Green terror acting darting wildly

Jhoss15

Hey everyone I'm new to the forum as well as to the fish hobby I have a green terror now 8 months old and a neon jack 4 months. They have just recently been acting really weird hiding from me all the time (never hid before) darting wildly I think staying at the bottom. There have been no signs of anything on their bodies or fins. I'm having a bad alage bloom which has brought on all this wild behavior. All water perameters are good ammonia 0 nitrite o nitrate 0 PH 7. My green terror his really acting weird jerking his whole body up and down like he has hiccups or something I've have taken pics and videos to my LFS and no one can tell Me what is wrong i have no idea what to do!!! Please help!!!

( I have ordered a UV sterilizer to help w the alage which keeps coming back every time I clear it up)

Bigguy71

What you have described about what your fish are doing is usually associated with toxic levels in the water or an unstable Ph, but you said these are fine. The other thing that can cause a fish to act this way are parasites like Velvet or Fuke Worms, velvet is a white or yellowish powdery looking substance on the fish and fluke worms attach them selves to the gills, both are treatable if you dont wait to long. Oh, and as for the algae, I dont know what size tank you have but maybe you can get a couple small algae eaters like the Otociclus catfish or maybe a plecostimus. They can keep your algae in check. Warning: Although the "pleco" can be bought small some of them get very large (had 2 that went from 1.5 inches to 15 inches in 7 years).

AbbeysDad

What do you attribute the cause of your recent algae bloom? Increased algae is sometimes the result of high nitrates. Do you fully trust your test results? Do you perform routine WWC's?
I think I might do a 20-50% water change and observe the fish to see if stress is relieved.

Jhoss15

Hey everyone thank you!! I wish u guys were the ones at my LFS it was flukes and my 8month old green terror died today i couldn't treat it in tine!! :( so bumbed my jack is still living I hope the treatment works. As far as the algea bloom maybe tank by window (which I can't move WIFE'S orders!!) that's why I ordered a uv sterilizer. Could any of you tell me what may have caused flukes? I know i have been having a lot of trouble w the tank i didn't let it cycle fully when we moved so it's finally stable 0 everything and 7 ph took water to multiple LFS to be tested!! Anyway thanks for all the help!

Bigguy71

Sorry to hear that your green terror didn't make but the common way Flukes can get into to your tank is via new fish that have them or live food that was taken from a tank that had fish in it and they were infected. Inspect fish thoroughly before introducing them to your tank. Hope everything goes smoothly from here on for ya.

Jhoss15

Thanks Bigguy, My entire tank was affected and the treatment didnt not work. I lost my tank. I have just set up a Uv Sterilizer. All water perimeters are good and water is starting to clear up. I now think it may have been velvet but i cant tell. Anyway what needs to be done before i can begin to restock my tank, with some new green terrors! Thanks again.

Bigguy71

Youir welcome , but I hate to see something like that happen. Wish it could have been caught sooner. I lost fish like that a long time ago and it sucks, especially because I lost my Zebra Pleco and a very large Black Moore. Hope your restart goes well, Good Luck !

Jhoss15

Thanks I hope it goes well to! Do I need to do anything to the tank before I add new fish? I have added a UV sterilizer and did a 50% water change will my new fish get the parisite or will they be ok now? Thanks again for the help

Bigguy71

I'm not completely sure how long it will take because the UV steralizer only shortens the life cycle of parasites, in order to limit reproduction. If you decide to treat the tank there are 2 treatments for Velvet : 3ml per gallon of Acriflavine or 6 mg per gallon of Copper, but both can harm fish so do a number of water changes before adding fish. If it was Flukes add 30mg per gallon of Potassium Permanganate, but this will color the water so you'll need to do a number of water changes. I think your best bet would be to continue using the steralizer and treat your tank normally ( water changes, vacuumes & filter media changes) for a good while before adding anyone new. Worst case scenario start over and clean everything well. Let me know what you decided to do and how it works out. GOOD LUCK !