New fish not happy

[blackcloudmedia]

Today I was at the store buying a skimmer (more expensive than I wanted) and I purchased a 4 dollar blue damsel. My friend suprised me last week by buying a percula clown without telling me while the tank is still cycling. Oddly enough the clown is fine however I put the damsel in and he seems distressed. Ive owned freshwater fish for years so I know a stressed fish when I see one (I breed convict cichlids). Anyways the skimmer is awesome and was of course filling with dark crap when I left for work. I dont know if my little blue buddy will make it before I get home Why do you think the clown is fine but not the damsel? Also we are told to NEVER put a tank near a window because of direct sunlight.......so why do we pay 500.00 dollars for a light that simulates ....THE SUN??????? lol just curious.

 

[Christeon]

I can answer the sun ? less heat and you can regulate the photoperiod with lights. If by distressed you mean darting around and killing everything in your tank he's normal j/k Those are tough little guys he'll probably be fine.

 

[SnowManSnow]

As far as puttiing the tank in sunlight it will be fine as long as it doesn't spike your temprature, which it probably would. The light won't cause excess algae growth as long as your water is nice and clean.

What do you mean by stressed?: What is it doing / look like?

B

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Well he was breathing heavy, even thought the oxygen was fine, and he was hiding under some oyster shells. Dont high wattage lights cause temperature spikes too?

 

[Anonymous]

What is your water testing at?

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Thats the problem! Im freaking out cause Im reading about all this crap I have to test for in my tank! I tested ammonia nitrite and nitrate cause those were the only things I heard of, Ammonia was zero and the nitrates and nitrites were present but the chart said they were okay for now. But now Im reading about Magnesium, Calcium, and all this stuff, Im broke now until next paycheck and cant afford more test kits! ARGH!!!

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Ok I realized I sound pretty stupid the way I worded that last post, I didnt realize how expensive test kits are and how many things there were to test for, plus the fact that these kits only test, they dont fix.....fixing is another ten bucks per element. Anyways I love the hobby I just fear spending every dollar on it like I know I probably will....its like an addiction.

 

[Meloco14]

How long was your damsel stressed for? Has it been a couple days? Or did you just add him, notice he was stressed, and take off for work? It may just be normal acclimation. Hopefully you will return home to find him acting normal. Your tests sound fine, and if anything was seriously wrong with the tank your clown would be stressed too. There is also the possibility of the damsel having a disease or parasite. The 3 tests you have are the most important for this period of your new tank. In the coming weeks you will want to get a test kit for pH, alkalinity, and calcium. I highly doubt any of these are contributing to the stress of your damsel right now, so you don't need to rush out and purchase these. Another thing you should get in the next few weeks is a refractometer. Plastic hydrometers are very inaccurate. As far as lighting goes, you can place your tank near natural sunlight if you want. The reflection through glass and the angles and such prevent it from effectively being enough light to raise corals, but some people do have very nice naturally lit tanks. Most people want their tanks away from the sun because a proper bulb can make the tank look much nicer than natural sunlight, and there is a belief that some of the wavelengths of sunlight that get filtered through to our tanks can cause algae outbreaks. HTH, and I hope your damsel pulls through.

 

[Anonymous]

What Meloco said :lol:. At this point, ammonia is the big concern in terms of your fish's health as it is the most toxic. So, keep an eye on it, and be prepared to change some water if the level rise.

I also feel a refractometer is an essential piece of equipment. Here's a link to a model I own and I feel is a good value for the money.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/P ... 004+113761

Just for curiousity, what does your specific gravity read?

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Cool thanks. Yea I put him in then had to go to work, I was actually late cause I was reading the instructions about the skimmer and lost track of time. That thing had more pieces than my Ford. But yea I realized the fish may have been stressed already as I was not able to select the one I wanted (they were restocking so there was crap everywhere) OH!! And on a side note I was DISCUSTED with the ammount of dead fish my local store recieved in their shipment!! Not just cheap fish either. We're talking rare and exotic species. It made me want to puke. My SG read at 25...I forgot where the decimal and the one go as Im new to this. Theres a "red zone" on the meter to stay inside.