Why does my Benji Cardinal (newly acclimated) just look at its reflection in the glass

[The cardinal]

Hello,

I am new to te hobby and just got the first fish for my tank a benji cardinal. After aclimatación I let it free, it swam around a little and then went to the corner and just looked at the glass of my tank. It has been doing this for over a day  barely moving and sometimes it goes to the other back corner. My fish also has not eaten I fed it 2 flakes today it ignored them. Should I be concerned or no, or should I just get it a tank mate because I think it is looking at is reflection in the glass and that it is lonley (my tank is a 30 long with no other fish it’s a new tank)

 

thank you

[AshCom]

Sounds like a new fish being a new fish! Just to be safe, you did QT the fish right? How "new" is this tank?

 

Edit: Welcome to Nano-Reef! 

[The cardinal]

This tank is brand new no other fish has ever been in it I am using that tank as a qt but just for this fish should I get another benji cardinal 

[The cardinal]

15 minutes ago, AshCom said:

Sounds like a new fish being a new fish! Just to be safe, you did QT the fish right? How "new" is this tank?

 

Edit: Welcome to Nano-Reef! 

 

[AshCom]

42 minutes ago, The cardinal said:

This tank is brand new. No other fish has ever been in it. I am using that tank as a qt but just for this fish. Should I get another benji cardinal?

Slow down. When you say new, do you mean just cycled or seriously just put water in the tank????

 

When it comes to pairing cardinals, there's a bit of a science to it but we'll get to that later.

[The cardinal]

11 minutes ago, AshCom said:

Slow down. When you say new, do you mean just cycled or seriously just put water in the tank???? A quarantine tank (QT) is a tank seperate to your show tank where you put new livestock and look for any diseases or illnesses. It's more or less a hospital tank.

 

When it comes to pairing cardinals, there's a bit of a science to it but we'll get to that later.

The tank has had an odd cycle I had amonium but now it’s at zero I have very little nitrite and no nitrate ( I didn’t use live rock) and about the qt I had no other tank 

[AshCom]

7 minutes ago, The cardinal said:

The tank has had an odd cycle I had amonium but now it’s at zero I have very little nitrite and no nitrate ( I didn’t use live rock) and about the qt I had no other tank 

If nitrite is present the cycle is not completed. Nitrate is the final stage of the nitrogen cycle and is harmless to fish if under 50ppm, realistically. Nitrite is extremely dangerous.

 

Until your ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, and there is a nitrate spike, your cycle is not completed. Did you do a fish less cycle? Live sand? Dry rock? If your fish is behaving oddly in the first week, it could be anything from the tank itself, the fish, or just it acclimating.

 

How long has this tank been up? From day 1 (putting water in the tank) to today?

[The cardinal]

2 hours ago, AshCom said:

If nitrite is present the cycle is not completed. Nitrate is the final stage of the nitrogen cycle and is harmless to fish if under 50ppm, realistically. Nitrite is extremely dangerous.

 

Until your ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, and there is a nitrate spike, your cycle is not completed. Did you do a fish less cycle? Live sand? Dry rock? If your fish is behaving oddly in the first week, it could be anything from the tank itself, the fish, or just it acclimating.

 

How long has this tank been up? From day 1 (putting water in the tank) to today?

I used live sand and dry rock my nitrite is 0.2 and amonia is at 0 i never got nitrate. I waited to add my fish arter my amonia was a 0 and my nitrite to get low so my tank had a good amount of bacteria by Christmas when I will start to add more unles I should get another cardinal to pair with the one I have 

ps the tank has been up for a little more than 2 weeks 

[Lula_Mae]

2 hours ago, AshCom said:

If nitrite is present the cycle is not completed. Nitrate is the final stage of the nitrogen cycle and is harmless to fish if under 50ppm, realistically. Nitrite is extremely dangerous.

 

Until your ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, and there is a nitrate spike, your cycle is not completed. Did you do a fish less cycle? Live sand? Dry rock? If your fish is behaving oddly in the first week, it could be anything from the tank itself, the fish, or just it acclimating.

 

How long has this tank been up? From day 1 (putting water in the tank) to today?

Sounds like it's a QT tank, not a display tank.

 

OP, sometimes with new fish you have to try different things.  If it's never seen flakes it may not recognize them as food.  I've had good success so far with mysis and Omega One marine pellets with garlic.  Some soak food in garlic supplement or use Selcon to help reluctant feeders along.  I wouldn't worry for a couple days though as it's probably just settling in.

 

Keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite if there's no rock or sand in the tank.

