Firefish newb here....Questions

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EllisJuan

Member
I picked these guys up today:

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They were out being good swimmers front and center for the first hour or so. Then I went to wipe down the glass and they freaked out. Started darting like crazy. One even hit the top of the water....he did not jump, or atleast not that I can find anywhere around the tank. Now both have dissapeard and I can not find them anywhere...lol.

Have they just gone into extreme hiding? Do they do that when spooked? How long do they normal stay hidden?
 
steved13

steved13

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
That's why they are also called Dart fish. Once they get settled they probably won't get freaked out quite so much. I'd leav them alon for a little bit it sounds like they are very nervous. They are incredibly good hiders also..like way deep into a hole in the rock.
 
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EllisJuan

Member
I am pretty sure these guys are never coming out again...lol. I can not see them anywhere...didn't even come out for food.
 
PIMPALA

PIMPALA

Well-Known Member
i hope you have a lid on your tank... otherwise they will be carpet surfing in no time.
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

Well-Known Member
They will come back out once they get use to the tank. Mine stays up front in the heavy flow all the time during lights on. He crawls under a rock to sleep at night. Good luck!
 
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EllisJuan

Member
They decided to come out! Late in the light cycle they came out and swam in the water column until the lights turned off. They really are beautiful fish. I calmly fed the water column to see if they would eat and they took frozen mysis great!

When I was at the store earlier I saw this beautiful Coral Beauty in the back ground and could not resist. The CB is eating great too. :)

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catran

catran

Well-Known Member
Mine hid for 3 days. Now one hides almost all the time and the other only comes out in the morning-early afternoon. I think my clowns are bullying them! Actually they are cool fish anyway, just get used to it :)
 
saltyreefkeeper

saltyreefkeeper

Member
remember try not to feed so much!!! and the amonia is a fish killer there should be Nø traces of amonia and to fix that asap go to your LF and ask them if u can grab a half cup of there sand so it will boost your cycle naturally but make sure that the tank you pick to grab some sand from has all healthy fish and or coral in it look for parasites,sick fish etc, and don't add any more fish or inverts wait till your spikes of amonia and nitrate reach equalibrium (balance out) and you will be fine remember "paitience"!! and ph should be at 8.2-8.3 hope that helps you and good luck!!!
 
catran

catran

Well-Known Member
I hope you have cycled before you added the fish! I don't know how long you've had your tank but I'd be a little weary of adding someone elses bacteria to an already cycled tank. I know some do it to start a cycle but I would really have to trust the LFS to do that anyway. No signs of sick fish ever?
 
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Orcrone

Member
Several suggestions:
  1. Everytime you add a fish you're causing a larger load on the nitrifying bacteria. Generally you want to add one fish at a time. Let the bio-load stabilize before adding another fish.
  2. I wouldn't take water from the LFS. You don't know what disease/parasites might be in there that you'd be introducing to your DT. That leads me to the next point,
  3. Get yourself a QT and use it. Everything may be fine now, but one day you will get a fish with a disease or parasite that will wreck havoc on your system. I know this from first hand experience.
  4. Make sure you have a good lid on the tank. Firefish can jump. Also it's not unusual for them to dart for a hole in a rock when spooked. That's probably why you didn't see them for a while.

Just noticed your parameters. Ammonia and nitrites should be 0. You should do what you can to bring the nitrites down; large water change, a product like Bio-Spira. And NEVER add fish when there's any detectable quantities of ammonia and nitrites. They're poisons to fish and adding more only exacerbates the problem.
 
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saltyreefkeeper

saltyreefkeeper

Member
Honestly where I'm from my LF store loves and takes care of their reefs and fish!! not once I've seen one type of parasite in their tanks the store I go to here in spanaway Washington is called "Aquarium Paradise" the owners I'm close with and they put all livestock and rock and sand when shipped in the back in their 20- 50 gallon pretanks just to make sure that all rock, sand and livestock are parasite free they keep all fish in the pretanks for one month and I've seen them do this process because I get to pick the fish before they put into their displays and I'm not saying trust all fish stores I'm saying only trust the fish store you go to and trust!!!! If u buy livestock at your LF then you must trust their livestock and or rock so in conclusion I said only ask the LF that you would buy cured rock and or livestock from!!!
 
saltyreefkeeper

saltyreefkeeper

Member
And Im saying that with respect and kindness because from experience they helped me cycle my old 75 gallon in one week with no nitrite and or amonia from using their filter,a cup of sand, and Fully cured LR!!!! yes.... I kno it only took a week!!!!! my LF store would never sell or risk putting any infected fish or coral in their displays!!!!
 
saltyreefkeeper

saltyreefkeeper

Member
And honestly the reason they have the 20 QT tanks on the back because when buying shipped fish,coral,sand,and or rock it is inevedable to sometimes have livestock get a desease or a parasite!!!!
 
saltyreefkeeper

saltyreefkeeper

Member
I don't but I do kno that in every type of fish tank there are millions of different types of parasites some good some bad and that if there were bad parasite bad= gram-negative bacteria like pseudonanas,vibrio, and myxobacteria and the only way to avoid these types of bad bacteria is to put alot of time and love to your tanks And keep all coral an fish healthy so that they fight the bacteria off!!!! I'm always learning more and more everyday I'm on this website but I do kno aliitle in keeping my 130gDisplay 75gSump in very immaculate good health!!!! Not trying to argue with any body but I have crashed about four tanks because of these bad para. And I've learned alot by reading and experience!!!
 
saltyreefkeeper

saltyreefkeeper

Member
The way can tell you have some type of parasite is to monitor the health of your coral and fish if you see a decline in your fish or coral either your parameters are not in equalibrium or there are a type of parasite in your system which is almost imposible to get out once they are in your system so the best way would to clean your rock and starting all over because if you don't and you put presciouse corals and don't keep up in your chemistry and water perameters then those bacteria will attack and most of the time kill your livestock trust me by experience!!!! I thought I could put the fish in a qt and treat them,it worked!!! but once you see that parasite it has spreaded throughout your system!!! It will patiently wait for a stressed or sick fish or coral and infect it!!!!
 
saltyreefkeeper

saltyreefkeeper

Member
I'm not tryin to be a smart @$$ but u asked a question and I backed up my answer and made it clear that I understood wat I was talking about with all do respect I'm just tryin to help other people if I kno the answer!!! Just like somebody else would give me there input in RS if I had trouble with my reef I'm not trying to disrespect anybody and if I did I appologize I kno in writing it seemed like I was tryin to argue I was just saying wat I had experiences with!!!!
 
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