A problem with tankmates

[Frank Castle]

We kept one jack Dempsey, and the convict. The tank is MUCH more peaceful. But I think something is wrong with Ace. Is it normal for him to float like this? I think he's dying... Been doing water changes and stuff, he was even more active once we got the other fish out of there yesterday... He usually let's us pet him some, but when I pet him he doesn't swim around my wrist today... I picked him up some and he just slid downwards out of my hand and floated back up... His fins are fluttering but not much, thought he was sleeping at first but now I'm not sure... I added another bubbler to the tank, maybe too much oxygen? Is that possible?

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I would add 1 Tablespoon of salt (non-iodized tablesalt) for every 5 gallons of water, so about 8 Tablespoons for a 46g figuring the water displacement from gravel and décor.

The ropefish, like other Polypterus actually needs to be able to surface to breathe - they have lungs as well as gills, so perhaps some fresh air might help him.....perhaps a fan blowing at the tank - is there a decent gap at the surface for him or is it completely sealed-up to keep the other eels or eel-like fish from climbing out?

 

[jaymekelley]

I would add 1 Tablespoon of salt (non-iodized tablesalt) for every 5 gallons of water, so about 8 Tablespoons for a 46g figuring the water displacement from gravel and décor.

The ropefish, like other Polypterus actually needs to be able to surface to breathe - they have lungs as well as gills, so perhaps some fresh air might help him.....perhaps a fan blowing at the tank - is there a decent gap at the surface for him or is it completely sealed-up to keep the other eels or eel-like fish from climbing out?

It has two long pieces of glass which cover it enough to keep the light from falling into the tank, but it has a gap all the way across the glass wide enough for the filter to push the water back through. I thought he was a Conner, and again, I picked him to flush him, and he started gasping, so I put him back in. I hope he's okay, him and the peacock are my faves. I made my husband wait for me to pick him up from work until I was done changing the water, I told him I was gonna do whatever I could at the moment before I left the house regardless of how long it took.

 

[jaymekelley]

I would add 1 Tablespoon of salt (non-iodized tablesalt) for every 5 gallons of water, so about 8 Tablespoons for a 46g figuring the water displacement from gravel and décor.

The ropefish, like other Polypterus actually needs to be able to surface to breathe - they have lungs as well as gills, so perhaps some fresh air might help him.....perhaps a fan blowing at the tank - is there a decent gap at the surface for him or is it completely sealed-up to keep the other eels or eel-like fish from climbing out?

I have a ceiling fan in the dining room and a portable fan in the living room. The tank is directly between the living and dining areas so maybe I can turn both of those on to provide a good cross-breeze for circulation or something

 

[Frank Castle]

I have a ceiling fan in the dining room and a portable fan in the living room. The tank is directly between the living and dining areas so maybe I can turn both of those on to provide a good cross-breeze for circulation or something

It has two long pieces of glass which cover it enough to keep the light from falling into the tank, but it has a gap all the way across the glass wide enough for the filter to push the water back through. I thought he was a Conner, and again, I picked him to flush him, and he started gasping, so I put him back in. I hope he's okay, him and the peacock are my faves. I made my husband wait for me to pick him up from work until I was done changing the water, I told him I was gonna do whatever I could at the moment before I left the house regardless of how long it took.

How much water and how often are you doing water changes? What are you water parameters? I.E. ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, etc..... What type of water conditioner do you treat the water with for WCs and do you use tap water or other sources? Do you have a well or city/municipal water or what?

 

[jaymekelley]

How much water and how often are you doing water changes? What are you water parameters? I.E. ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, etc..... What type of water conditioner do you treat the water with for WCs and do you use tap water or other sources? Do you have a well or city/municipal water or what?

I have been changing 25% of the water every other day as was suggested earlier in the thread, except yesterday, I forgot but I did it today. Keep forgetting the test kit, so not sure about the parameters, but i think we are gonna take some of the water to Petco to be tested once my boys get off the school bus. We use tap water, its city water, and we have been using a kit called "the acurel wave kit" its an all-in-one value fish starter kit for freshwater fish. It contains drops that are dechlorinator, water clarifier, color enhancer, and vitamin boost. I also added some of the api aquarium salt when I set it up. If we go to Petco I'll post the levels. Ace is dead, he hasn't moved, gasped or fluttered in a while, gonna go ahead and send him on his way, but I am curious as to what happened to him, he seemed much happier and healthier once the other fish and snowball were gone.

 

[Frank Castle]

I have been changing 25% of the water every other day as was suggested earlier in the thread, except yesterday, I forgot but I did it today. Keep forgetting the test kit, so not sure about the parameters, but i think we are gonna take some of the water to Petco to be tested once my boys get off the school bus. We use tap water, its city water, and we have been using a kit called "the acurel wave kit" its an all-in-one value fish starter kit for freshwater fish. It contains drops that are dechlorinator, water clarifier, color enhancer, and vitamin boost. I also added some of the api aquarium salt when I set it up. If we go to Petco I'll post the levels. Ace is dead, he hasn't moved, gasped or fluttered in a while, gonna go ahead and send him on his way, but I am curious as to what happened to him, he seemed much happier and healthier once the other fish and snowball were gone.

are you sure he's not breathing? You could try putting him into a salt bath, it's been known to wake up fish that were almost dead or appeared dead. Same thing 1 TBSP per 5 gallons

 

[jaymekelley]

Yeah, I wanted to be sure so I laid him on my coffee table and watched him for a while and he never started mouth-breathing or trying to escape.

 

[Frank Castle]

Yeah, I wanted to be sure so I laid him on my coffee table and watched him for a while and he never started mouth-breathing or trying to escape.

i'm interested in knowing if you have ammonia or nitrate issues, that could be the issue but without a test kit, you'll never know.

 

[Tifftastic]

Polies are actually pretty sensitive to water quality. The feeder fish you have are not as sensitive. There is a very real chance that you have some pretty high ammonia levels and that did him in.

 

[jaymekelley]

i'm interested in knowing if you have ammonia or nitrate issues, that could be the issue but without a test kit, you'll never know.

Yeah, I know. Need a kit. Idk if we are going to get the water tested tonight, the cops are out really bad out here today and the other fish seem fine, but I liked keeping him and I'm sire I'll want another one, but I need to make sure my levels are right before I get another one or my other fish start dying.