Ah jeez...Disease or Quirk?

trashion · 04-14-2008, 07:46 PM

So I may have spoken too soon. Those cute little aspidoras that I put into my main tank from QT are behaving VERY erratically. Lying upside down, spinning, etc. I turned the light off, thinking that was stressing them.

One of them was lying upside down, and when gently prodded, it "leapt" up and begain spinning uncontrollably. Very worried, I re-quarantined it. Since then, it is swimming normally in the QT. They weren't doing this, I swear, until I put them in the bigger tank. I tested the water in both tanks...The QT is higher in pH than the main tank (CO2 in the main tank) but I read that pH swings due to CO2 can't hurt fish...

What's going on here? I may have clonked a few of them in the head on Friday when I was moving a plastic cave around in the QT during a WC, (little buggers are so small and sneaky) but I don't think I did any real damage.

Help!

Obsidian · 04-14-2008, 08:26 PM

How big of a Ph difference? If it is more than .2 then that could be your culprit. I have no idea if that would cause the spinning though. I think a ph swing regardless of cause is an issue, but I know very little about CO2 and am open to being wrong.

trashion · 04-14-2008, 08:34 PM

Hmm...the 15 is about 6.5, the QT is around 7.4. But I read that since there is no difference in TDS, the pH swings don't matter...

Obsidian · 04-14-2008, 08:45 PM

I am not sure I would believe that, especially considering the difference there, but again I am no where near an expert with CO2.

trashion · 04-14-2008, 08:51 PM

:\ Well, if it is due to that, will it clear up soon?

Obsidian · 04-14-2008, 09:02 PM

You said the fish is acting normal in the QT so that tells me its okay. You can put it into the big tank just use a drip acclimation process. That is what I would do. If you drip acclimate them and it happens again then that would probably rule out the Ph as the issue. You would want the water from the big tank to drip into the holding bin (whatever you use to transfer from QT tank to big tank. Tupperware works well) such that it takes 30-45 minutes for it to double the volume. This will slowly lower the Ph to the big tanks Ph. I have used airline tubing pinched with a binder clip to do this, it works well once you get the flow adjusted how you want it. It would also be okay to remove some of the water about half way through this, which will help the process even more by tanking out some of the QT water.

trashion · 04-14-2008, 09:14 PM

Got it. Unfortunately, most of the fish are in the main tank right now :\. SHould I just keep an eye on them for now? I added in some higher-pH water to try and get a middle ground, but the CO2 will probably drop it.

Obsidian · 04-14-2008, 09:29 PM

The big thing is just that the change happens slowly. Are the ones that are in the main tank appearing okay? I don't know if they will be good in the long run or not, but if they appear to be acting normally I would say leave them there as that is less of a hardship than moving them back and forth which will just shock them repeatedly. I know one thing to look out for is an outbreak in disease in the ones that you put in. I had a ph swing caused by a water change and had an outbreak of columnaris afterwards. Whoops.

trashion · 04-14-2008, 09:34 PM

They're acting a little loopy, but I turned the light off and I can't really see what's going on in there right now. I will give you an update in the morning!

**Scuba Kid** · 04-14-2008, 09:37 PM

Are these the cories you just bought from that place in Greenwich?
How long did you quarantine them?

trashion · 04-14-2008, 10:03 PM

Not very long, only about 5 days. But they were very healthy, and were showing no signs of any ill health. I watched them very carefully.

I really should have QTed them longer, I realize that. :\

**TheOldSalt** · 04-15-2008, 07:34 AM

That's a pretty big pH swing. Consider that each little .x = 10 times difference, not 1/10th difference. That would be my guess what the problem is, and maybe there is just too much CO2 and not enough O2 in the main tank, or at least a big enough difference from the QT to make the fish really not like the change. Look for other possible differences too, like stray electricity or some other thing in the main tank that's not in the QT.

trashion · 04-15-2008, 08:35 AM

I will definitely check it all out. This morning, the aspies are acting just fine. One harlequin is behaving like they did last night, but this could be due to my piece-of-crap regulator dumping too much CO2. I can't afford to replace it yet :\

