few questions

[shane s.]

1)I have a paddlefin wrasse that keeps hanging around the top of the tank(nose up)like he wants to try to gulp air.He started doing this 2 days ago.Have had him for about 2 months,and he always acted fine before this.He eats about anything(brine shrimp,flakes,rosies)without any problem,but now he doesn't even flinch at any food.He was very active before,but now just hangs there facing upward,fins paddling the whole time.Shows no signs of disease at all-still has excellent coloration.Just curious because we were thinking of transferring to a new tank,but don't want to if he's sick.He is about 5 in. long in a tank (55 gal)with 2 damsels,a clownfish,and a volitan,which they never seem to fight at all.Just got a high nitrate reading,so I changed 15 gal. of water,and put a nitrate reducer in,but it didn't seem to do any different for him-he still acts the same-it just seems weird that he started doing this out of the blue.help? 2)I have in another tank a spiny box puffer that NEVER quits swimming around circling the tank.I'm afraid he is gonna stress out,and develop some kind of disease.I can only get him to eat krill,and he doesn't care for the cheep stuff,either.I've tried brine shrimp,which he attacks and spits out right away,and ghost shrimp that he won't even look at twice.Was looking for another type of food for him,and/or some kind of vitamin supplement for a better diet.He tends to eat pretty good(not a lot),but sometimes he won't eat for days,like he's tired of ther same ol thing. 3)I have a volitan lionfish about 7 in. long that I feed almost exclusively rosies.I had heard not to feed them goldfish-something about digestion-and have never fed him a one,but are rosies that bad for them?I've had him for over 6 months,and he is a beatiful fish.He will approach a silver side and look at it,but won't eat one.Was the same with krill,until the other night he finally ate a piece without spitting it.It seems he only wants to chase after a "moving" target,and I have seen more than once that they prefer live fish.Looking for some opinions from people who know more about saltwater than me!

 

[surfnturf]

Hard to say about the paddlefin, sounds like maybe a gill infection of some sort, are his respirations faster than normal? Another food that you may want to try is Mysis shrimp, they are highly nutritious and fish usually take them pretty well. Sorry I can't help you with the paddlefin, I would post this in the disease forum on this site, there are some extremely knowledgeable people there.

 

[itchy]

when trying to feed silversides do you use a feeder stick and shake it in front of him as if they were alive? How long has it been since he ate anything? If your nitrates are high that will cause strange behavior in your fish. You said you did a water change how many days ago? I would try to do one every other day in small amounts to try to get them down. Like 10% water changes at a time. Cut back on your feeding and try to find out way this spike in trates all of a sudden. Have you changed any equipment lately that would have thrown you into a cycle? Another thing you could try is go to the grocery store and buy some fresh seafood . Try shrimp with the shell still on it. I am not familiar with wrasse as I have never had any but just sharing some info that has worked for me in the past. You could wait and see what else is posted here that may help. Have you tested Ph and Phosphates? If not try. Take a sample to your Lfs and have them test everything and see if your results are close. Start here and see where it goes. Good Luck