Concerned about my tank

[burnsie2005]

I have a 42 gal bowfront that has been up and running since thanksgiving. I have a cascade canister filter with a spray bar. I have no protein skimmer. I cycled the tank with damsels. Over the past 2 weeks, I've removed all the fake aquascaping and replaced it with 42.5lbs of LR purchased from my LFS. I added the final 26lbs of the LR yesterday afternoon. I also purchased 5 scarlet hermit crabs and a CA 800 powerhead. I ran the powerhead for a while last night, but it made a lot of noise, so I took it out and plan to return it. I have 4 damsels in the tank now, and I just tested the water and the ph is 8 and amm is 0. Unfortunately I ran out of my nitrate and nitrite tests, they are currently in the mail. My concern is that my most active and aggressive damsel is not moving around. He is hovering in the same spot and seems lethargic. I see one large white spot near the top of his head, and it looks like the top of his body has little red dots on it. I see a lot of posts about HLLE, but I can't seem to find out what actually causes it. Does that sound like what my problem is? I'm not able to get a clear picture of him with my camera. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[cannonman]

Was the LR you added yesterday, or the stuff you added a couple of weeks ago cured? I see all kinds of potential problems here. What kind of substrate do you have? What kind of test kits are you using? What's your salinity? and IMO you really need to consider a protien skimmer.

 

[amadent]

burnsie 2005 , do a search on this site . Hit search and then hit advanced and then type in HLLE. There are a number of articles on it. Diet and enviroment and water temp. If not enough, they suggest other threads to read. Hopes this helps.

 

[burnsie2005]

All the LR I added was fully cured. I have LS substrate. My salinity is 1.023. Also my water temp is 76. I have a pretty cheap tetratest test kit, hence the reason I have salifert test kits on the way. I also just fed the fish, and the one I'm concerned with had no interest whatsoever in the food. Thanks for the quick reply cannonman and the info amadent.

 

[cannonman]

Do you have a QT tank set up?

 

[burnsie2005]

No, I don't have a QT. Does it sound like he has something other than HLLE? Or are the red spots some type of infection? Is there anything I can do without a QT?

 

[sepulatian]

At the top of this forum is a link called "diseased fish" there are pictures there of all different types of diseases including HLLE. Take a look and see if any of them match what your damsel has.

 

[burnsie2005]

well, i went to another lfs and spoke with a true fish guy. I had them test my water and the one test that I didn't have my supplies for is the one I needed the most. My nitrates were at 1.25. I was telling him my story of the LR I purchased yesterday and he said that there was no way that the rock was fully cured. So now, I'm feeling really ignorant, and I guess I don't completely understand the difference between LR and fully cured LR. The good news is that I did a 25% water change on my tank and the sick guy is doing much better. He's moring around and chasing the other fish like he was before the addition of the LR. I also purchased a different powerhead (the ODYSSEA EX 250), this one is completely silent and has an additional filtration on it. I also purchased an ammonia remover filter pad and have it in the tank now. I really appreciate everyone's help this morning. I just wanted to update you all on what's happening.

 

[sepulatian]

Do you mean your ammonia was 1.25? Have you removed the rock to be sure that there isn't any more dieoff in the tank?

 

[burnsie2005]

no, my nitrate was at 1.25. my ammonia was still at 0. and my ph is still at 8. I haven't removed the rock from the tank. I'm going to try to do a 10% water change every 3 days, and closely monitor my levels.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by burnsie2005
no, my nitrate was at 1.25. my ammonia was still at 0. and my ph is still at 8. I haven't removed the rock from the tank. I'm going to try to do a 10% water change every 3 days, and closely monitor my levels.
That does not make sense to me. What kind of test kit was it? The first reading of nitrate is usually 0 then 5ppm. What does the nitrate have to do with the rocks if you just added them?

 

[burnsie2005]

Sorry, I meant my nitrites not nitrates. I'm pretty sure I'm cycling again.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by burnsie2005
Sorry, I meant my nitrites not nitrates. I'm pretty sure I'm cycling again.
Yes, sounds like it. Probably just a minicycle from the addition of the LR. There may have been a very small amount of die off on it. Do a water change to try and get those nitrites down. They are toxic at 1.25

 

[burnsie2005]

Thanks for all your help sepulatian. I really appreciate it! Hopefully my test kit arrives soon, so I can closely monitor all my levels.

 

[beth]

You might go to the LFS and get a nitrite kit. Ammonia and nitrite is the major concerns in for cycling.
What you describe does not sound like HLLE, but there is info about HLLE in the FAQ Thread at the top of this forum.
It does sound like harassment, or maybe even an injury due to the addition of the rock.