Clown in QT HATES water changes...

[Jan]

Hi there,

I have had a young clarkii clown in a 10 gallon QT for about 5 weeks now. I had the sg at 1.011 for a couple of weeks and now it's at about 1.016. The issue I'm having is that he freaks out whenever I do a water change. He flips around across the surface like Flipper, and tries to throw himself out of the tank. Invariably I have to gently poke him down into the water 1-2 times per WC as he will get himself stuck in the corner of the tank with his head and upper body out of the water.

He does not display this behavior at any other time. I'm down to one water change every 4 days because of this, and I keep a small charcoal/zeolite insert in his HOB filter to support the less-frequent WC schedule.

As for his general health and appearance, he seems better than he was but he's not a hearty eater and he looks quite thin to me.

What would you do in my situation? Try to get the sg up to normal soon and put him back in the main tank?

 

[leebca]

I would try to find out what is wrong with the new water that makes the fish act like this. The problem isn't the QT, the problem is obviously the new water. Something isn't 'right.'

I have listed a proper way to make a water change in this thread. Check it over and see if you are following the exact procedure I've outlined:
http://www.reefland.com/forum/saltwater-fish-only-aquariums/21166-how-do-i-do-water-change.html

 

[coil1002]

10 gal is kinda small how big of a water change. Are you matching the temp and ph of the old water ?

 

[Jan]

I've been doing a 1-2.5 gallon water change depending on how long it's been since the last change.

I read the excerpt posted above, and I've been doing everything exactly the same EXCEPT the measurement of ph. I've been (sorry to say) ignoring the ph question. This could be the problem.

Thankyou for your responses and I'll be certain to measure and match ph the next time I do a water change. One thing though, the clownfish starts to "freak out" with the removal of the old water, well before I add any new water. He may just be a high-strung fish or something. He continues to freak when I add the new water so I will eliminate that potential source of stress if the ph is causing issues.