correctly, it seems complicated)
Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia less than .25ppm

I just did another ammonia test around 11:30PM and it was still barely over 0ppm, so I got curious and did Nitrate and Nitrite again. Nitrite was clearly 0ppm, and Nitrate was still yellow, but it looked darker, maybe? It wasn't orangish, so I don't know what is going on.

Regardless I did a one gallon change just to be safe.

It just doesn't seem like much of anything is going on in my tank at the moment, which is a good thing I suppose! At least the fish are healthy.

 

[Jerrek]

Did another ammonia test this morning and it tested just barely over 0ppm, not close to .25 yet, but I went ahead and did a 1 gallon change anyways.

I'm surprised that the ammonia levels have slowed down so much, could that be from cutting back on the feeding so dramatically? Of course I'm not complaining about doing less water changes (both quantity and frequency) I just hope it's a good sign that something may start happening soon. It is a fresh tank though, I guess I just have to be patient.

I'm just happy the fish are doing well.

One thing was curious though, one of the Sunburst wag platy females has taken to sitting at the bottom of the tank for extended periods of time during the evening or early morning, and it looks like her top fin is tucked down. This morning I couldn't find her until I looked under the rock structure I have, and she was tucked way in the back hiding.

I'm not 100% sure it's the same fish who is doing this, because unless I am looking at both of them at the same time it is virtually impossible to tell the two apart. If I tap on the glass some or she sees me she seems to start swimming again just as normal.

She doesn't look pregnant, and the only other thing I could think of was that maybe she is trying to hide from the male? Any other ideas?

 

[Jerrek]

Quick update, been busy. Yesterday morning I tested the ammonia, it was still way below .25, possibly above 0ppm, but I did a one gallon change. That was a really long long day, the girlfriend tested the water around 7:30 PM, I got back around 9 and saw it was a little above .25, so I did all of the tests, Nitrate and Nitrite were both 0, PH 8 still, and immediately did a two gallon change. After the water change I then fed the fish. The platy were really voracious, and I may have over fed them a bit trying to make sure Samson (the dwarf gourami) got his fair share.

I noticed they were making waste almost immediately after eating, so I figured another big water change was in order that night. Around 10:30 or eleven I tested the water again and the ammonia was close to .25 again so I did a two and a half gallon change. I tested the ammonia once again at 1AM and it was 0ppm.

This morning before classes again I tested the ammonia, it was still way below .25ppm, but I did a one gallon change just to be safe!

After class and work today I made a stop by the LFS I recently found earlier in the week, and asked about using some of their filter media (he told me to come back this weekend.) He provided me with five bio balls (they look identical to these: http/www.wonbrothers.com/images/bio%20ball.gif ) and asked if it was possible that they would fit in my filter. I have an Aqua Tech Power Filter (5-15) and it doesn't have much room in it to add anything to it, with just enough room for a blue replaceable cartridge (I believe it is a carbon cartridge) and a BIO-fiber. I told him there was no room in the filter for them, and he said they would be okay to just float around in the tank.

So off I went home, and open returning I did another battery of tests, ammonia testing possibly above 0ppm, not close to .25, Nitrite and Nitrate both 0, and PH of 8. I have to leave the house for the night and should hopefully be home tomorrow evening, so I went ahead and did a two and a half gallon water change hoping that I shouldn't have to worry about the fish to much until I can get home and take care of them. I also went ahead and added all five bio balls to the tank. They seem to float around the filter, getting dunked down under the flow and floating back up to return again. I figure this is good, having them around the filter might encourage the bacteria to move on in!

A few questions:
1) Will it be okay to let them float around in the tank, and how long should I let them float? I believe he said a few weeks, but I forgot exactly what he said. Either way I did promise to return the balls!
2) Do you think this should help encourage the bacteria to start up in the tank? Could it harm anything? The fish don't really seem to be paying any attention to them as of yet.
3) When looking at the documentation to find out what kind of filter I had I read that it recommends I replace the blue filter (carbon?) every two to four weeks, is this true? It does say to never wash the bio fiber, which I know is the smart thing to do.
4) Is it safe at this point to leave them over night? I will be back as soon as I can, but I have no choice and must leave for the night. I just really don't want to come back and have anything be dead..

I'll make sure to keep an eye on this thread! Oh and for a platy update, the female has been acting normally (and ate quite well when I fed them!) since the last post, I guess she was just tired.

- Jerrek