HELP ASAP!! Panting Grouper.. added 15 minutes ago

sexyfishers

sexyfishers

Member
Help! I just returned from the lfs (great reputation)...
purchased clown grouper, rock beauty angel, and lion
the drive home was 45 minutes or so,
floated bags and all looked well, within 10 minutes returned to the room and grouper was panting in the bag. I deceided it was better to take him out a little early and put him into the tank. (He is still breathing, so he is alive :) ), but he sank to the bottom an laid on his side as if he were dead/dying.
After about 2 minutes I scooped him back into the net and placed him still inside the net next to the airflow at the top of the tank, and closed the lid onto the handle of the net so it would 'hang' there. IS HE GOING TO BE OKAY SOON?
The rest of the fish are happy and swimming around, although, the lion wouldnt eat from stick, I am confidant that he will soon.
HELP ASAP
 
sexyfishers

sexyfishers

Member
bump...
he is still in the net and hasnt swimmed out. He is breathing normally, or at least looks normal to me I guess. He is opening and closing his mouth, but is NOT coming out of the net nor does he look llike he is about to.
Need answers.. come on people
 
sexyfishers

sexyfishers

Member
update...
he just swam out of the net, swam a few inches around and is now back on the bottom and swims around a little.. hopefully will be alright.
however, my red fire shrimp is now laying on his side, and still alive ...
they just look weird to me. IS THIS NORMAL?
 
sharkboy13

sharkboy13

Active Member
keep an eye on the grouper, he may be stressed. the shrimp i would just assume is playing dead to escape the grouper
 
sexyfishers

sexyfishers

Member
grouper seems to be doin a little better. He is going from one side of the tank to the other and breathing what seems to be okay now. opening/closing his mouth. He is a leaflip, the store said clown, owell.. probably the same thing.
AS FOR THE SHRIMP, you are right... I scooped him up and put him under a rock and now he seems to be alive again. Never knew he would play dead.
 
skipperdz

skipperdz

Active Member
after reading your initial post i dont see you stating anything about acclimating them. dont know if you did or did not do this. if you didnt well then theres your problem more than likely if you did...check your water parameters
 
wanabebell

wanabebell

Member
another problem i see here is adding three fish at a time
next time only put one in a week
it helps with stress and is easier on your tank
 
madwabbit

madwabbit

Member
I think belle hit it on the head - you added three fish in the same day? You stressed them out to the max, calm down. If you didnt acclimate them, then you are asking (if not begging) for them to all die, fairly soon. Do some research next time ...I wouldnt add a lion with a grouper within at minimum two weeks or so within each other. LFS are all great, but if it'll get the the sale, they always recommend it...just something to keep in mind. I had one tell me a few years ago, while trying to sell me a Volitan (8 inches or so) that he would be fine with my damsels and 3inch humu trigger. Two days later I only had one fish in the tank...the Lion.
All things we learn when we jump feet first into the hobby prior to research. Ah well, hope things turn out okay for you.
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
The lack of an acclimation, as well as adding three fish at once, probably stressed the fish out greatly. It also sounds like the grouper had ammonia in the bag.
Have you tested your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH? If so, post what they are.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Certainly, in time either this grouper or lion will eat the shrimp.
This "grouper" is a soapfish, and can secrete a slime that will kill tankmates, so you should be aware of this. It may not be common, but it is certainly a possibility.
Does your LFS bag their fish with Oxygen?
 
watson3

watson3

Active Member
IF you would read back before judging, this person said that the grouper was freaking out in the bag while floating..Granted, alot of things went wrong after this, but the original problem was in the bag..
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
I agree, it really has nothing to do with adding several fish at once. That may present problems in the future, but it was not the problem in the bag for sure.
I am wondering...if stressed enough an in a shipping bag, I believe the toxin could basically start effecting the soapfish itself :thinking:
 
chilwil84

chilwil84

Active Member
sounds like amonia or self inficted poisoning
what my lfs does with soap fish is bag them up and let them sit for 10-15 minutes and then puts them in a new bag of water with the thought that the fish will be more used to being in the bag and less likely to secrete anymore of the toxins and even a 3" fish is bagged with a couple gallons of water for safety.
 
sexyfishers

sexyfishers

Member
Originally Posted by watson3
IF you would read back before judging, this person said that the grouper was freaking out in the bag while floating..Granted, alot of things went wrong after this, but the original problem was in the bag..

