The two remaining geos are still alive and still breathing hard and still not swimming very energetically. I'm not sure if they're OK or if I should still be concerned at this point.
Emergency help for geophagus please!
- Thread starter breakspirit
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What is the pH of your water (give me a number), and what is the pH of the water they came from? If you didn't measure this, send the seller an email asking them.
what is the temp at because if the fish has experienced any hard temp changes it can go into shock.
Just tested the pH and it is actually basic. Its pH is 8.0. The temperature right now is 75.7 degrees. I emailed Jeff Rapps to ask what pH and temp he kept them at and am awaiting a response.
dude your temp is way to low i think it should be around 81 degrees at least. My temp right now is about 82-84 and they are very healthy. Try raising the temp up at least 6 more degrees. that will help eliminate some of the problems you are having
I'm gonna guess pH and/or temp shock. Most fish don't handle temp drops well, especially if they are already stressed. I think the acclimation could have been better too (no offense). Twenty minutes isn't very long if the parameters weren't pretty close to begin with. I'd have gone at least another 20 minutes and continued adding tankwater every 5 minutes.
Also, I'd do away with the dip stick tests and get the liquid kind. I don't trust dip tests at all and I've seen 3 strips give very different readings from the same sample.
All in all, I think they are in some sort of shock. Whenever I've suspected that I keep the tank dim until they start looking better (dim not dark). Otherwise I really don't know what to do for them. I used a hefty dose of NovAqua+ a few times but that was more due to their injuries than shock. They recovered so, IDK just another idea.
Also, I'd do away with the dip stick tests and get the liquid kind. I don't trust dip tests at all and I've seen 3 strips give very different readings from the same sample.
All in all, I think they are in some sort of shock. Whenever I've suspected that I keep the tank dim until they start looking better (dim not dark). Otherwise I really don't know what to do for them. I used a hefty dose of NovAqua+ a few times but that was more due to their injuries than shock. They recovered so, IDK just another idea.
Geos don't fair well in such high ph. I'm guessing ph shock as well. 20 minutes isn't enough time for acclimation, and just adding half and half isn't a very good ay of acclimating. Try drip acclimating your fish next time(start a siphon with an air tube, and tie a loose knot in it, to the point where the water is dripping slowly into the bucket with the fish and bag water). 45 minutes to an hour is a good period of time.
Thanks for the help guys. The other two are looking a lot better right now. They're swimming normally and one of them has been sifting the sand.
I'm convinced my heater is a piece of garbage. It's a marineland 400 watt and it is set(and has always been set) to 82 degrees, but it won't get anywhere near that. I've ordered an Eheim Jager and in the future will do a longer and more gradual acclimation procedure.
It's unfortunate that I had to learn this lesson at the expense of a 75 dollar fish and almost at the expense of two 50 dollar fish, but that's just part of the hobby I guess.
Thanks again guys. I'll post again if anything changes.
I'm convinced my heater is a piece of garbage. It's a marineland 400 watt and it is set(and has always been set) to 82 degrees, but it won't get anywhere near that. I've ordered an Eheim Jager and in the future will do a longer and more gradual acclimation procedure.
It's unfortunate that I had to learn this lesson at the expense of a 75 dollar fish and almost at the expense of two 50 dollar fish, but that's just part of the hobby I guess.
Thanks again guys. I'll post again if anything changes.
