Zebra Barred Dartfish - It's Freaking Out

[thewalkingdad]

I have a ZBD in QT right now. Its been there for a week. I'm using the Hybrid TTM and it was been through two H2O2 dips, two tank transfers, and one dose of GC. So it's about halfway through QT before two more weeks of OT. No visible signs of illness. It has only eaten live baby brine shrimp thus far. Its poop has been nominal. I can't get it to be interested in frozen or pellet food.

Do other people's ZBD act like this? When it's not freaking out, it is super skittish and will hide anywhere it can (except usually not in the pipes).

Any idea what's going on?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Those are some really large diameter pipes for the fish to "hide" in. My firefish prefer a 1" diameter PVC pipe, since it's far more cozy (less things can eat them).

Have you considered dimming the lights in the tank for now? That seems kind of bright to me, and could be contributing to the fish' skittishness. It's also breathing incredibly fast. Is it always breathing as fast as that?

What frozen foods and pellets have you tried?

Dartfish are kinda skittish (hence, they dart). Especially when they don't have adequate cover. And they're exposed to another stressor (bright light, hybrid TTM, etc.) I would recommend to just keep on feeding the fish with baby brine shrimp until you can get it into the observation tank, just so it can get its energy reserves up. What would be better, is 2 day old, gut loaded BBS, since that's got a better blend of fatty acids for the fish to rely on, and is a bit meatier.

 

[thewalkingdad]

Those are some really large diameter pipes for the fish to "hide" in. My firefish prefer a 1" diameter PVC pipe, since it's far more cozy (less things can eat them).

Have you considered dimming the lights in the tank for now? That seems kind of bright to me, and could be contributing to the fish' skittishness. It's also breathing incredibly fast. Is it always breathing as fast as that?

What frozen foods and pellets have you tried?

Dartfish are kinda skittish (hence, they dart). Especially when they don't have adequate cover. And they're exposed to another stressor (bright light, hybrid TTM, etc.) I would recommend to just keep on feeding the fish with baby brine shrimp until you can get it into the observation tank, just so it can get its energy reserves up. What would be better, is 2 day old, gut loaded BBS, since that's got a better blend of fatty acids for the fish to rely on, and is a bit meatier.

Thanks for the information.

I'll pick up some smaller diameter pipes for him. I use those lights to take pictures or film. The QT is underneath my sump stand, so when I only use the room lights the QT is quick dark. I'm sure the fish like that, but it's difficult to take a picture. His breathing was fast after he would have one of those skittish/freak-out episodes and then it would go back to normal. Normally he just hides and seems fine, but every once and a while goes crazy.

I've tried the Neptune Crossover pellet and PE Mysis pellets. For frozen food, I forget the brand, but it was a general carnivore mix. He *seemed* interested in the frozen food, but not enough to come out of hiding to eat.

For the BBS, I either feed them when they are within 8 hours of hatching since they retain parts of their yokes which are full of protein and fat. If it is after 8 hours, I try to gut-load them with spirulina powder. Just depends on the timing of when most are hatching and when I need to feed.

Thanks again for the info and tips.