HELP is he dying?

[becky]

I have just bought my damsel fish to cycle the tank. Bought them Saturday... got flake food as the pet store recommended..and it says tow feed two to three times a day. I think three times a day is too much so i have fed two.. once at night and then in moring. Anyways, one of the four fish is not opening and closing his mouth. It is just staying open.. and not swiming a whloe lot... maybe avoiding the other fish. What can i do.. is he alright?>

 

[becky]

The fish ppl said I should have 4 to 6 damsels to my tank to cycle it...They are wrong? How many should i have to the tank then??

 

[damsel in distress]

Becky,
We used three damsels to cycle our 20 gallon tank. We unfortunately lost one in the cycle. You will probably loose one or two during this time but hopefully not all of them. Some people say don't cycle with live stock because they have the possibility of dying. Unfortunately, some people would rather use live stock (including me) but another choice in cycling your tank would be to put in a few pieces of shrimp and let them sit for a few weeks. Yucky smell though!!!
You might not want to feed your damsels twice a day. One time is enough to feed them....if you overfeed that could cause some problems. Believe me, I used to feed to much and that led to a huge outbreak of green hair algae!! BAD stuff!! Really hard to get rid of the stuff!
Anyways, don't be worried if you lose a fish or two during this time, it is common to loose one! But, damsels are strong little guys, and some will live through mostly anything! Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[goldfish]

I used 2 to cycle a 75 gallon tank and one of them is still with me! The other one became dinner for my eel...at least that is what I THINK happened. No signs of foul play or a carcass to clean up.
I think 3 for a 30 gallon setup is a bit much. Your ammonia level is going to spike due to cycling, but I wonder if it will be worse due to the amount of fish you have in there. I'm sure others will have opinions on this.
Keep us posted!

 

[becky]

Thanks guys for your advice. I feel better now... i was a little worried about this!!!!
Ill keep you posted on this!

 

[gobylover]

It sounds to me like it has nothing to do with the amount of fish in there,but the particular fish.Maybe it has a broken jaw.Too many fish in a tank is not going to make a fishes jaw stay open.

 

[oceanblue]

Becky,
If the little guy isn't able to close his mouth then his mouth joint is probly hurt. This can be from getting caught on a net when catching him, or from fighting. This added stress won't bode well for him, he'll be a bit more susceptable to disease and the fluctuations you're going to be taking them through. I'd be tempted to take 2 of them back, including him. It all depends on how well you want to monitor the cycle. If you're willing to do a water change daily to keep the levels way down, the fish will be better off, but this will also drastically increase the time it takes to cycle the tank. I used 4 damsels to cycle my first 56gal tank and lost one to stress...he was the runt that got picked on. anywho good luck with it! Just do what you feel is best!