Desperate- fish are acting strange

[David3516]

Hello everyone,

I am running a planted (plants are growing like crazy- highly recommend AC light and fertilizer!) 10 gallon tank. It has an eheim 2215 filter on it (rated for 92 gallons). Stocking: honey gourami, Cpd, beckford pencilfish, cherry shrimp. 

the honey gourami, shrimp, 1 Cpd, and a couple of pencilfish are totally fine and seemingly in perfect health.

The majority of pencilfish and CPDs are lingering near the surface (in pictures) as if there is a lack of oxygen in the tank. They don’t each much or at all. I figured it was an O2 issue, so I tried adding an air stone and adjusting the spray bar to add more agitation but they stayed like that. The gif that I attached is how I normally keep the spray bar for agitation

My levels are fine (also picture attached). I add seachem prime when I do water changes. Temperature is around 76-77 F. I’m really at a loss why some of my fish are like this and I’m worried that they are going to die. 
 

these fish are relatively new (few weeks) but this behavior has been going on for about a week now. CPDs were bought from an LFS, Pencilfish were bought wholesale

thank you for anyone with help or advice!

I’m sorry that some of the pictures are upside down lol I’m new to the forum

Edited July 15, 2023 by David3516

[Miranda Marie]

Pencilfish, by definition and natural predisposition, are considered "surface dwelling fish". It is their natural behavior to spend 95% of their time right up at the surface.

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/pencilfish

I've heard CPDs can be pretty nervous fish, if not kept in large enough schools (hard to do in 10 gallons), so it's possible they are staying near the pencilfish to feel safer.

Are you watching closely when they eat to make sure everyone is getting some? And what food are you feeding the tank?

[David3516]

On 7/15/2023 at 5:24 PM, Miranda Marie said:

Pencilfish, by definition and natural predisposition, are considered "surface dwelling fish". It is their natural behavior to spend 95% of their time right up at the surface.

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/pencilfish

I've heard CPDs can be pretty nervous fish, if not kept in large enough schools (hard to do in 10 gallons), so it's possible they are staying near the pencilfish to feel safer.

Are you watching closely when they eat to make sure everyone is getting some? And what food are you feeding the tank?

I have xtreme krill flakes and big bites. I crush both up to be small enough. The healthy ones eat, the ones that look like they’re gasping for air just stay at the top. 

After doing more research, I think I may have been overdosing of seachem prime and depleted the oxygen of water. That’s my best guess as of now!

[Miranda Marie]

On 7/15/2023 at 3:33 PM, David3516 said:

I have xtreme krill flakes and big bites. I crush both up to be small enough. The healthy ones eat, the ones that look like they’re gasping for air just stay at the top. 

After doing more research, I think I may have been overdosing of seachem prime and depleted the oxygen of water. That’s my best guess as of now!

Hopefully pulling back on adding that will help then! 🤞

[Mmiller2001]

A 2215 on a 10 gallon might be causing too much current. Turn it off for a few minutes and see if there behavior changes.

[Tanked]

 

Can you observe your CPDs from a distance?  Does their behavior change throughout the day?

Were all of the CPDs purchased together, or is the "totally fine" CPD an older male?  As @Miranda Marie said, they could be looking for safety in numbers.  Even upside down, you have a great looking aquarium.  The newer fish could be avoiding an aggressive male seeking them out in their normal range.

Seachem claims that oxygen deprivation due to Prime "is temporary, typically lasting an hour at most...".   I would think that if there was an oxygen depletion due to Prime, all of the fish would be closer to the surface. If you aren't already doing so, than you should dose Prime according to the amount of water you are adding.  A couple of drops less won't be missed.

[AndEEss]

In one of your shots it looks like you have a lot of surface scum, which will inhibit oxygenation.

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/15/2023 at 9:36 AM, David3516 said:

I’m sorry that some of the pictures are upside down lol I’m new to the forum

It's a bug of sorts with the forum.  Here is the images turned the right way around.

 

On 7/16/2023 at 7:28 AM, AndEEss said:

In one of your shots it looks like you have a lot of surface scum, which will inhibit oxygenation.

It looks typical to me. 

On 7/15/2023 at 9:36 AM, David3516 said:

My levels are fine (also picture attached). I add seachem prime when I do water changes. Temperature is around 76-77 F. I’m really at a loss why some of my fish are like this and I’m worried that they are going to die. 
 

these fish are relatively new (few weeks) but this behavior has been going on for about a week now. CPDs were bought from an LFS, Pencilfish were bought wholesale

Well, I don't see any major issues out of the ordinary on first glance.  The spraybar orientation seems good.  A note is that CPDs and shrimp will like highly oxygenated water.  The pencilfish...... let me try to research..... alright.

Generally speaking, and none of what I am saying is meant as a "it must be done this way" type of clarification.  CPDs, most cypranidae, rasboras, barbs, etc. are cooler water species and tend to like 72-74 as their "preferred" range.  The crux of this is that the water itself holds a lot of oxygen and they enjoy that highly oxygenated waters.  I find that ~74 is pretty optimal for their care as well as the neocaridina shrimp.  The pencilfish and the gourami will do better in the current setup and the range you have them, ~76 degrees.  As water gets warmer then it just means that the water holds slightly less oxygen than when it's cooler.  the plants doing well also helps with adding oxygen to the water! 

Ultimately, I think your setup is pretty good for the fish and the behavior you're seeing could be as simple as feeling exposed or needing more places to hide.  As the plants grow in you might see that change.  As @Mmiller2001 mentioned, maybe the filter is too powerful and that's causing the fish to avoid certain parts of the tank.  You can lower the spraybar slightly and point it at a steeper angle towards the top, potentially that alleviates some of the flow issue, but it's difficult to really know for certain.

It's slightly difficult to tell what the PH is. If possible, can you retest the PH and take a photo with the vial on the card next to the color scale?

You're showing 0-0-0 for the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, which means your plants don't have any nitrates to access.  This could be fine, but it also could mean you're not using enough fertilizers or you have no bacteria.  I find the second part hard to believe, but it's just something to note as the numbers are 0 across the board.

[DarkSceptor]

So the pencil fish are surface dwelling fish but they are also schooling fish. Having only 2 may not leave them feeling comfortable. After all a school is a form of safety from predicators. Add 3 more and see if the behaviour changes.