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Very Unusual Behaviour, New Tank, Help!

2K views 68 replies 6 participants last post by  XxxXnoodleXxxX 
#1 ·
Two days ago I set up a new tank for Tiny Tina and put her in it. I had seeded it a week prior with substrate and water from her old tank to build a bacterial community for it and fed the bacteria ammonia daily. I did a 100% water change and emptied the toxic, nitrite and nitrate rich water from the seeding out prior to placing her in it. I then siphoned 2 gallons of her old tank water into the new tank to help acclimatize her to the new chemistry and tank and filled the rest of the new tank with aged and tannin stained water. I acclimatized her to her new tank for just about an hour, eyedropping new tank water into her floating cup every 10 minutes or so. Her old tank was a 5.5 gallon unfiltered, heated tank. Her new tank is 6.6 gallons, has a built in filter and is heated. I would turn the filter off if I could, but the LED light is built into the filter, and I cannot lose one without the other. The current does not appear to bother her, she is a strong swimmer and is not buffeted by it.

Her PH is 7 - 7.5, nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia are all at safe levels, her temperature is at 27-28 degrees celsius. She normally is excitable, surfing all the time on the glass and very explorative, always excited when I come up to see her. I woke up today to find that her dorsal fin and ventral fins are very clamped, and she's spending a lot of her time hiding. She never used to go in a decorative resin pot before, and now she doesn't come out except for air. When she does come out, she darts, and does not surf. She also flared at her reflection when I shined a flashlight on her, which she has never done before.

Her scales appear to be flush to her body, but I cannot get a very good look at her and I certainly cannot photograph her. She does not appear to have any ragged fins, no fungus appears to be growing on fins, scales, gills, or lips. Her eyes are normal. Her colour isn't washed out. She ate when I fed her. But she appears listless. I am very worried that if I don't spot something soon she may worsen and I'll never be wiser as to what caused it.

Anyone with any opinions on this matter, please let me know. I wish I had more information, but I simply cannot offer anything at this time.
 
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#2 ·
Have you turned off the filter just out of curiousity? I know you said she appears fine but its possible because its something very different for her she doesn't like it. Also, I have one male who doesn't like the LED lighting on his 5g tank so I leave the light off except on very rare occasions. I know your lights & filters go hand in hand, you can turn off the light without turning off the filter right? I would start with those two things.
 
#3 ·
I've turned the filter and light off. But she's clamped, and isn't acting well at all. My female betta that died of dropsy in april hated filters, but she was a weak swimmer with a bent spine, and threw herself into the current and was unable to fight it. Tina is the opposite.
 
#5 ·
I've got her acclimatizing in a small 1.5 gallon ISO. I'm uncertain whether a single white, dusty scale is a signal of fungus or ich. Other than that, besides her bloaty tummy which appears to be full of eggs (because a poop in her cup is brown and coiled and not white and slimy, so its not internal parasites), nothing appears to be physically wrong with her. Is this her way of coping with a tank change? She never did this when I moved her from a 1.5 gallon when I got her to a 5.5.
 
#6 ·
Its possible. I swapped my males around, one of them did NOT like the change at first. I seriously thought he had "broken" one of his pectorals because he would not use it for hours, he stayed in one spot for long periods of time then by the next day all was good. He does not like it if I even re-arrange his tank, during water changes he hides inside his cave. Bottom line, they can do some funny stuff when they pout.
 
#9 ·
We moved her into different tanks and she was fine until this tall one. And she was fine for the first 2 days, all happy and Tina-ish, but we came home this afternoon and she was like this.
 
#8 ·
Yeah. She was fine and really explorative at first, and then we were gone last night, came back this afternoon and she was just hiding, her colour had faded, and she's darting around.
 
#10 ·
Hmm I don't like it when their color fades. The water in Calgary is somewhat different this week due to the floods. Its very high in organic compounds right now but im not sure that would be a problem. I do think the city upped the chlorine levels so I have doubled the amount of Prime to 4 drops per gallon. Could you reset her old tank up until the cause is determined? Maybe décor or something contaminating that would not appear on your water tests.
 
#11 ·
Well I don't mean so much that she's turned grey. She's a bit pale (common when stressed) and she's got this little patch of 2-3 scales that are lighter than all the rest.

We did double the amount of conditioner when we put her in her new tank. So we gave her the amount for 10 gallons instead of the amount for five.

She's just very clamped and goes from being really darty and spazzy to being completely still and clamped. :( Dunno what we should do.
 
