# Piranha new tank acting sick



## mattg34 (Mar 27, 2006)

I have had my gold piranha for about 5 years the whole time he lived in a 29 gallon tank, I recently moved and purchased him a 55 gallon tank. I took 90% of the water from his 29 gallon tank to fill the 55 gallon halfway keep in mind the water from that 29 gallon tank was only a week old. Since i have moved him into his new 55 gallon tank when i walk in the room and turn on the light he is just sitting there very still barely flapping his fins which is highly unusual. He basically just floats until he bumps into something and then starts moving again this has been going on for about a week now and im not sure what is wrong or if there is something I can do to help him. He has a emperor 280 filter in there one in which i just recently changed the cartridge and i used all the same gravel from the 29 gallon tank. If anyone can give me any suggestions or ides as to why he is acting so strange i would really appreciate as I have grwn very attached to my fish and dont want anything to happen to him.
Thank you in advance!


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## RedneckR0nin (Nov 5, 2008)

What's your levels at??
I'm figuring if half the water was a week old, as well as a new cartridge on your filter with new water would lead me to believe that your tank is not even close to being cycled. The bacteria needed to be present to convert your ammonia and nitrite are not present in sufficent enough numbers yet. So while this is trying to take place your fish is stressed and in a unhealthy enviroment. If it has been a week then it should be close to being cycled now and you should check and post your water levels if you can. You can grab a bottle of Stress Zyme from your Lfs that might help the situation as well. Did you treat the water going into the tank with any type of conditioner or dechlorinator. That might be part of the problem as well.


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## mattg34 (Mar 27, 2006)

Yeah i used water conditioner for the water going in, i really dont test his water lever ever and have never had a problem just changed him every 2 weeks and hes been fine, hes the only fish in there and i feed him live fish rarely mostly beefheart and ciclid pellets, i take it i should buy a water testing kit, and sounds like some stress zyme as well?....... anything that can help i will do so thank you for the feedback!


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## RedneckR0nin (Nov 5, 2008)

Hell ya I would buy some stress zyme for sure and most defintely buy a tester kit. You can purchase a freshwater master kit from API for around 30-40 bucks and will last you at least one to two years. It contains test tubes and chemical drop bottles that can test for high/ph 7-8- low/ph 6-7-ammonia-nitrite-nitrate and is very handy to see where you are sitting and to record levels that if problems do arrise in the future for something not so easy to spot you can use those as reference to see where problems are occuring. As well I found it easier to spot your own problems when you have this information as well as self judgement on your water condition. If it has been a week again the only thing I can suggest and some may disagree is grab a couple of goldfish to throw in there as well. He probably won't eat them due to the situation and the added waste may help to kick off more of the nitrifiers needed to ensure of a bio-cycle speed started, once your levels mellow out and reduce then huck them as they are worthless after that. Another option is Seachem Prime that detoxifies eveything harmful pretty much in a new tank. But I would for sure make your next purchases the first two and things should be ok.

On a secondary note scrap the beefheart from the diet and go with Raw bulk shrimp. There is an excellent article in the information section on how to prepare and package it for pennies. It would probably be cheaper and ten times better in supplement nutrients for your fish. I feed all my fish that and they love it as well as made my redz grow like mad. Beefheart is not very good dietary wise as compared to shrimp or other white meat seafood. Just a suggestion since I'm here.


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## mattg34 (Mar 27, 2006)

awesome man thanks for the info i appreciate it, gonna get some zyme tomorrow and a test kit i like the shrimp idea i just hope he makes it through this it sucks seeing him just float there lifelessly


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## RedneckR0nin (Nov 5, 2008)

No worries Matt I'll pm you some more info to help you get started on the water Param knowledge and why you test for them as well as what to look for when irregular activity occurs within your fish. These things are a must know to graduate from intermediate owner into the expert catagory and to strengthen knowledge first hand so that you know yourself what to do when problems arrise. That's what this site is for and their have been many who have done for me along the way just paying it forward my brother.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

If this question has been answered in this thread I apologize... I'm tired and I just skimmed the posts.

My question is: 
When you say you "Changed out the water," what do you mean exactly?
How much water are you removing and replacing?


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