Our new Onyx Perc pair

[cyenna]

Originally posted by scubaD
cyenna,

What you suggest implies that he is at the surface because of a lack of sufficient dissolved oxygen in the water. Oxygen levels do drop in the dark as Algea is not photsyntesizing. Putting an air bubbler in would increase dissolved oxygen. I am testing for dissolved oxygen right now. Does newly mixed saltwater have a low dissolved oxygen level. That could explain what you describe as well, if in fact a low level of dissolved oxygen is the issue.

David

haha, ya, maybe that was in the back of my mind and I just didn't know how to put it in words. Anyway, update us on how Greg is doing!

[scubaD]

OK, so I saw Greg poop regularly. But now we see Dharma has this very slim white string hanging off of her. I got a picture. Is this poop and she has parasites?

[spineshank385]

looks like stringy white poop to me

[scubaD]

So the observed "sleeping" arrangement is a little freaky. Dharma sits just barely off the sand in the little rythmic up and down swimming motion that I think is normal sleeping. She is in the front left bottom corner in a little depresion in the sand. Greg on the other hand is in the top left front corner on his side or vertically oriented at the surface. I have a Hydor flo on the return so when it is pointing away he is relaxed and pointing down and when it hits him he is fighting it to stay in the corner. It is really freaky. He behaves normally when the lights come back on. I cannot imagine he is getting much rest. And myt wife worries he is going to jump out being so close to the top. We put a rubbermaid cover just over the corner to ease those concerns last night. Any insight into this behavior?

We went to our LFS last night to get more varied food. Formula 1 2 and VHP. Previous 4 days we had been feeding mysis shrimp. Needed to get the Veggies into the diet. We chatted with the owner about the long stringy white poop. He thought it could be internal parasites, could be watter quality problems (we test daily, it is not that), could be stress from the new environment. He recommended mixing the food with garlic. Garlic will take out some not resistent parasites and won't hurt anything if they don't have them. So that will be started tonight.

[scubaD]

This morning when we woke up arrangements were reversed. Greg was on the bottom right corner and Dharma was at the surface on the right side. Greg looked normal. Dharma was kind of tilted part way dieways in the water untill the Hydor came around and got her and she would straighten up and swim into it untill it passed. Can someone please tell me if this is normal or something is wrong?

Thank you,
David

[scubaD]

OK, I found similar sleeping arrangements on wetwebmedia and they say " not atypical". So I guess it is OK, just seems a little wierd to us.

[dantodd]

I would suggest starting treatment for internal parasites.