Hello. I am new to fishkeeping but I'm starting to feel like maybe I'm too sensitive for it.
I have a 20-gallon hexagon tank that I bought about a month ago. I cycled it by adding some plants and a bit of fish food, until the ammonia started rising. Then I added API quick start, changed the water, and once I got my levels back to zero this past weekend, I got my first fish.
I got three juvenile Peppered Cory Catfish. When I added them to the tank on Sunday, they were extremely active and hungry. Three days later, they are no longer eating and are incredibly sluggish. One of them seems to be laying on its side on the bottom of the tank, but it is still breathing. The others are sitting on the bottom in more normal positions.
I've checked all of my levels. Ammonia and nitrates are at zero, ph is around 6.5. Carbonate hardness is around 120, and general hardness is about 60. The water temperature is roughly 76 degrees. My filter seems to do a pretty good job at aerating the water. I have lots of hiding places in the tank. My substrate is gravel, but it's fairly smooth and the fish do not look like they are injured. Their gills look fine.
I'm attaching a photo of the fish that seems to be the worst off.
I'm really upset, because I'm trying to do everything right. I don't want to lose my little guys.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I have a 20-gallon hexagon tank that I bought about a month ago. I cycled it by adding some plants and a bit of fish food, until the ammonia started rising. Then I added API quick start, changed the water, and once I got my levels back to zero this past weekend, I got my first fish.
I got three juvenile Peppered Cory Catfish. When I added them to the tank on Sunday, they were extremely active and hungry. Three days later, they are no longer eating and are incredibly sluggish. One of them seems to be laying on its side on the bottom of the tank, but it is still breathing. The others are sitting on the bottom in more normal positions.
I've checked all of my levels. Ammonia and nitrates are at zero, ph is around 6.5. Carbonate hardness is around 120, and general hardness is about 60. The water temperature is roughly 76 degrees. My filter seems to do a pretty good job at aerating the water. I have lots of hiding places in the tank. My substrate is gravel, but it's fairly smooth and the fish do not look like they are injured. Their gills look fine.
I'm attaching a photo of the fish that seems to be the worst off.
I'm really upset, because I'm trying to do everything right. I don't want to lose my little guys.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
