I have 5 acei in my cycled 55g. Nitrates were up to around 80ppm this morning, so I decided to do a water change before adding 5 yellow labs. They've been doing very well the past few days. I took out about 15 gallons and then added Prime, followed by my rift buffer of 2 tsp. of epsom salts, 2 tsp. of baking soda, and 1 tsp. of kosher salt.
The fish seemed fine when I left the house around noon. When I came back this afternoon around 5pm, all of the fish were hiding. My priority was getting the labs out of their bag, so I put them all in. They seemed alert, but one acei was very slow, sitting at the bottom of the tank, breathing heavily. A few hours later after dinner, all of the fish have settled down. They're not as active as they were before the water change, but they don't seem sick. Nobody goes for the 4-5 NLS pellets I've dropped in the tank. The one acei is acting the same way the other one I lost shortly after his arrival - hiding under rocks. I pulled him out and put him in a bare bottom 2g tank with 1/2 dechlorinated water and 1/2 tank water (all I have) for QT. It doesn't look like he's going to make it.
Tank specs are as follows:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 20ppm (maybe 40, these colors suck)
pH - test strip says 8.4, aqpharm drops say 8.0
GH - 300
KH - 300
Temp - 80F
I've done all I can think of to make the fish happy (lots of rock, crushed coral, established filter, etc.) but this is the 2nd Acei I've lost in as many weeks. The first could have been a fluke from the trip from the store, but this one seems like it's all on me, as he was fine before the water change. What else can I do to keep from losing fish?
The fish seemed fine when I left the house around noon. When I came back this afternoon around 5pm, all of the fish were hiding. My priority was getting the labs out of their bag, so I put them all in. They seemed alert, but one acei was very slow, sitting at the bottom of the tank, breathing heavily. A few hours later after dinner, all of the fish have settled down. They're not as active as they were before the water change, but they don't seem sick. Nobody goes for the 4-5 NLS pellets I've dropped in the tank. The one acei is acting the same way the other one I lost shortly after his arrival - hiding under rocks. I pulled him out and put him in a bare bottom 2g tank with 1/2 dechlorinated water and 1/2 tank water (all I have) for QT. It doesn't look like he's going to make it.
Tank specs are as follows:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 20ppm (maybe 40, these colors suck)
pH - test strip says 8.4, aqpharm drops say 8.0
GH - 300
KH - 300
Temp - 80F
I've done all I can think of to make the fish happy (lots of rock, crushed coral, established filter, etc.) but this is the 2nd Acei I've lost in as many weeks. The first could have been a fluke from the trip from the store, but this one seems like it's all on me, as he was fine before the water change. What else can I do to keep from losing fish?
