Crazy fish behavior

[miatabernie]

Hi Y'all,
First, thanks to all for all the great info on the board. Simple searches have helped me not only keep from screwing up what I have done already, but have also helped me plan for the future with a little more confidence.
Now on to the questions... I've had my false perc in the tank for about 2 weeks now, and the little feller still hasn't seemed to found anywhere to call his own... He just hangs out near the water surface and rides the currents... I've read of other folks that had fish that preferred the tops of powerheads or some other odd place, but should I be worried that EVERYTIME I look in the tank he is swimming away, even at 3am?
Second odd fishy behavior, my royal gramma seems to have a deathwish. He keeps getting himself stuck anywhere that is possible to squeeze into. I have had to almost deconstruct the tank on two occasions now. Is this normal behavior? Or is he just curious and then can't get out?
Thanks to all,
Frank

 

[leigh]

What are your water parameters like? And what sort of setup do you have?
-leigh

 

[rickster]

Your SINGLE false perc can be fixed with a similar friend.
Your Royal Gramma should be checked for disease (ick).
R

 

[leigh]

Originally posted by Rickster
Your SINGLE false perc can be fixed with a similar friend.


Not necessarily true. If your false perc is a mature female and you add another mature female they'll fight. If it's male and you add a male they'll fight until one becomes the dominant female. 2 percs added separately is a delicate process.
The fact that both fish are acting odd could have to do with water quality. Please post your latest test results when you have them. There may also be something scaring the two fish. Ever heard clicking in your tank? (ie like a mantis in your live rock? i had some gobies acting really weird until i caught a mantis). It could also be disease as rick mentioned...but if it were ick you'd see spots--that and their behavior doesn't sound *that* odd to me yet. Frankly they may just still be acclimating. You'd run away too, even at 3 am, if you saw a gigantic head staring at you through the windows.

 

[legion]

My gramma only took 1 day to acclimate, but I believe they do have odd behavior. I read they do hide quite often. Also read they do maqny other strange things. Mine hides in the smallest cracks(don't know about almost getting stuck, he always gets back out). Also stands his ground against my silver tail(blue) damsel, mouth open and fins raised.

 

[miatabernie]

Lemme see if I can cover all the bases here...
false perc is an itty bitty little feller, about an inch in length, tank raised (according to the LFS)... eating well, and doesn't seem to be running away when I peer in on him...
royal gramma doesn't seem to be showing any signs of ick (judging this based on FW ick experience) and was eating fine and sociable up till last night's "rock and a hard place" situation. Hasn't eaten anything today and seems to be more or less just laying around on the substrate.
tank setup is rather simple and probably not going to gain me any friends, but here goes...
26 gal bow, cc substrate (i know, should have used LS), 8.5 lbs live rock pre-cured at LFS (i cheaped out, i know i need much more), some lava rocks, millinium 2000 wet/dry filter, small powerhead on opposite side, and a titanium heater... cycled the tank with turbo start, then added the LR, then a week or so later when the numbers seemed to drop I added the perc, the royal gramma, and a pajama cardinal... a week later all seemed normal, so i added a red leg hermit, and two cleaner shrimp...
As far as water perameters, I thought everything was going well and fine, till my test earlier this morning:
SG 1.022, 78 degrees, ph 8.2, ammonia .50, nitrite .25, nitrate 10
btw this is the worse my numbers have ever looked... think this is the clue to the odd behavior or the gramma?
Thanks for all the help...
Frank

 

[leigh]

yes, those ammonia and nitrite levels are nearly lethal. i think your tank is still cycling and that is probably why your fish are acting odd. Do you have any friends who could maybe take in your fish for a couple weeks while your tank finishes cycling? Or perhaps the lfs that you bought them from would hold them for you?

 

[rickster]

I agree that the tank is not properly "cycled"...damn the nitrogen cycle.
R

 

[leigh]

Thinking about this more it may also be crashing in combo with not being properly cycled--you'd be better off--particularly with your smaller tank and smaller quantity of live rock--adding the fish one at a time. You can make a really nice 26 gal tank, so don't get down on yourself now...just see if you can get someone to take care of the fish for a few weeks--if not do some water changes--and take it slow from here--in that size tank try not to add fish faster than one at a time with each addition spread over a few weeks to give the system and nitrifying bacteria time to catch up.