2" clown knife laying down in its den.. normal or grim?!

[Retuks]

my gf just bought me a clown knife baby on thursday and it was the most active one in the tank at the LFS, but now its laying on its side and only moves when i poke it but only to lay down again and drift with the current!

he was active last night and the day before atleast he was wading water in place in his den while the lights were on cause i know they're nocturnal but are they sapposed to lay down? it looks to be dying, i know it hasen't eaten in the time i had it but its a carnivorous fish that should be fine if it hasn't eaten in a few days whats going on??

help ASAP!

 

[joel]

give it time and stop poking it. its probably stressed. what is the temp, any tank mates, is the tank cycled, water chemistry? more info would help if you could provide it.

 

[Red Devil]

Give it time and please stop poking it... he is shy and scared... he is in a whole new environment... put yourself in his place... you stress him with bothering him that alone could do him in... he needs peace and quiet.. dark and frozen blood worms.. he is just a little itty bitty baby...

 

[Retuks]

yea one of my plecos were trying to suck on him and he moved for that, he has little control over his swim and spirals and rocks every so often, when lying down he often does a small nose-dive and curls inward so that his body is elevated and his tail and head are on the sand. i recently did a 25%+ water change from reading his vulnerability to unkept water since i last changed it over 2 weeks ago.

the most frantic and active swimming fish i could see were the 3 3" feeder comets (now pets) that i had in their, they steal all the food so i removed them and threw them with my feeder tank. i thought maybe they could be stressing him out.

over all though, my tank is a baby community, a 2.5" tiger oscar who minds himself, a 1" (or less) jack dempsey who swims freely but doesnt bother anybody, and 4 small plecos. i plan to move 2 of them into the feeder tank since its building up algae from the hot light. and my last guy is a baby silver aro 3" (i know! i know...) also bought by my gf for me. but he does nothing to harm any of my fish either. all my others stay below him. hes going into two long-shaped 55 gals later (fused 110gal).

 

[Red Devil]

sounds like everything will be fine.. everyone just needs to chill a bit and then when they feel relaxed you will start seeing some action.. being this tiny...are he is very small puts him at a more fragile stage.. but as long as he eats .. even just a little he should grow fast and thrive... keep us posted and good luck.. i want to see them grow into monsters..

 

[Retuks]

here he currently is... i can see he is just breathing, but other than that he is is immobile and any fish could nudge him and he would start drifting off with the current to land in a new spot. he swims sometimes but only to avoid being sucked by plecos. sways side to side like a broken sailboat while swimming. lands with a nose dive...

(dont mind the oscar's damage, he has half a tail from the RD and convicts i got rid of on tuesday)

 

[comando489]

put some 3" pvc pipes in there so he can hide!

 

[Retuks]

put some 3" pvc pipes in there so he can hide!

oh i didnt take a pic of the whole tank, on the far right he has a pot that he usually hides in but has since drifted out of and landed on the other side. he seems disoriented and idno if he has the strength to swim back to it.

 

[Red Devil]

yes i see now what you mean... he does not seem right.. either very stressed or injured... is there a tank you could put him in that he could be alone.. like even a 10gal with the same water ... so he could just hang and not be bothered.. i feel bad for him now.. but don't give up hope..

 

[Retuks]

yes im very worried about him. and my 10 gal has my 2 nasty africans in there. i banished them from my main tank a long time ago and i want to get rid of them but idno how! nobody wants them!

the water in there is warm because of the incadescent lighting. would he do fine in warm water? there are also small worms on the glass that seem to be a result of this warmth. i would have to get rid of the 10 gal inhabitants today if im to have any luck.