Damselfish Question

[wraithy]

I have 3 blue damselfish that I was using to cycle a new 30G setup. They seem to have been alright the last 2 months but one of them has turned a dark shade of blue and was laying on the bottom. I can't see any parasites or any other reason for his maldy. When I took him out to put him in the Quarantine Tank, he turned bright blue again but went back to dark blue after a few minutes. It seems when I chase him with the net, his color returns.
Any ideas???
Thanks.

 

[jennyl]

Your poor damsels have been living in a cesspool of poison.
It is terribly cruel and unneccessary to ever cycle a tank with live fish.
You can use either pure ammonia or a cocktail shrimp or something similar to cycle a new tank.

 

[jumpfrog]

1st, welcome to the board.
Your fish could be reacting to stress. Many fish will change colors to match their disposition.
As JennyL said, cycling with fish often isn't the best choice but it seems your tank is a couple months old now so I'm sure your cycle is long since passed.
I'd keep him in QT for awhile a keep an eye on him. Feed food soaked in garlic or zoe and see if he get's better. Damsels are pretty tough so if any fish will come back to normal it will be him.
Good Luck and if you notice some ailment you can describe try posting in the disease forum. Some true experts in there to help.

 

[wraithy]

Jenny, I didnt add the fish until after my ammonia spiked, which was almost 2 months ago. I didnt know that the Nitrates ans Nitrites would spike as well after the amonnia but all my fish came through ok.
Thank you for your advise, jumpfrog. I have been reading all sorts of posts and surely wish I had found this board before I actually started my saltwater endeavours. Lots of good info...I surely would have done things very different had I started here instead of my LFS.