#14 ·
I can only tell you what I would do if I were you. May not be the right thing but here goes. Get a nice clean container anything over 1g. Mix.. 4 drops Prime per gallon. 1 drop Seachem Paraguard per gallon (general med anti septic covers the bases), 1tsp Epson salt per gallon. Make it the right temp. add a small live plant if possible. Change in behaviour means something is up and it is usually the water. Have you noticed how different the water smells since the flood? I sure do! The water quality is way down imo.
 
#15 ·
She does have what appears to be potentially a fungus or ich on a scale on her right side. BEsides that, only water quality could have anything to do with her mood, she's in a small, warm tank. I do not have "seachem paraguard", and I can only buy seachem medication from a store that is literally 3 to 4 hours away from where I live given calgary transit's current state, and thats pisces. I have seachem kanaplex, API general cure, API ich cure, and Maracyn 2. Which of those is similar to paraguard?
 
#16 ·
Yes I am willing to bet it's due to the flood as well, it's not something you can help except try to make her as comfortable as possible. Keep the tank dark, if you can get some tannins in there that will help too.

Also, how much decoration did you have in both tanks the 5.5 and the 6.6? If you only had a few things in the 6.6, it could also be because she doesn't like open spaces, many Betta's don't because their natural habitat is literally all tall grassy plants, so it's not always natural for them to be out in big open spaces. That could have easily stressed her and just with the change of scenery and then the water chemistry on top of it, it all piled up and just kind of stressed her out to the max, you see?

So for now I think you should just put her back into the 5.5 for now if you've still got it up, with all her old stuff, keep the tank dark for a few days, feed her well and see how it works out.

I would also follow logisticsguy's suggest as well in his last post there :)
 
#17 ·
I'd love to but the reason I moved her into a new tank is because I put my other betta in the 5.5. The water is tannin stained... I made a jungle out of the 6.6 gallon, she loves jungly tanks full of plants. The iso can't really be a jungle. Do you think I should leave her in the ISO i've got her in, or take Handsome Jack (my other betta) out of his 5.5 gallon, put him in the ISO, and put her in the 5.5?? The water chemistry in her 6.6 gallon shouldn't have done this to her, it was aged water that was aged before the floods in calgary began to affect the water quality... I just have no idea what did this to her. The water in her 6.6, though the tank has only been used for 3 days, is over 6 days old.
 
#18 ·
Instead of Paraguard you can certainly use the other meds you already have on hand. lilnaugrim would have a better idea which ones or combos than I do. You are right it is so hard to get around the city. If your in a pinch I would drop Paraguard off to you but used correctly the other meds should work just fine. I hope another member can help with better info on the meds.
 
#19 ·
lilnaugrim would have a better idea which ones or combos than I do.
Lol I said the same about you XD

Okay looking at what you have vs. paraguard, none of them actually match up of course but for now you can use the Maracyn 2 which is a gram negative antibiotic and it's broad-spectrum which is good. If you can find regular Maracyn you can combine the both of them to make a strong antibiotic similar to paraguard, so that way you have both gram negative and gram positive. Also with the Paraguard or Kanaplex you can mix those with either AQ salt or Epsom. AQ and Kanaplex would work for parasites, fungal and bacteria which might actually be the best route to take right now but I would do half doses of each instead of the full dose since we're not even sure what is wrong with her.

The discoloration of the scales, where are they and is the discoloration extending onto any of the fins at all? Is she still clamping?
 
#20 ·
The discolouration on the scales is on the dorsal anterior portion of her right side, just behind her head and just below her dorsal fin. It covers maybe 2 scales worth. The discolouration is slight, as Tina is a pale pink, but it stands out with light shone on it. It appears to be white, or lighter than her scales. It has not yet appeared on her fins to my knowledge, and her fins are cherry red. She is still clamping. I have covered her ISO tank in an attempt to reduce external stimuli and allow her to rest.

I am headed out to get some paraguard, figure I'd go safe and get exactly what you recommend rather than mixing and matching.
 
#22 ·
Well I can now confirm the water in Calgary is greatly compromised for fish. AHS confirms much bacteria, parasites, virus in the water. Yes it is technically safe to drink. Smells and tastes bad. Anti freeze and oils from flooded cars is in the water that goes through the treatment plant Mayor himself just said they were using large amounts of disinfecting agents. My bet is chloramine which is really strong toxic ammonia that does not evaporate. Look it up. I may make a thread about this. Fish keepers in Calgary beware make sure your dechlorinator kills this stuff or it could be trouble. I will only be using my rain barrel for a little while or getting water from the fish store ect.
 
#27 ·
Whaaat? Please clarify. I need to know if my fish is going to die in this water and what I can do to change that. I live in a condo, I do NOT have access to a rain barrel.
 
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