# moved tank & now fish are sick! help!



## i_heart_cichlids (Jan 5, 2012)

I have an approximately 25 gallon tank w/ an jack dempsey, a firemouth cichlid & a small pleco....during the process of moving into a n my boyfriend decided to move the tank whil work. he thought he was being helpful, howe doesn't know anything about he fish cuz i'm that takes care f the tank. so anywayz...he dr about 75% of the water, took the tank to the & refilled it w/ regular tap water & added som dechlorinator as an after thought! now the fi eat, basically lay on the bottom of the tank, a are breathing very slowly. i've done several w quality tests over the past 48 hours, everythi a normal/safe level. i'm not sure what is caus symptoms, so i don't know what my next should be??? should I do a partial water change? treat w/antibiotics? please help!


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## KG4mxv (Oct 25, 2011)

added untreated tap water first then added conditioner. 
WOW just WOW. 

well tap water alone with the chlorine , ozone ect ect is bad enough but if one of the fish was rich under where he poured the conditioner that is really bad too. 

time will tell. 

good luck 
sorry to hear that.

add salt per directions and pray.


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## i_heart_cichlids (Jan 5, 2012)

yah he's not the brightest crayon in the box!
so other than doing water change the right way & adding salt, there isn't much else I can do? if they are going to survive...any idea how long it might take to see improvement?


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Fish don't like sudden changes of any kind. You replace aged aquarium water with raw tap water so they are in shock. Make sure their temp is the same as before you meved. Keep their tank dark and don't add any or chemicals for awhile and your fish should come back. Most Cichlids are very tough and hard to kill.


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## KG4mxv (Oct 25, 2011)

Agreed turn off the lights and let the poor things recoup.
but keep an eye on them.

just add the salt in small stages so no big changes.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Thank your bf for trying to help you out, then gently tell him about letting water sit for 24-48 hours with dechlor' in it *before* putting it in the tank as well as *drip acclimating* fish to new water. Even moving a couple blocks can be a big change in water parameters and their shock could also be from pH or any other number of differences between their old water and the new.

Good luck.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

It sounds like the adding of the dechlor was more than just an afterthought....more like quite a while after water was added. The temp was probably a big difference as well, which is easy to do this time of year. There is no need to age water, unless you have other issues with your water. The problem with that this time of year is the water will settle to the temp of your place and will be a good bit of difference in temp from your tank.

This tank was just moved from one room to another, right?


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

As everyone else has said temperature shock and chlorine will cause those symptoms. Your best hope is to let the fish rest and hope they recover.

I'd also add an air stone for good measure. Chlorine will damage the gills, making it harder for the fish to get enough oxygen. Overdosing dechlorinator or adding salt will also deplete oxygen so adding an air stone makes sure that isn't a problem.

I don't know how big your fish are but you are seriously overstocked, or will be when they grow (and fish grow fast), I don't wan't to be getting at you when you are down but wanted to mention it now rather than wait until you have more problems. For now just deal with what you are going through but as soon as you know how many fish have recovered look into the tank size you will need for your fish.


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## piklmike (Jul 14, 2011)

Shoot the boyfriend!


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