Kuhli acting odd

[kuhlinoob]

So my kuhli has been with me for a few months now -- the lone survivor of a HUGE ich breakout that has taken 6 fish so far (I've got a molly who made it too, but he was introduced mid-ich cycle). It's been many years since I've had fish and I'm trying to get back into it now that I've got the time and money to do so.

Today I noticed my kuhli laying on one of the suction cups, just hanging out kind of limply. He's moving, he's alive. But he's staying about an inch from the water surface and not really doing much else. The molly is swimming all over and acting normal.

I'm assuming it's a problem with aeration. Does that sound right?

The kuhli (named "waldo" because i'm always wondering where he is) has a nice cave he has been hiding in for the past 3 months, and only recently when I aggressively attacked the ich and have succesfully removed it has he been acting funny. I'm figuring that the medication I used decreased the beneficial bacteria and the nitrate levels are too high, which is why he's poking his head out of the water and hanging out near the surface.

Tomorrow i'm planning on buying an airstone or something similar and getting a test kit. Anyone have any ideas for what else I can do for the night to make him more comfortable?

[TammyLiz]

Beneficial bacteria do not affect nitrAte levels, those can only ever be removed by water changes. If they are high that's the way to get them down. If you are also getting ammonia and nitrIte readings, that would be caused by the bacteria dying off. And if that happens, water change.

Kuhlis, being scaleless, are affected more by most medications than other fish, and ich meds have to be pretty toxic. You're right it most likely is the medicine. And yes, most ich meds also decrease the amount of oxygen in the water. Are you certain the ich is completely gone? How long did you treat?

Getting a test kit is a great idea. Airstones do little for aeration because it is only the surface agitation that actually increases the oxygen content in the water. The best and cheapest way to increase oxygen is to decrease the water level in the tank, so your filter (depending on what type you have) makes a bit of a water fall as it splashes down into the tank.

Probably the best thing you can do is a water change. That fixes a lot of problems. Also, get some new carbon in your filter to remove the meds you used.

Good luck. I like your little guy's name. Very cute.

[mikev]

Kuhlis ARE sensitive to nitrite/ammonia contamination, more so than the average fish. It may be a good idea to get a test kit to see what you are dealing with (or bring a water sample to the lfs).

OTOH, kuhlis are not overly sensitive to nitrAtes, and don't need extra oxygen -- normally. However, as Tammy suggested, a water change is a good thing to do in all cases.

hth

[kuhlinoob]

well, I had Kordon Rid Ich+ and followed the instructions on it (1-2 times per day for 13 days) and that just ended about a week ago... so i'm crossing my fingers on this one. I lowered the water level a bit last night from the info i got from another website.

So here's the thing... the medication I have for the ich (read above) said to remove the filter during the medicating time. I'm assuming this is it.

I'll snag a kit after work today. I might get an airstone still, just for looks if not to give the little guys something to do Thanks!


edit: Oh yeah.. he's hanging out up top still, but about 3 inches lower.... so I guess that's better, heh

[TammyLiz]

You removed the entire filter? I wonder why it told you to do that. The only thing that needs to be removed is the carbon. Since you're done medicating now, it's OK to add carbon again, to remove the meds. Hopefully you still have some sort of nitrogen cycle going on in there, otherwise your ammonia and nitrite issues that will ensue may do your little guy in. Whatever you do, don't add any new fish until you're sure the ammonia and nitrite are 0. In the future, try to remove only the carbon and not the whole filter. I cut my cartridges open and pour the carbon out when I need to medicate.

13 days is long enough for treatment. And if you haven't seen any spots in a week the ich situation sounds good.

[kuhlinoob]

ahh yeah what I meant was that I removed the little cartridge insert. I still have the filter and biowheel going the whole time! Sorry.. like i said, all this is just coming back to me again

[TammyLiz]

A penguin biowheel? I have a few of those. I slice open the edge of the cartridge and pour out the carbon so I still get the filtration from the floss.

Do you like the filter? I find it a little annoying trying to keep the wheel spinning, and my 350 is noisy, but its nice that I can replace all the floss without losing the cycle.

[kuhlinoob]

Well, my tank is extremely quiet. i find that if I've got a clean filter that the wheel has no problems spinning. Not sure if the brand is Penguin or anything like that though.

So after a day or so down in his cave, my kuhli is back up top at the surface just laying on one of the suction cups.

Any recommendations on what I can do to make the water more habitable for him?

1. The water level is about a half inch lower than the 'recommended' level, so I have a nice waterfall effect.
2. Filter/carbon, etc is working.
3. Been over a week since I put in any medication (and no ich!!!)

What next?

[kuhlinoob]

Oh, and I just got my test kit.... turns out my ph was high (7.6) and my water was hard (over 250ppm). Could these be causing adverse effects?

[TammyLiz]

I personally don't feel that pH is worth messing with unless you'd like to get something like indian almond leaf or blackwater extract to get the hardness and pH down. Using chemicals is a bad idea, espeacially if the water is hard, because the pH will just bounce right back up and stress the fish more than just leaving it alone would have.

[mikev]

7.6 is quite high but it is not clear if this is really intolerable for kuhlis; anyway having stable Ph is better than playing with chemicals. You can lower the Ph with bogwood.

Did you check Ammonia/Nitrites? These are more important.