Why is my new algae eater doing this?

i just got him. i acclimated him in my qt tank and prepared to qt him but i guess i had a brain fart and dropped him in my main tank. I hope it doesnt kill everybody . Anyway hes doing this(see image) like hes gasping for air or something. but none of my other fish are doing so. my co2 is running like normal. whats going on?

side note. got 10 amano shrimp and lost one (or more but i only saw one) down the drain(forgot to close it before dropping them) talk about money down the drain ><. this is not my day

maybe he likes the bubbles?

 

Might be stress. How big is the tank?

 

He could be just adjusting. Do you have any live plants in the tank? and if not a airstone running? Ive seen before in low oxygen environments fish sitting towards the top trying to get air.

 

hes behaving normally now. i think it was just facinated by bubbles or something. definitely not a low oxygen issue as the rest of my fish were perfectly normal. guess was just fascinated by bubbles?

 

always possible. fish are very weird. I do hope he continues to thrive in his new home. goodluck

 

hes behaving normally now. i think it was just facinated by bubbles or something. definitely not a low oxygen issue as the rest of my fish were perfectly normal.

Sounds good

 

Might have been ph shock depending on where he was purchased and ph of water in his bag vs your tank.

 

https://imgur.com/a/7ZMrA0K

 

i think its called glass surfing, this is very common for fish to do when added new to a tank, after a very large water change or are very hungry. They will normally go up and down the wall of glass often in the corner for a day to a couple of days. Then they will often start to act as you would be expecting.

 

i think its called glass surfing, this is very common for fish to do when added new to a tank, after a very large water change or are very hungry. They will normally go up and down the wall of glass often in the corner for a day to a couple of days. Then they will often start to act as you would be expecting.

it wasnt on the glass in that picture though nor was it "surfing", im already aware of glass surfing, thanks anyway. you can also see the glass scrubber distance between the fish and the glass. i guess it was just feeling bubbly

 

hmm, they dont always go very close to glass like touching it sometimes an inch or 2 away, I think it could also just have been shocked from being put in new environment, perhaps the fish store its from had very different chemical levels like, ph. Is it still doing it?

 

no. see video above, eating lunch/dinner i guess

 

ye i saw it before, i think its just shock, if its still not very active or showing normal signs I would reassess in 2-3 days

 

reassess?, i see it swimming around , just caught him at munch time. quite amusing. hopefully that continues. as i mentioned i derped and skipped qt with him

 

ok well if it is active and normal signs of behaviour then it was just shocked from new tank environment, should be a health fish. hope it lives a good life.

 

i got 9(i hope) i didnt exactly do everything right between the point of them in the bag and to the qt tank, at least one went down the drain because it jumped out of the colander . i didnt realize how jumpy they were like crickets. poor guy dead in the pipes so hopefully when they leave qt in a couple weeks i guess. they wont get shoccked, though i wouldnt imagine much because the filter in the qt is the same one i use in my main just moved over

 

The fish is breathing very fast. Temp can't be it, water parameters are ruled out. If you're lucky a slight Ammonia burn during transport (unlikely).
Leaves one explanation: Parasites in the gills. This could be: Flukes, certain Nematodes, Ichthyophthirius (that's ich), certain bacteria...
It can also be a result of a past parasitosis with one of the above. Meaning permanent gill damage. That would be the best case scenario. Also means the fish will die prematurely.
Look for other symptoms and if something shows up or other fish are starting to show this problem. Only start treatments when you are at least 90% certain it is a specific parasite and by all means get confirmation here on the forum before you do.

Until then: Do a 50% waterchange.

as i mentioned i derped and skipped qt with him

Well... do I have to even say something about this?

Might have been ph shock depending on where he was purchased and ph of water in his bag vs your tank.

Shock rather not, but a bigger difference in TDS (+/- 50-100) might be possible as well.

 

The fish is breathing very fast. Temp can't be it, water parameters are ruled out. If you're lucky a slight Ammonia burn during transport (unlikely).
Leaves one explanation: Parasites in the gills. This could be: Flukes, certain Nematodes, Ichthyophthirius (that's ich), certain bacteria...
It can also be a result of a past parasitosis with one of the above. Meaning permanent gill damage. That would be the best case scenario. Also means the fish will die prematurely.
Look for other symptoms and if something shows up or other fish are starting to show this problem. Only start treatments when you are at least 90% certain it is a specific parasite and by all means get confirmation here on the forum before you do.

Until then: Do a 50% waterchange.


Well... do I have to even say something about this?

Shock rather not, but a bigger difference in TDS (+/- 50-100) might be possible as well.

yeah it was an potentially costly accident. i was in the process of getting him ready for qt tank and then i dropped him in my main and thats when the "oh wrong tank" thought came. ill keep an eye on him

 

As I said: Keep also an eye on the other fish.

Little heads up: If you have to do a treatment you will have to do it in the main tank as it will most likely be parasites.

 

what kind of treatment do i need to get?

 

Depends on what shows up, IF anything identifiable shows up.

If in 3-4 weeks time no other fish has symptoms and this one still breathes this fast you can quite safely assume it has permanent gill damage from a former parasitosis that has been treated before you bought it.

 

i went to go see what this treatment stufff i do currently have . lifequard, which i believe is a general treatment tablet, took a look at sae . doesnt look like hes breathing like that any more. just laying on the sand like the corys do. eyes moving around so hes not dead or anything

 

lifequard, which i believe is a general treatment tablet

Yes, it is, but it is not very effective and would not work in case of a parasitosis. A quick research on clinical tests on the active ingredient shows it's probably only effective against some protozoans. Also it degrades into chlorine compounds as the molecule structure contains two chlorine atoms.
Toss that stuff.

took a look at sae . doesnt look like hes breathing like that any more. just laying on the sand like the corys do. eyes moving around so hes not dead or anything

Good.