Question about fish in QT

[lcs]

I have a firefish that has been in QT for about 36 hours. It's a 10g with heater, small powerhead (RIO), an AC jr. with foam block seeded in my DT, and PVC fittings. Temp is 78, NH3 0, NO3 0.

I think it ate a bit yesterday and again this morning - it's a bit hard to tell as I don't have a light over the tank and the room is a bit dim - which is great, but my concern is that it is spending all it's time hovering in the back corner in a vertical position; just like my clown actually and the tanks are right next to each other. Maybe he's just copying her... Is this simply a sign of stress or some other, physical problem? I had thought that maybe the powerhead was bothering it?

I don't know if anyone has any ideas, but I thought I'd throw the question out there.

 

[sugardaddy1979]

Any hiding places in there? Mine likes to sleep in a cave at night and spends the day hovering in the flow of the power head.

 

[Marine fish man]

Don't QT because as soon as the levels go up then the fish will lose its appetite and stop eating I lost several pricy fish that way

 

[Hal]

Any hiding places in there? Mine likes to sleep in a cave at night and spends the day hovering in the flow of the power head.

+1 You'll find that the more hiding places you provide, or things that break up sightlines within the tank, the more likely it is that your fish will swim around.

I have several plastic plants and ornaments (e.g., fake logs) in my QT. I found that my fish survival rate made a dramatic improvement when I added these things (over a few pieces of PVC pipe that had been in my QT before). Like people, low stress helps the immune system.

 

[sugardaddy1979]

Don't QT because as soon as the levels go up then the fish will lose its appetite and stop eating I lost several pricy fish that way

Wait... What? You don't qt because water quality is poor in the qt and the fish lose their appetite? Shouldn't be an issue in a cycled qt.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

It probably is just getting used to the QT. Give the fish some time to settle in (like a week or two, as those fish can be shy at first). You have some pvc pieces, so it can hide if it wants. Just keep feeding sparingly and watch your ammonia levels (manage with water changes if necessary). You do have a cover on the QT, right?

 

[lcs]

It probably is just getting used to the QT. Give the fish some time to settle in (like a week or two, as those fish can be shy at first). You have some pvc pieces, so it can hide if it wants. Just keep feeding sparingly and watch your ammonia levels (manage with water changes if necessary). You do have a cover on the QT, right?

Yes, definitely! Thanks for the thoughts everyone! I may add a rock or two and maybe a decoration.