BN out of water?!?

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Hebily

My Tank \/
Mar 15, 2009
1,448
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Racine, Wi
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Got a brand new L144 in the mail today, so he's chillin' in QT. I say he, but he's WAY below sexable size. Anyway, I was just checking on him and saw what to me is the craziest thing. He was hanging out on the side of the tank, but here's the weird part, completely OUT of the water. The water line hasn't changed, I'm not sure how he managed to get that high. The first thing on my mind was testing, to make sure that he wasn't trying to escape from bad water. Nope, it's fine. Now, I've heard that BN's can 'breathe' air, so I'm not horribly worried about that, and I figure if he does have O2 deprivation problems, he'll 'faint' and fall back into the water. Then, when I looked back, he was on the other end of the 20g qt, sucked onto the wall just above the bottom. Then I saw him do it again. He swam full speed across the tank - Weeeee!- and jumped out of the water and sucked onto the wall above the waterline, and he's just chillin'.

Has anyone here seen behavior like this out of BN's? I've kept them for years and I've never seen this before, so I'm just wondering. It's kinda cool, but also scary. Is it an indication that something is wrong that the tests aren't showing? I'm 0 ammo, 0 nitrite. I haven't tested nitrates, but all the water in the tank is brand new today, with a 1 inch bn in a 20 gal, so I really doubt they'd be to worrisome levels.
 
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vanillarum

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Jan 4, 2008
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Never seen this before, but I would make sure there is a cover on that tank ! Good luck.
 

Hebily

My Tank \/
Mar 15, 2009
1,448
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Racine, Wi
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It has a glass cover. This lil guy is now floating at the top of the tank. Except he's not. He's belly up, but his fins are splayed, and his coloration is normal. It looks like he's sucking on the the surface of the water. I can't tell if he's actually still alive or not. I hope he is...
 

tonergirl

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Sep 22, 2008
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Throw an algae wafer in there, or a piece of zuchini and see what he does. Has your tank been cycled a long time? Maybe he can't find any food. The lfs's I've had to deal with, sell half starved plec's so I'd keep an eye on him. Good luck...
 

Hebily

My Tank \/
Mar 15, 2009
1,448
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38
Racine, Wi
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Cannon or iPhone
There was already an algae wafer in there. It's a QT, so it was dry yesterday morning, but the sponge filter was operating in my grow out.

The thought crossed my mind yesterday that maybe he was looking for food, but I thought that he had the algae wafer and he should be fine. Now I can't help but wonder if I had gone to the grocery store and gotten a cucumber for him if it might have saved his life.

I was sampling the water, and decided to cup him in my hand, to try to induce movement. Got him all the way out of the water, and not only was he still as a board, he was stiff as one, too. :( Went ahead and finished the test, even though the tank's going to be dry again tonight. It showed trace (detectable but below scale) ammonia and nitrites, 0 nitrates. I wish I was getting ready to do a water change, and not a water dump.
 

aviva90

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Jun 19, 2010
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I'm really sorry for your loss, always stinks. I would recommend keeping that tank running, even though you seeded it, all tanks go through mini cycles and plecos are SUPER picky (in my experience). Like don't have it be dry, then fill it up just for one-time use, stability is key and you will never get that if you empty the tank, seeded or not. Just my 2 cents.
 

rufioman

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Aug 16, 2010
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Bizarre thread lol. Maybe he wanted to see what life was like otherwise or something :p fingers crossed he makes a full and speedy recovery!!!

:cheers:
 

tonergirl

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Sep 22, 2008
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:shakehead: Sorry you lost the little fellow. :( I have lost a few myself and it's very sad! Might have been the lfs's fault. Might have been too far gone, when you purchased him!
 

Hebily

My Tank \/
Mar 15, 2009
1,448
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Racine, Wi
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Cannon or iPhone
He was shipped. He seemed really energetic when I first got him.

Aviva: How would you keep a quarantine tank that normally has no life in it cycled? To me, keeping the sponge filter in the grow out seems like the best way. I considered keeping it running, and feeding the tank ammonia when it's empty, but it seems to me that without any plants in the tank, that would very quickly lead to an algae bloom, unless I'm doing the extremely large daily water changes that typically accompany QT. What are your ideas?
 

amazon4

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Mar 14, 2012
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I would suggest keeping the QT tank clean and ready to go. Keep your filter sponge seeded (as it looks like you did).

Then the day before, set it up with 50% new and 50% existing tank water (do water change). This should be enough to help avoid a cycle when you add you new residents for QT. Just keep an eye on the water quality and perform changes frequently as needed. I've used stuff like Seachems' Stability quite successfully, too.

Sorry you lost the fella!
 
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