Got this decent pic from the short side of the tank.
Something's still going wrong when I do the water changes. I admit it had been too long between them again, and I had never done a very thorough cleaning since the time away on vacation. Yesterday attempted to remedy that- siphoned the gravel, but only on one side of the tank because thought I ought not overdo it and put him into shock.
But then I continued with trimming plants and decided to move a few, and cut down or pulled out all the rotalas in the back (a lot of them dying, looking shabby) and trimmed some bolbitis fern off the log, tied onto stones to put in the background, etc. It ended up being too much change. So I thought. Except, the fish looked relatively calm until I started pouring the new water in, then he clamped up, hung at the surface, barely moving, curving his body. Looked alarmingly like the symptoms my minnows died of.
Prime doesn't expire. Nitrates were low already. My best guesses are: the city is using chloramine or added excess chlorine (but Prime is supposed to nullify that anyway) or I released ammonia into the water column when pulling some plants up (but the fish looked okay at that point) or, the new water caused a pH jump. I think it's the latter. Must test before and after next time.
He looked shocky all that evening and I was worried. But this morning seems completely fine, so phew.
