"David Zopf" wrote in message
t...

"2pods" wrote in message
...
The oldest of my SAE tribe (I've had him/her two years and is a good 5")
has been laying on the bottom of the tank breathing fast.
Now the SAE also looks as if his lips are red and swollen, but no fungus,
rash, or spots.
Fins are not clamped

All the other fish are OK, the water checks out Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0,
Nitrate 10-15, pH 6.8.

Tank is 400ltr with internal filter, 300w heater (inside filter so it
can't be of that !), external XP3 cannister, and 15w UV.
Tank is heavily planted with gravel substrate.

Would it be anything to do with the tank move, or what would it be ?


Tank moves can agitate the substrate, and stir up detritus. It may be
that the water conditions at the bottom aren't what you got readings for
(Fish tanks are not homogeneous. A top water sample isn't the environment
your SAE frequents. I recall a poster from a few months ago, whose fish
would swarm around his hand when he took a water sample, and give him a
consistent false-positive reading for ammonia). Re-sample your water,
trying to get as close to the lower strata of the tank as possible (either
a disposable pipet which is left air-filled until submerged to the bottom,
or a screw cap bottle, which is placed in upside-down until pushed to the
bottom will give you a reasonable lower water sample), to tell you if
there is a local problem. If there is, you may get by with just time,
letting the tank settle and regular water changes. The SAE may appreciate
a seperate home until things get back to normal.

It may also be that the SAE took in some of that detritus during the move,
which didn't agree with him (decomp matter rarely does, unless you're a
nitrobacter). You may want to relocate it to a hospital tank, treated
with aquarium salt, for observation.

Good luck!

DaveZ
Atom Weaver


Thanks Dave
Things to try :-)

Peter