New fish behavior

justlikeapill · 10-18-2006, 07:38 PM

Is it normal for a fish to pace in front of the glass when it's a new fish? I just bought some neons for my plants cycled tank. 7 neons in a fully cycled tank and they paced in front of the glass for a while like they were trying to escape. Is this normal new fish behavior? Are they just exploring how big their environment is? They've stopped doing that and are huddled together. they are very skiddish right now. their mouth is opening and closing fast (auctually don't know how fast a neon breathes anyway). Are they just scared? My water is perfect. 0 amonia 0 nitrites, about 15 nitrates.

esarkipato · 10-18-2006, 07:57 PM

Not good. Not good at all, and definitely not normal. New fish always hide first....at least that's been my experience unless.....

I DON'T ACCLIMATE THEM CORRECTLY!

If you aren't familiar with drip acclimation, do a search for it. How did you transition them from the LFS to the tank? Did you dump the whole bag of water into the tank?

Your water may be "perfect", but the chances of it being 100% replica of the fish store's water is very slim. The fish need time to slowly adjust to the new water.

justlikeapill · 10-18-2006, 08:01 PM

Auctually I did do a drip aclimation :-) 1 drop per second and when it was full I removed half and did it agian. I learned that from when I had a reef. I've just never had fish do that before (BUT the smallest tank i've ever had was a 55 gallon until now)

It looked like they were trying to school with their reflections. They've stopped but i'd still like to know. I turned the lights off to ease their stress.

eklikewhoa · 10-18-2006, 09:55 PM

if there was no fish in it before it might have overloaded the bio-load? are there plants in there now where they could hide? how big is the tank?

i just got 10 of them for my established plant tank and to acclimate them i just added a scoop of water here and there and just netted them into the tank and they went from bag to happy in no time.

justlikeapill · 10-19-2006, 12:28 AM

Nope. no fish. It's a ten gallon and plenty of plants. I don't think it would have overloaded the bioload in 5 seconds, because that's how fast they started acting weird.

plant_addict · 10-19-2006, 02:11 AM

for me thats what new fish tend to do. they try to escape through the glass but after a while they get tired and they stop trying

justlikeapill · 10-19-2006, 02:04 PM

All is well now :-)

10-18-2006, 07:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
justlikeapill Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (13) Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Georgia Posts: 480	New fish behavior Is it normal for a fish to pace in front of the glass when it's a new fish? I just bought some neons for my plants cycled tank. 7 neons in a fully cycled tank and they paced in front of the glass for a while like they were trying to escape. Is this normal new fish behavior? Are they just exploring how big their environment is? They've stopped doing that and are huddled together. they are very skiddish right now. their mouth is opening and closing fast (auctually don't know how fast a neon breathes anyway). Are they just scared? My water is perfect. 0 amonia 0 nitrites, about 15 nitrates.

10-18-2006, 07:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
esarkipato Planted Tank Infatuated (View User Tanks) PTrader: (28) Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: W. Michigan Posts: 1,985	Not good. Not good at all, and definitely not normal. New fish always hide first....at least that's been my experience unless..... I DON'T ACCLIMATE THEM CORRECTLY! If you aren't familiar with drip acclimation, do a search for it. How did you transition them from the LFS to the tank? Did you dump the whole bag of water into the tank? Your water may be "perfect", but the chances of it being 100% replica of the fish store's water is very slim. The fish need time to slowly adjust to the new water. __________________ -Ernie 29 Gallon Tank: 110W PC Lights, Milwaukee MA957 CO2, Fluorite/Sand Substrate, Checked into E.I. Rehab MY RENA FILSTAR XP3 PIMPS ME! (#67)

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10-18-2006, 08:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
justlikeapill Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (13) Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Georgia Posts: 480	Auctually I did do a drip aclimation :-) 1 drop per second and when it was full I removed half and did it agian. I learned that from when I had a reef. I've just never had fish do that before (BUT the smallest tank i've ever had was a 55 gallon until now) It looked like they were trying to school with their reflections. They've stopped but i'd still like to know. I turned the lights off to ease their stress.

10-18-2006, 09:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
eklikewhoa Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (11) Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: houston,TX Posts: 1,324	if there was no fish in it before it might have overloaded the bio-load? are there plants in there now where they could hide? how big is the tank? i just got 10 of them for my established plant tank and to acclimate them i just added a scoop of water here and there and just netted them into the tank and they went from bag to happy in no time.

10-19-2006, 12:28 AM	#5 (permalink)
justlikeapill Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (13) Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Georgia Posts: 480	Nope. no fish. It's a ten gallon and plenty of plants. I don't think it would have overloaded the bioload in 5 seconds, because that's how fast they started acting weird.

10-19-2006, 02:11 AM	#6 (permalink)
plant_addict Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0) Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: toronto Posts: 102	for me thats what new fish tend to do. they try to escape through the glass but after a while they get tired and they stop trying

10-19-2006, 02:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
justlikeapill Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (13) Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Georgia Posts: 480	All is well now :-)

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