Just added my ink fin calvus to the tank. He immediately went to the bottom and tried to wedge himself into a tiny space. To the point where his head was buried and his entire body was sticking out. What gives? I checked PH and the LfS had a ph of around 7-8, mine is around 8-9 because I assumed that he would've been kept in hard water. I touched his tail and he didn't move. I added some neutral PH to the table and that made him a bit more lively but he still keeps doing to caves and wedging himself in awkward spots he doesn't fit in. Why is this happening.
The difference between 7.8 and 8.9 is significant. I have seen calvus shocked by pH before, they were better after 12 hours. I would not keep changing it however.
What are the test results for the other parameters?
Everything else is fine, I added ammonia guard, melafix, pimafix, salt and the neutral ph buffer (less than recommended dose). Hes still a bit lethargic but as for nitrites and nitrates Everything is 0 according to strips, and if there was any ammonia it should be neutralized by the guard. He seems to have perked up slightly but I'm not sure what else to do besides wait it out.
I would just leave him be as you have already added a lot of things. Maybe run carbon to remove some of the medications. He seems to be doing better. Watch for other symptoms that would indicate another problem other than the pH but do not medicate until you have a symptom and a diagnosis.
Altolamprologus literally wedge themselves into tiny cracks as protection, to eat in the wild, and for breeding purposes... probably just shock of a new tank.. give it some time, they'll come out.
Okay so update: calvus seems to have darkened up so I assume that means he's less stressed. He's still hiding and I rarely see him. I actually caught him hiding in a ceramic cave (he held on for dear life even out of the water. I had to shake him out above water, wasn't sure if he was stuck or not.) He went back to hiding. Is being super timid and hiding a common personality of these fish? How do I coax him to be more curioua
These questions are important. What is the size of the tank in dimensions. The more you go into the tank, and chase him, the longer it will be for him to come out. Is the fish wild, or tank raised?
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