Last night I set up QT for that serpae. It's actually one of my favorites in the tank- the one I call Punk. Recently seems to have reached mature size- and in the top of the hierarchy, too. I noticed a few weeks ago that Diamond- previously untouched by the other fishes- had a few nips out of the fins; now Punk and Spark are the untouched ones. So- I don't always notice individuals among my tetras, but this one fish happens to be a particular favorite...
It was tricky to catch- I tempted the fishes to the front with food but they got skittish of course at the net (while kuhlis pigged out below on the gold pearls, totally unconcerned). Used two to try and corner the one I wanted. That fish knew it was singled out and in a real panic. It ran up and down into corners seeking a way out- and then made an evasive move I haven't seen before. It dashed up the tank corner and flipped its body horizontal to lie flat at the surface just above the spray bar. Sure made it difficult to net there! He really wanted to not get caught. Then later after equalizing temp in the bag, it wouldn't easily go out into the actual QT tank! I poured a bit more tank water into the bag to fill it out and then gently tipped it sideways. The fish was so desperate- to get away from my hand I suppose- it kept going frantically into corners of the plastic bag, and then wouldn't turn around. I ended up tearing a corner off the bag to release it.
I set up the 10g QT as usual with sponge pulled from the main canister, half home tank water, half new, 50w heater, stuffed the tank with fake plants. I don't like it sitting straight on the floor but have no available surface for it, so this time I placed it on a stack of a few boards (leftover from building a stand)- it's about four inches off the ground silly I don't know why I prefer that. With a thick towel under to make the bottom darker, and I've also draped the entire thing with another cloth to keep it dim and calm. It's in a corner of my bedroom which gets very little foot traffic. Waited to re-evaluate how to treat in the morning, so tired.
Morning consideration, lifting edge of the towel up: the fish looks perky and less stressed, bump looks same. I did a water test and there's just above 0.25 ammonia. Got a bucket of clean water conditioned for partial wc, but realized two reasons I usually set up QT downstairs on the living room cabinet: unable to siphon when the tank is on floor level. I can't set a bucket lower. And even though I know the fish needs clean water, I have to wait a few hours in the morning to do the work, because I don't want to wake my husband.
Looking in the main tank, I expected to see more sparring since one of the dominant fish was removed, yeah there's a bit of chasing going on. One of the other mature fish has been looking odd for a few days but I couldn't put my finger on why. I think it's the one I named Nito. It swims with a stiff, kind of bobbing jerky motion, not smooth. Twitching its pectorals and caudal but not moving the main muscles of the body, as if it feels stiff and uncomfortable. I think it ate too much when I fed caterpillar chunks the other day, got a bit bloated or constipated which puts pressure on the swim bladder. I'm fasting the whole tank for a day or two (other fish will be fine) to see if it resolves... then might give it a few Epsom salt baths. Will have to read up on the dosage again.
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