Urgent Fish Help

[missllama]

I have a big tropical tank
One of my green scats today was being picked on by one of the med clown loaches, then just before he was being picked on by one of the big gold cleaning fish i dont know what type
Just after one of the angels was doing it too
He isnt eating hes just wanting to hide
Him and the other green scat usually keep every other fish inline in the tank, nothing ever gets hurt or eaten they have all been together for over a year no problems, now all hes trying to do is hide and hes really getting picked on by each different fish

I have no way to seperate him since i have no other tank here and im scared by the morning he will be dead

i need suggestions asap! otherwise he will be dead by the morning

( he doesnt look like he is dying or anything atm )

 

[driftoz]

maybe get a plastic bag fill with tank water to keep him seperate ( second thoughts dont know how good it would be for long term). sorry cant think of anythign else bit drunk. pet stock at parafield r really good with fish info, my bros spent about $500 there lately on new fish and stuff. if i knew u better i would say come around we have a spare small tank u could put him in lol

 

[missllama]

iv just filled a big tub with water from the tank he was in and put a plant and some food in there but i dont have a spare heater, i dont know if it will be ok for a night without the heat but i couldnt leave him in there being attacked, any ideas what could have caused all the fish to start attacking it out of no where?

 

[missllama]

thanks driftoz ill try them tomorrow and drop into seaview as well

 

[Kristy_07]

If they have been together for that long with no problems, it could mean he has an underlying illness making him weaker anyway, and that's why they're picking on him. If worried about heating, sit the tub on top of a heat mat or reptile light or something to warm it a little. Put him in a bag with tank water and some air, and float the bag in the tank sitting close to a plant or corner so he feels protected. It's only a bandaid fix until you work out if there's another problem, though.

 

[driftoz]

if u keep him in the tub maybe replace the water with warm tank water every so often ? or maybe spare heat mat or cord if u may have one laying around. for them attacking him all i can think of is he may either be getting old ( you said you had no probs for a year so i guess hes older than a year) or sick and the other fish can sence it and start to attack it, i usually see fish attacking other half dead or sick fish.

edit too drunk and typed too slow and kristy beat me to it. but hope he makes a recovery.

 

[Noxious]

I wouldn't advise doing what you have done, or what has been advised to you thus far by others in this thread.

Fish create hierarchies amongst themselves in aquariums, due to the nature of being confined. As I'm sure you are aware of just by observing your fish over time. Less dominant fish as they grow challenge more dominant fish from time to time. As all your fish are attacking the scat it appears that this would not be the case. I would probably think that their is something wrong with your fish that you have not yet detected. You haven't given us much info at all. Are his eyes cloudy? any signs of physical trauma to the fishes body or fins? white spots on the fish? bloating of the stomach? loss of weight? scratching or flicking?

Putting the fish in a tub without aeration or heating is not a wise move. Dissolved oxygen levels will kill your fish far quicker than the cold will. By moving it you have also placed even more stress on the animal. You said you also put food in the tub, this is also not a good move as it will pollute the water even faster, as I doubt your fish will eat at this stage.

I would try placing a divider in your tank if you can. If you don't have something that you can divide your tank with which still allows water flow through it then an aquarium net will suffice. Place a small rock or gravel in the bottom to pull the netting down to give the fish a bit of extra space.

Sometimes these things happen with fish keeping. I would more than likely think that their is some sort of underlying issue with your fish. Some people will also try claim that scats are strictly brackish water fish, especially as they start to mature. I personally haven't found this to be the case, as I keep a small group of adult fish in pure freshwater with fantastic results.

I think that separating the fish into a tub with food, no filtration and no heating will most certainly do more harm than good. Put the fish back in the tank and make the tank pitch black and check back in the morning.

Have you tested your water? ammonia, nitrate, nitrites, temp, pH. . .

 

[Chris1]

can u hook a large sieve of colander up near teh top of ur tank somehow for him?

so hes seperate but still has the benefits of the heating/aeration?

 

[missllama]

hey everyone sorry was in a hurry last night and couldnt get back on,
He ended up dying today, he must not have been well, he looked ok but he was just sitting low on the tank not moving around much like he usually does

None of the other fish seem to be sick or acting differently, guess its just one of those things

Never had any problems in the year and a half i have had the tropical set up, Bit sad that it died there were two in the tank that always stuck together so im hoping it doesnt effect the other one at all

(oh and when he went into the tub it wasnt small it was about a ft and a half long and a foot deep the water was about 30cm high and i put the spare small heater and mini filter into it with a plant from his normal tank and the water from his normal tank so he didnt go into shock etc)

 

[reptilefan95]

Have you tested your water? You need to test your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph and kH, as this might help you get on the right track for making sure none of your other fish die...