archer fish problem

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vileprogeny

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 22, 2008
12
0
0
Florida
i bought an archer fish about an inch and a half long about three weeks ago. just today i came home and found that it is very discolored and its eyes are bulging out a little with a sort of whitish skin looking stuff coming off of them. i don't know whats wrong but it is a new tank, just cleaned it out, water ph and temperature are suited for all my fish, and there is a healthy balance of chemicals in the tank. Also, the tank is about 68 gallons and there is provided swimming room for the fish.
 
well no i didnt cycle the tank i never thought about it im still kind of an amatuer aquarist. But any info really helps and if it is because i didnt cycle the tank is there anything else i can do to fix the problem? ill try to get a pic and post it
 
Judging by the presence of a swordplant, I'd say you don't have enough salt in there for him to thrive. They don't need a ton as juveniles, but they certainly need some! Try upping the amount of salt over the course of a few days if you can with the other fish in there. If you can, move him to a separate tank, because adding too much salt will kill the plants.
Maybe the lack of salt isn't a direct cause of his problem, but it certainly stresses him out a little bit to the point that he is more susceptible to infection and other problems..
 
I've been reading up on them in the past few days because I've considered getting one recently. I've read that they don't do very well in un-cycled tanks and require brackish water so yeah add some salt and see what happens.
 
thanks i added some salt like you guys recommended and it seems to be getting better. if my sword plant dies its allright cause thats really easy to replace for 5 dollars or so. ill have to keep checking up on him over the next week or so. thanks a lot.
 
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