yes, all of the fish were acclimatedyes, the groupers problem started in the bag, we were on a 45-50 min drive home and it wasn't too cold outside but around 78 degrees. The LFS said it's a 50/50 on the shrimp living, I just wanted to try. The shrimp acclimated for 5 mins and went in to find his bearings and get his home picked out. I put him in and then went to shower. LFS (35 yrs exp, so I totally trust this guy and a very close friend of mine) said acclimate for about 20 mins while shrimp is doing his thing. After 10 minute shower I returned to tank. This is when I noticed Grouper was gasping and "panting" as I called it. His water was a little cloudy in the bag. My LFS had just checked my water parimetes and everythng was near perfect but a little high in salinity. Honestly, I trust him with the #s, like I said, good friend of mine and he has always tested all my water in the past. I deceided to release him a few minutes early after testing bag/water temp (felt about the same) and that is when what I described above to happen.
..... read on.....
"I agree, it really has nothing to do with adding several fish at once. That may present problems in the future, but it was not the problem in the bag for sure.
I am wondering...if stressed enough an in a shipping bag, I believe the toxin could basically start effecting the soapfish itself "
I agree with you. It happened on the way home *shipping* and in the bag. Yes, it could have been his own toxins making even him sick.
GOOD NEWS THOUGH....
Last night on my last reply, he was looking better and had swam out of the net and by the time my finace got home from work around midnight he was swimming from side to side,but still pearched on the bottom of the tank.THIS MORNING 6:30 AM, as I am leaving for real estate class, he is swimming along happily and looks great. See below, I will try to add photo. I haven't done that yet, so I will try. ALL of the fish are great. Yes, we still have the 8 damsels in the tank that someone told us to cycle with. They have been in there for a while. YES, I know that the grouper and lion are 99.9999% going to eat them. My tank hood is about 9 ft from the floor and we have spent like 4 hours altogether trying to catch them. We loved/love our damsels, so please no guilt trips. Thanks for all the wonderful feedback. You were all saying everything I had thought of myself. AND yes, my LFS advised adding 3 at once. I had planned on 1 at a time, but fell into the trap. They will be in there at least 6 weeks by themselves though.
 
sexyfishers

sexyfishers

Member
took a few photos can post because says my images are too big. I am on macbook and my photo program will not let me change size. I'll see what I can do.
Thanks again to everyone.
 
hatessushi

hatessushi

Active Member
IMO the acclimation of a shrimp for 10 minutes will cause a lot of stress. Shrimp need a slow drip for about 2 to 3 hours at least. They are very suseptable to salinity swings. You stated that the LFS water test said there was a difference in Salinity
In any case it sounds like the long trip home might have caused a lot of stress if the bad was not pumped with oxygen.
Keep in mind no one here is judging you. You asked for help and people are just trying to get information to try to help out.
It sounds like the Grouper may come through it ok which is good news.
One thing I don't agree with is that if you knew that it was 99.9999% chance that the grouper would eat the damsels then why did you put it in there? Why would you take the chance that the damsels would get eaten when you knew what the chances were? Sounds like you didn't care what happens to the damsels. If it's because they are cheap fish well then would you let a clownfish get eaten? It's a damsel.
 
sexyfishers

sexyfishers

Member
[/QUOTE]lot of stress if the bad was not pumped with oxygen.
yes, there was oxygen pumped in... just a long drive
One thing I don't agree with is that if you knew that it was 99.9999% chance that the grouper would eat the damsels then why did you put it in there? Why would you take the chance that the damsels would get eaten when you knew what the chances were? Sounds like you didn't care what happens to the damsels. If it's because they are cheap fish well then would you let a clownfish get eaten? It's a damsel.
Okay,,, as stated above... my tank is custom, therefore the cabinets are custom. I have to stand on a ladder to feed the fish... so that means I am on a ladder to catch fish as well. I am on a ladder and from the top of the hood to the water is about 15 inches down. From the top of the glass to the bottom is 32 inches. The tank is 6 ft long. My arm is only so long, so I can not catch 8 damsels that are lightning fast that also know me well enough by now to know when I am getting up there to feed them, or getting up there to catch them. We never purchased the damsels to keep. Unfortunately, if I can't catch them and if my fiance can't catch them, the guy who takes care of my tank probally won't be able to catch them when he comes this coming Wednesday. My point is, the lion and or the grouper probably will. My original plan was not to let them get eatten. Oh by the way, the idea about the shrimp... just got back from the freshwater fish store for my daughter... the shrimp has been munched on.. so the rest of the carcass got poked with the feeder stick and taken out. Should have known.
Didn't think anyone was judging me sweetie. I thank all for everything said!
peace- T
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