HELLO everyone! This is my first post, and i'm genuinely curious to hear what you guys have to say about my issue.
So currently I have a 10G FOWLR tank on my desk at work, stocked with a royal gramma (Krang), 3 Stripe Damsel (Ruckus), a Ocellaris clown (Juice) and a 6 line wrasse (Cream Corn). Krang has been in there for a month, everyone else has been in there for 2ish weeks. Before you rag on me for having 4 fish in a 10G tank, bear in mind that everyone gets along (except Krang, who gets a little territorial), and if **** should hit the fan or if anyone starts to get a little too big for the tank (they're all around an 1 inch big right now), I have a 280G waiting for them.
Now back to the issue. Cream Corn the 6 line is by far my favourite fish. When I first introduced him to the tank, I was actually surprised to see him eat both pellets and frozen mysis immediately. But over the past few days, I've not seen him eat anything that I put in the tank. Mind you, my tank has very little algae and I'm currently running copper (it's a FOWLR so I honestly don't mind putting copper in the DT) and I have an ceramic rock aquascape rock instead of LR, so I doubt that there are any hitchhikers like flatworms or bristleworms. He's acting perfectly normal, zooming around and coming up to the glass and I can see zero signs of parasites on anyone. In fact, he's looking around and picking at stuff on the rock sculpture.
The thing is, if he hasn't eaten anything at all since I got him, I'd understand that I have a sick/picky fish. However, I've seen him eat both the mysis and the pellets before, but now he's stopped and is scoping out stuff on the rock sculpture and gnawing at it. Everyone else tears up all the food I throw in the tank. I've tried frozen mysis, brine shrimp and pellets. He's not fat, but he's definitely not starving either. All of them are super active. I'm just not sure what he's eating, and I want to make sure that he doesn't starve. At this point, I'm almost tempted to buy live tigger pods just to make sure that he's ok and I get some peace of mind. Is this normal? Do 6 line wrasses pick at diatom algae? Because I've definitely noticed that my diatom bloom has all but disappeared in my tank since he's been in here, and the only remaining bits that I can see are the ones that are in the direct path of my fan where none of the fish can reach. That's my only reasoning right now. Let me know if i'm doing anything wrong or if you have suggestions for irresistible 6 line food. I've included my parameters below juuuust in case.
pH: 7.7 (stabilized at this level for 3 weeks. not going to raise this until I've finished running copper because I don't want to risk complications)
dKH: 8
Alkalinity: 2.85
Nitrates: 5
Phosphates: 0
10% water changes every 5-7 days.
I'd also appreciate any suggestions on how to naturally raise my pH without using chemicals. I have plenty of surface movement, and if an airstone'll help, I'm open to getting one.
Also, I'm not too sure if links are allowed, but if you'd like to see how much of a charismatic guy Cream Corn is, here's a quick video of the tank: https://www.instagram.com/p/BekCX09giBV/
So currently I have a 10G FOWLR tank on my desk at work, stocked with a royal gramma (Krang), 3 Stripe Damsel (Ruckus), a Ocellaris clown (Juice) and a 6 line wrasse (Cream Corn). Krang has been in there for a month, everyone else has been in there for 2ish weeks. Before you rag on me for having 4 fish in a 10G tank, bear in mind that everyone gets along (except Krang, who gets a little territorial), and if **** should hit the fan or if anyone starts to get a little too big for the tank (they're all around an 1 inch big right now), I have a 280G waiting for them.
Now back to the issue. Cream Corn the 6 line is by far my favourite fish. When I first introduced him to the tank, I was actually surprised to see him eat both pellets and frozen mysis immediately. But over the past few days, I've not seen him eat anything that I put in the tank. Mind you, my tank has very little algae and I'm currently running copper (it's a FOWLR so I honestly don't mind putting copper in the DT) and I have an ceramic rock aquascape rock instead of LR, so I doubt that there are any hitchhikers like flatworms or bristleworms. He's acting perfectly normal, zooming around and coming up to the glass and I can see zero signs of parasites on anyone. In fact, he's looking around and picking at stuff on the rock sculpture.
The thing is, if he hasn't eaten anything at all since I got him, I'd understand that I have a sick/picky fish. However, I've seen him eat both the mysis and the pellets before, but now he's stopped and is scoping out stuff on the rock sculpture and gnawing at it. Everyone else tears up all the food I throw in the tank. I've tried frozen mysis, brine shrimp and pellets. He's not fat, but he's definitely not starving either. All of them are super active. I'm just not sure what he's eating, and I want to make sure that he doesn't starve. At this point, I'm almost tempted to buy live tigger pods just to make sure that he's ok and I get some peace of mind. Is this normal? Do 6 line wrasses pick at diatom algae? Because I've definitely noticed that my diatom bloom has all but disappeared in my tank since he's been in here, and the only remaining bits that I can see are the ones that are in the direct path of my fan where none of the fish can reach. That's my only reasoning right now. Let me know if i'm doing anything wrong or if you have suggestions for irresistible 6 line food. I've included my parameters below juuuust in case.
pH: 7.7 (stabilized at this level for 3 weeks. not going to raise this until I've finished running copper because I don't want to risk complications)
dKH: 8
Alkalinity: 2.85
Nitrates: 5
Phosphates: 0
10% water changes every 5-7 days.
I'd also appreciate any suggestions on how to naturally raise my pH without using chemicals. I have plenty of surface movement, and if an airstone'll help, I'm open to getting one.
Also, I'm not too sure if links are allowed, but if you'd like to see how much of a charismatic guy Cream Corn is, here's a quick video of the tank: https://www.instagram.com/p/BekCX09giBV/
