unusual behaviour?

[RomyD85]

my red tailed shark didn’t go to eat when i fed the tank and neither did my BGK or betta - the red tail has been acting off recently and i believe that is due to recently being in a fight but he doesn’t look too well and is sideways to the current just facing the heater. There was a moment when he moved and went towards some plants and went in them but then he went back and resumed whatever he was doing. i took some pictures as he doesn’t look too good -

 

[kno4te]

Move to another tank or separate for now. Post some water parameters. Add some salt 1tsp per gallon.

 

[Ogertron3000]

He isn't looking good.
Is this the non dominant one you mentioned in your other post? Did you get rid of the other shark?
I think the stress of the battle has taken a toll on it. The other thing to consider is you have a very new tank and the bacteria you need probably hasn't established itself yet. If you have a test kit test for ammonia and nitrate, these should be zero levels. Probably do a 30-50% water change. I'd test the water before and after just to get a comparison.
Another thing beginners tend to do is feed way to much. I wouldn't add any food for a few days ,it won't harm the fish and will give your filters time to catch up to the new levels of waste they are dealing with.

 

[RomyD85]

He isn't looking good.
Is this the non dominant one you mentioned in your other post? Did you get rid of the other shark?
I think the stress of the battle has taken a toll on it. The other thing to consider is you have a very new tank and the bacteria you need probably hasn't established itself yet. If you have a test kit test for ammonia and nitrate, these should be zero levels. Probably do a 30-50% water change. I'd test the water before and after just to get a comparison.
Another thing beginners tend to do is feed way to much. I wouldn't add any food for a few days ,it won't harm the fish and will give your filters time to catch up to the new levels of waste they are dealing with.

thank you for a lovely reply i believe this is the dominant shark, however i have come to a theory it may have not killed the other one, it may be the water, transfer to a new aquarium or something else - although i feel as it if highly likely that this fish killed the other, this fish just died too. its only been just over 24 hours and these two red tail sharks have passed and i’m very worried that my bgkfish and betta are in danger of doing the same. i’ve ordered a testing kit and it’s due to come on the 5th and i’ll do a water test straight away. i fed a little today so do you think it would be a good idea to skip feeding for a few days? and i can do a water test and change and get the cycle going and balance everything out? also is there anything else i should be purchasing? like a stress coat or anything? thanks

 

[Ogertron3000]

I'd do a water change straight away, when the test kit arrives test then do another water change then test again.
I'm pretty sure the tank hasn't cycled properly yet, don't feed them for a few days , it won't cause them any harm and definately don't get any more fish.
You probably should test every day for a while, once it's all,stabilised with zero ammonia and nitrate you can look at getting new fish etc.
I don't think the stress coat does much good personally, there are products that lock up the ammonia or add beneficial bacteria you could look at but in the long run its better to let the tank cycle and sort itself out naturally. Your guppies will most likely survive but I would be concerned the knife fish will be badly affected.
I think the shop you brought all this from should have been a bit more informative about things when you first got all the fish. It's a steep learning curve but you will gain some experience from all of this.

 

[RomyD85]

I'd do a water change straight away, when the test kit arrives test then do another water change then test again.
I'm pretty sure the tank hasn't cycled properly yet, don't feed them for a few days , it won't cause them any harm and definately don't get any more fish.
You probably should test every day for a while, once it's all,stabilised with zero ammonia and nitrate you can look at getting new fish etc.
I don't think the stress coat does much good personally, there are products that lock up the ammonia or add beneficial bacteria you could look at but in the long run its better to let the tank cycle and sort itself out naturally. Your guppies will most likely survive but I would be concerned the knife fish will be badly affected.
I think the shop you brought all this from should have been a bit more informative about things when you first got all the fish. It's a steep learning curve but you will gain some experience from all of this.

unfortunately i need to return my betta fish - i need to complain to the man in the shop that he didnt give me any warning whatsoever about whether the types of fish were compatible, and he certainly didnt mention anything about water cycling a tank and when i asked he said it was unnecessary. i’m going to return the betta before any more damage is done as i can’t isolate it, i don’t have another tank. but do you think i should return the nife fish for now and keep the guppies while i do the water change and cycling? he’s definately my favourite and i can’t lose him. he seems to be doing good recently it’ll be terrible to see him go. thanks

 

[Ogertron3000]

I don't know much about knife fish but if you don't want to risk it you should take it back, you could take a chance on keeping it and doing regular water changes and testing but it is a risk of losing him too.
Looking at the pics of the shark I was thinking it shouldn't be this skinny and messed up after only 1 day. They were most likely sick,when you got them and the stress of moving, fighting and an uncycled tank finished them off.
The best thing to do is find another shop near youand take your business there, anyone who says you don't need to cycle the tank is a fool, there are ways to speed it up with quick cycle mixtures but it isn't right to say it's unnecessay. They seem to be more interested in getting your $ than giving good advice. Selling you 2 sharks was dodgy as well, anyone with a tiny bit of experience should know it would end in a brawl.Hopefully theres more than one shop in your neighbourhood.
Good luck and keep us informed of how it all goes. Once you've done the tests maybe start a new thread and give the readings and a summary of what's happened the hardcore experts will be able to give some good advice.

 

[Ogertron3000]

If you really want to try to keep the knife fish maybe try using a product called Prime, it' helps remove/lock the ammonia. You still need to do water changes and test until you have zero ammonia but it may work.
Thinking about it I think if you take it back to the shop it will most likely end up dead anyway.

 

[RomyD85]

I don't know much about knife fish but if you don't want to risk it you should take it back, you could take a chance on keeping it and doing regular water changes and testing but it is a risk of losing him too.
Looking at the pics of the shark I was thinking it shouldn't be this skinny and messed up after only 1 day. They were most likely sick,when you got them and the stress of moving, fighting and an uncycled tank finished them off.
The best thing to do is find another shop near youand take your business there, anyone who says you don't need to cycle the tank is a fool, there are ways to speed it up with quick cycle mixtures but it isn't right to say it's unnecessay. They seem to be more interested in getting your $ than giving good advice. Selling you 2 sharks was dodgy as well, anyone with a tiny bit of experience should know it would end in a brawl.Hopefully theres more than one shop in your neighbourhood.
Good luck and keep us informed of how it all goes. Once you've done the tests maybe start a new thread and give the readings and a summary of what's happened the hardcore experts will be able to give some good advice.

will do thank you - im going back to the shop today

 

[skjl47]

unfortunately i need to return my betta fish - i need to complain to the man in the shop that he didnt give me any warning whatsoever about whether the types of fish were compatible, and he certainly didnt mention anything about water cycling a tank

Thinking about it I think if you take it back to the shop it will most likely end up dead anyway.

Hello; I think this is the third thread you have started on the same tank problem. Seems very likely the fish are suffering from ammonia poison.
While the lfs may not have given you much in the way of proper advice, the truth is this is a very common thing in fishshops.