Slight Emergency situation???

[oro50]

This is a copy of a email message I just sent to someone who suggested I wait to do water changes, because he was telling me that by doing frequent water changes right now (meaning once a week) that was too much as I was pulling good bacteria from the water?

BEAR IN MIND AS YOU READ THIS MESSAGE I JUST SENT OUT, my tank is just now 10 weeks old, slowly moving towards 11 so to a-lot of people I talked with, I still have a very new tank.

Yeah man now I really don't know what is going on?

I went to sleep for several hours. I woke up (around midnight now), and I just wanted to check on the fish.

I found it for the first time in another part of the tank. It is alive, but it looks like it is struggling? I'm not sure if it is, or it's just sleeping?

I recently changed the time when I put on the aquarium light, because I forgot to turn it off one night after work. This meant that the little guy was swimming around in the morning to about mid-afternoon the previous day?

I'm not sure if this new timetable when it swims is messing something up with it?

Or

I'm not sure if I should have done a weekly water change? I just tested for nitrates. Nitrate levels seem to be around the same as when I last did a test, which was Wednesday or Thursday. Nitrate level according to salifert is 25.

You know I haven't really gravel vacced the place yet, mainly because with the cured live rock and the vac I have it seemed like I was pulling up sand last time I tried to use it, so I left it alone?

It could be the type I have, (no motor attached).

I now don't know what to do? I was giving it less food, however I gave some algae wafers to my snails today and they ate some but didn't eat everything?

Anyway I also read up on what these foods release in terms of phosphates and I don't feel after reading the article, that the amount of food and concentrations in this food are enough to cause any issues, considering that just a few days passed since I did these last tests?

Again I'm not sure now what to do, because this is super uncharacteristic about this fish right now. I mean even if it was asleep, I have no idea why it's not in it's usual spot that it essentially decided to own for the last two weeks or so it's been in my tank?

Another thing, I have very little RO/DI water on hand right now, even if I was going to do a water change right now. I have other things I have to do too and I can't always be ready to take care of this fish?

I don't know essentially if I should change some of the water now or leave it alone as you said?

Furthermore, when you said two weeks, you mean two weeks from today?

That would mean for me 3 weeks passed since I did the last water change?

So anyway I don't know what is wrong, but it is just laying on it's side.

OK I just tapped the glass for a second too. It moved, and is now flapping it's fins like normal? Maybe I did wake it up? Yet again, I know that fish sleep, but I thought it was just so unsual for it to have chosen a different spot, as I read that red maroon clownfish host areas, even if you don't have anenomas. I don't own a anenomas.

It was fine when I went to sleep earlier, around 5pm.

It's 1:16am , and ok it's up now after I guess I woke it, but I was just scared something was wrong?

 

[oro50]

I'm also writing this, because despite someone who suggested I hold off on doing water changes as frequently as I was doing (once a week) in order for the bacteria in my tank to I assume multiply enough so that when I did my next change, I wouldn't be removing a-lot of the good bacteria my tank needs,

Despite this advice, someone else told me that when a tank is new I should do frequent water changes, because the bacteria isn't mature enough to handle the bio load I suppose?

Again keep in mind, I just have one fish in this tank, and about 10 invertebrates, mostly snails and 3 hermit crabs. This is it.

My tank size is 20 gallon L with about 18 lbs of cured live rock. I also have four filter devices. One HOB, canister filter (fluval 106), powerhead and a bubble wall.

Temperature is about 79 to 80.5 degrees. Substrate is sand.

 

[cmantis]

Relax man take a deep breath. Fishy was prolly sleeping.

 

[lnevo]

Bacteria sticks to surfaces. Its not in your water. If your tank can't handle its bioload you will see the result by testing for ammonia. You can use additives that will neutralize the ammonia and nitrite that is toxic for your fish but it will skew your future test results or you could do water changes with 0 consequence. First test for ammonia before doing anything else and like cmantis said relax and take a deep breath.

 

[Pharoahsim]

Yea, I wouldn't get to wound up at this point. Just keep watching. Water changes don't do damage. And don't vacuum your sand later on man' unless you have a really small amount. Just let it be. You'll get the hang, and in six months, you'll be buying a 125g

 

[oro50]

Yeah right now due to where I live I can't buy a bigger tank. Eventually if I make better money in the future then yes I will probably buy a bigger tank, but right now that is not a reality for me.

 

[mandown123]

BREATH DEEP! lol
trust the water parameter, check it for ammonia and nitrate if you are worried, don't just worry that's just gonna freak you out for no reason. Clowns sleep, my pair of Oc. used to be in like a trance, they sorta looked the same but were definitely not seeing they were on like autopilot or some other such bio-function.