Ok, my Harlequin Tusk is about a week old. I got him from the LFS, he is extremely peaceful, leaving all of my fish and snails and crabs alone. He was eating great at the LFS and also at my house even minutes after finally making it into my tank.
I noticed a few spots on the semi-transparent part of his dorsal fins and tail when I got him, and figured they were from the move. Those went away and his color was bright and perfect. He continued to eat very very well. He was also very active.
Last night when I came home around 8:00 pm EST, I noticed he was laying on the bottom of the tank against a piece of rock. Shocked I ran over to the tank and noticed he was breathing. I put a small amount of food in the tank and he swam up and ate some. I felt a little bit better, but I noticed he had what appeared to be a white dusty looking substance all over him. I immediately thought ich.
I frantically called around to LFS' and found petsmart was still open. I luckily found a knowledgeable employee and he told me it was most likely ich and even though they were closing in a few minutes, he offered to purchase the "Mardel Coppersafe" and keep it at the front door for me until I arrived. (That was very cool of him!)
I also performed a water change. (it was the only thing I could think of to do.) I tested my water before the water change and both ammonia and nitrites were at 0 and nitrates were very very low as well. They were close to 0. My PH was also great. My salinity was on the money as well.
He made it through the night, at 5:00 am he was still in the same place, and at 8:00 am he had moved to the left side of the tank but still laying crooked on the bottom but still breathing.
I left the lights out today and I am dessperately looking for any advice on what I should do, should not do, or even what I should have done if the horrible should happen and I lose this fish. He is the only reason I got into the saltwater hobby, he's just so incredibly beautiful.
I did make sure that the fish was eating at the LFS, and I had him on hold for almost 2 weeks, and constanly checked on him to look for signs of illness before I purchased him. I even had the LFS check my water before I took him home, and all things checked out fine. The LFS, told me not to do a water change for at least a week, so the fish could get used to the water first, and the emergency water change last night was the first water change.:sad
I noticed a few spots on the semi-transparent part of his dorsal fins and tail when I got him, and figured they were from the move. Those went away and his color was bright and perfect. He continued to eat very very well. He was also very active.
Last night when I came home around 8:00 pm EST, I noticed he was laying on the bottom of the tank against a piece of rock. Shocked I ran over to the tank and noticed he was breathing. I put a small amount of food in the tank and he swam up and ate some. I felt a little bit better, but I noticed he had what appeared to be a white dusty looking substance all over him. I immediately thought ich.
I frantically called around to LFS' and found petsmart was still open. I luckily found a knowledgeable employee and he told me it was most likely ich and even though they were closing in a few minutes, he offered to purchase the "Mardel Coppersafe" and keep it at the front door for me until I arrived. (That was very cool of him!)
I also performed a water change. (it was the only thing I could think of to do.) I tested my water before the water change and both ammonia and nitrites were at 0 and nitrates were very very low as well. They were close to 0. My PH was also great. My salinity was on the money as well.
He made it through the night, at 5:00 am he was still in the same place, and at 8:00 am he had moved to the left side of the tank but still laying crooked on the bottom but still breathing.
I left the lights out today and I am dessperately looking for any advice on what I should do, should not do, or even what I should have done if the horrible should happen and I lose this fish. He is the only reason I got into the saltwater hobby, he's just so incredibly beautiful.
I did make sure that the fish was eating at the LFS, and I had him on hold for almost 2 weeks, and constanly checked on him to look for signs of illness before I purchased him. I even had the LFS check my water before I took him home, and all things checked out fine. The LFS, told me not to do a water change for at least a week, so the fish could get used to the water first, and the emergency water change last night was the first water change.:sad
