One of 2 schooling fish won’t eat in quarantine

[Jay Hemdal]

What are the odds these are two males and this one is submitting to the alpha and maybe getting scraps later? He does seem very submissive to the active one even when they’re not eating.

That is unlikely, Group dynamics on these is tricky though - they naturally live in loose groups, and with less than 3 fish, that can break down. However, from what I can see in the video, that isn't the case. I doubt that the fish is eating scraps, if you aren't seeing it eat, it most likely isn't.

jay

 

[JayFish4004]

That is unlikely, Group dynamics on these is tricky though - they naturally live in loose groups, and with less than 3 fish, that can break down. However, from what I can see in the video, that isn't the case. I doubt that the fish is eating scraps, if you aren't seeing it eat, it most likely isn't.

jay

Welp bad news - woke up this morning and they’ve both perished. No idea what happened - did a water change earlier in the day. Pump and heater still functioning. Assuming ammonia spiked. This was my worst fear - maybe would’ve been better off just adding them to DT

 

[JayFish4004]

RIP little guys

 

[Jay Hemdal]

RIP little guys

Sorry to hear. You can still confirm the ammonia after-the-fact by testing now, and then you'll have more forewarning next time.

Moving the fish to the DT would have been risky if you have any other fish in there. If you aren't sure what the new fish have, moving them into a tank with other fish is never a good idea.

Jay

 

[JayFish4004]

Sorry to hear. You can still confirm the ammonia after-the-fact by testing now, and then you'll have more forewarning next time.

Moving the fish to the DT would have been risky if you have any other fish in there. If you aren't sure what the new fish have, moving them into a tank with other fish is never a good idea.

Jay

Yeah - I did do an API test and it was a bit green but not what I’d suspect to cause ammonia poisoning. I also don’t see any red in their gills - don’t you think we’d see that if it was ammonia?

The water had gotten a little cloudy, so I suspect the cycle maybe kicked in at that 9-10 day mark. Either that or the tiny filter wasn’t getting enough oxygen distribution into the tank. I was changing out 50% of the water daily so I thought that could be enough to mitigate. I also had 2 filter bags and 6 seachem matrix rocks from the DT that had been in there since the beginning - so I figured that’d be enough seeding.

As hard as it is I feel like I did everything I could given the circumstance. I was ill prepared to house fish in a QT and definitely regret getting the 2 gallon. I think next time around Ill be prepared with a 5 gallon cycled tank, a larger filter and foam from my DT for seeding. and only use the 2 gallon for medication purposes to not ruin the 5 gallon’s bacteria load.

I hate the idea of needing to keep a 2nd tank cycled when really those cardinals were going to be the last fish I add to the tank outside of replacing lost ones, but I feel like even adding biomedia might not be enough unless I have a really big tank for QT which I don’t have space for in my apartment.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Yeah - I did do an API test and it was a bit green but not what I’d suspect to cause ammonia poisoning. I also don’t see any red in their gills - don’t you think we’d see that if it was ammonia?

The water had gotten a little cloudy, so I suspect the cycle maybe kicked in at that 9-10 day mark. Either that or the tiny filter wasn’t getting enough oxygen distribution into the tank. I was changing out 50% of the water daily so I thought that could be enough to mitigate. I also had 2 filter bags and 6 seachem matrix rocks from the DT that had been in there since the beginning - so I figured that’d be enough seeding.

As hard as it is I feel like I did everything I could given the circumstance. I was ill prepared to house fish in a QT and definitely regret getting the 2 gallon. I think next time around Ill be prepared with a 5 gallon cycled tank, a larger filter and foam from my DT for seeding. and only use the 2 gallon for medication purposes to not ruin the 5 gallon’s bacteria load.

I hate the idea of needing to keep a 2nd tank cycled when really those cardinals were going to be the last fish I add to the tank outside of replacing lost ones, but I feel like even adding biomedia might not be enough unless I have a really big tank for QT which I don’t have space for in my apartment.

Cloudy water is often due to free floating heterotrophic bacteria and these in turn can suck oxygen out of the water. Did the tank have good aeration? The fish didn’t die open mouthed so that probably wasn’t the issue, but just trying to cover all bases.
Jay