04-14-2008, 07:46 PM	#1
trashion girl anachronism Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 932 User Feedback: (0)	Ah jeez...Disease or Quirk? So I may have spoken too soon. Those cute little aspidoras that I put into my main tank from QT are behaving VERY erratically. Lying upside down, spinning, etc. I turned the light off, thinking that was stressing them. One of them was lying upside down, and when gently prodded, it "leapt" up and begain spinning uncontrollably. Very worried, I re-quarantined it. Since then, it is swimming normally in the QT. They weren't doing this, I swear, until I put them in the bigger tank. I tested the water in both tanks...The QT is higher in pH than the main tank (CO2 in the main tank) but I read that pH swings due to CO2 can't hurt fish... What's going on here? I may have clonked a few of them in the head on Friday when I was moving a plastic cave around in the QT during a WC, (little buggers are so small and sneaky) but I don't think I did any real damage. Help! __________________ current setup: 15 gallon, planted w/ pressurized co2, 55watts PC lighting, EI fert dosing. -5 harlequin rasboras -7 Aspidoras pauciradiatus (sixray or false corydoras) for reference: my name is Julie

04-14-2008, 08:26 PM	#2
Obsidian Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Arizona Age: 37 Posts: 911 User Feedback: (0)	How big of a Ph difference? If it is more than .2 then that could be your culprit. I have no idea if that would cause the spinning though. I think a ph swing regardless of cause is an issue, but I know very little about CO2 and am open to being wrong. __________________ Obsidian 20 gallon 1 Dwarf Gourami; 6 Cherry Barbs 4F 2M; 8 Black Neon Tetras; 3 Peppered Cory's; 1 Bristlenose Pleco 10 gallon 5 Zebra Danios 5.5 gallon Betta 100 gallon 9 giant danios; 4 Rosy Barbs, 4 German Blue Rams

04-14-2008, 08:34 PM	#3
trashion girl anachronism Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 932 User Feedback: (0)	Hmm...the 15 is about 6.5, the QT is around 7.4. But I read that since there is no difference in TDS, the pH swings don't matter... __________________ current setup: 15 gallon, planted w/ pressurized co2, 55watts PC lighting, EI fert dosing. -5 harlequin rasboras -7 Aspidoras pauciradiatus (sixray or false corydoras) for reference: my name is Julie

04-14-2008, 08:45 PM	#4
Obsidian Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Arizona Age: 37 Posts: 911 User Feedback: (0)	I am not sure I would believe that, especially considering the difference there, but again I am no where near an expert with CO2. __________________ Obsidian 20 gallon 1 Dwarf Gourami; 6 Cherry Barbs 4F 2M; 8 Black Neon Tetras; 3 Peppered Cory's; 1 Bristlenose Pleco 10 gallon 5 Zebra Danios 5.5 gallon Betta 100 gallon 9 giant danios; 4 Rosy Barbs, 4 German Blue Rams

04-14-2008, 08:51 PM	#5
trashion girl anachronism Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 932 User Feedback: (0)	:\ Well, if it is due to that, will it clear up soon? __________________ current setup: 15 gallon, planted w/ pressurized co2, 55watts PC lighting, EI fert dosing. -5 harlequin rasboras -7 Aspidoras pauciradiatus (sixray or false corydoras) for reference: my name is Julie

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04-14-2008, 09:02 PM	#6
Obsidian Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Arizona Age: 37 Posts: 911 User Feedback: (0)	You said the fish is acting normal in the QT so that tells me its okay. You can put it into the big tank just use a drip acclimation process. That is what I would do. If you drip acclimate them and it happens again then that would probably rule out the Ph as the issue. You would want the water from the big tank to drip into the holding bin (whatever you use to transfer from QT tank to big tank. Tupperware works well) such that it takes 30-45 minutes for it to double the volume. This will slowly lower the Ph to the big tanks Ph. I have used airline tubing pinched with a binder clip to do this, it works well once you get the flow adjusted how you want it. It would also be okay to remove some of the water about half way through this, which will help the process even more by tanking out some of the QT water. __________________ Obsidian 20 gallon 1 Dwarf Gourami; 6 Cherry Barbs 4F 2M; 8 Black Neon Tetras; 3 Peppered Cory's; 1 Bristlenose Pleco 10 gallon 5 Zebra Danios 5.5 gallon Betta 100 gallon 9 giant danios; 4 Rosy Barbs, 4 German Blue Rams

04-14-2008, 09:14 PM	#7
trashion girl anachronism Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 932 User Feedback: (0)	Got it. Unfortunately, most of the fish are in the main tank right now :\. SHould I just keep an eye on them for now? I added in some higher-pH water to try and get a middle ground, but the CO2 will probably drop it. __________________ current setup: 15 gallon, planted w/ pressurized co2, 55watts PC lighting, EI fert dosing. -5 harlequin rasboras -7 Aspidoras pauciradiatus (sixray or false corydoras) for reference: my name is Julie

04-14-2008, 09:29 PM	#8
Obsidian Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Arizona Age: 37 Posts: 911 User Feedback: (0)	The big thing is just that the change happens slowly. Are the ones that are in the main tank appearing okay? I don't know if they will be good in the long run or not, but if they appear to be acting normally I would say leave them there as that is less of a hardship than moving them back and forth which will just shock them repeatedly. I know one thing to look out for is an outbreak in disease in the ones that you put in. I had a ph swing caused by a water change and had an outbreak of columnaris afterwards. Whoops. __________________ Obsidian 20 gallon 1 Dwarf Gourami; 6 Cherry Barbs 4F 2M; 8 Black Neon Tetras; 3 Peppered Cory's; 1 Bristlenose Pleco 10 gallon 5 Zebra Danios 5.5 gallon Betta 100 gallon 9 giant danios; 4 Rosy Barbs, 4 German Blue Rams

04-14-2008, 09:34 PM	#9
trashion girl anachronism Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 932 User Feedback: (0)	They're acting a little loopy, but I turned the light off and I can't really see what's going on in there right now. I will give you an update in the morning! __________________ current setup: 15 gallon, planted w/ pressurized co2, 55watts PC lighting, EI fert dosing. -5 harlequin rasboras -7 Aspidoras pauciradiatus (sixray or false corydoras) for reference: my name is Julie

04-14-2008, 09:37 PM	#10
Scuba Kid Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: RI Age: 17 Posts: 3,913 User Feedback: (1)	Are these the cories you just bought from that place in Greenwich? How long did you quarantine them? __________________ Current setups: 1800 gallon koi pond, 10 gallon planted, 150 gallon reef, other FOWLR tanks

04-14-2008, 10:03 PM	#11
trashion girl anachronism Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 932 User Feedback: (0)	Not very long, only about 5 days. But they were very healthy, and were showing no signs of any ill health. I watched them very carefully. I really should have QTed them longer, I realize that. :\ __________________ current setup: 15 gallon, planted w/ pressurized co2, 55watts PC lighting, EI fert dosing. -5 harlequin rasboras -7 Aspidoras pauciradiatus (sixray or false corydoras) for reference: my name is Julie

04-15-2008, 07:34 AM	#12
TheOldSalt Darth Ichthyos Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,058 User Feedback: (5)	That's a pretty big pH swing. Consider that each little .x = 10 times difference, not 1/10th difference. That would be my guess what the problem is, and maybe there is just too much CO2 and not enough O2 in the main tank, or at least a big enough difference from the QT to make the fish really not like the change. Look for other possible differences too, like stray electricity or some other thing in the main tank that's not in the QT.

04-15-2008, 08:35 AM	#13
trashion girl anachronism Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 932 User Feedback: (0)	I will definitely check it all out. This morning, the aspies are acting just fine. One harlequin is behaving like they did last night, but this could be due to my piece-of-crap regulator dumping too much CO2. I can't afford to replace it yet :\ __________________ current setup: 15 gallon, planted w/ pressurized co2, 55watts PC lighting, EI fert dosing. -5 harlequin rasboras -7 Aspidoras pauciradiatus (sixray or false corydoras) for reference: my name is Julie

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