 

[AshCom]

You need to slow down.

 

No, your bacteria count is not good. No, do not add more fish.

 

There are multiple things wrong with how you are going about your new hobby. I'll piece each bit as we go. I suggest you read a bit into our beginners forum. There's a lot of good information out there.

 

First of all, fish tanks are not a fast process and, like an ecosystem, take time to develop. Your tank has been up for 14 days so it is definitely still cycling. I do suggest you save that poor cardinal ASAP and bring him back to your pet store because he is most likely suffering and slowly dying. Cycling with fish is inhumane and an evil thing to do.

 

13 hours ago, The cardinal said:

the tank has been up for a little more than 2 weeks 

This is your first problem. Tanks need to have at least 5 weeks to complete the nitrogen cycle. I suggest reading up on the nitrogen cycle. A detailed explanation is below.

 

13 hours ago, The cardinal said:

I used live sand and dry rock my nitrite is 0.2

A common misconception is that dry rock does not need to undergo a cycle but that is far from the truth. Dry rock is pest free and safe for reef tanks but contains dead matter from when it was live rock (thats why its often called "dead dry rock"). The dead matter will begin to rot, releasing deadly chemicals into the water and the process of expelling this dead matter is called "curing". Nutrifying bacteria can help this process but it takes time. Most suggest that you place dry rock into a new tank while it cycles to cure the rock (make dead rock into live rock) at the same time as your tank cycles.

 

 

The Nitrogen Cycle
The nitrogen cycle of a marine aquarium is a chain reaction in nature resulting in the birth of various types of nitrifying bacteria, each with their own job to do. Each new bacteria born consumes the previous one, and in turn, gives birth to the next bacteria.

The three components involved to make this happen are ammonia (NH³ or NH³+4), nitrite (NO²), and nitrate (NO³).

In general, the nitrogen cycling process usually takes about 30 days, but there is no exact time frame for this process to complete its task, as each aquarium is different. Factors such as how many fish, other livestock, and organic matter is present in the tank can vary the completion time, one way or the other. Testing your aquarium water during cycling is very important, as this will tell you what phase the aquarium is in at any given time throughout the process.

 

Daily dosing products like Dr Tims, MicroBacter7, and Bio-spira can help speed up the nitrogen cycle but are not a guarantee.

The 3 Components & Phases
Before explaining how the nitrogen cycling process works, here are a few diagrams and charts you can refer to for a visual aspect first.

Phase 1 - Ammonia (NH³ or NH³+4)
The first component needed in the chain is ammonia, and it is only during the cycling process that elevated ammonia readings should be present in an aquarium.
Once ammonia begins to accumulate in the aquarium, the cycling process begins. So where do you get the ammonia from? It is produced by such things as fish and other livestock waste, excess food, and decaying organic matter from both animals and plants. Now putting live animals into a tank for the purpose of cycling is not easy, because they are exposed to highly toxic levels of ammonia and nitrite during the process.
However, without ammonia present, the cycle cannot begin, and if ammonia is removed, or the supply is disrupted during cycling, the process stops. As you see the ammonia level rise during the cycling period, if you think by adding an ammonia destroyer or doing a water change to bring it down is helping, it isn't! You are only delaying the cycling process and preventing it from completing its mission. If you use fish to cycle an aquarium, it's a catch 22! You don't want to put the animals in harm's way by exposing them to toxic elements, but you need their waste as the ammonia source to get the job done. The good news is there are alternatives to cycling a new tank without having to use fish, as well as ways to help speed up the nitrogen cycling process.
Regardless of what method you use to cycle a new aquarium, the process is the same. Ammonia occurs in two states depending on the water pH. NH³, the unionized state, is more toxic than NH³+4, the ionized state because it can invade the body tissue of marine animals much easier. Almost all free ammonia in sea water with a normal pH is in the ionized state, thus less toxic. As pH rises, the less toxic ionized state decreases and the more toxic unionized state increases.
For example, a toxic level of ammonia as NH³ may be present with a pH of 8.4 being lethal, but the same level of ammonia as NH³+4 with a pH of 7.8 may be tolerated. Higher tank temperatures can also affect the toxicity of ammonia.

Phase 2 - Nitrite (NO²)
At about ten days into the cycle, the nitrifying bacteria that convert ammonia into nitrite, Nitrosomonas, should begin to appear and build. Just like ammonia, nitrite can be toxic and harmful to marine animals even at lower levels, and without nitrite present, the cycling process cannot complete itself. Nitrite will continue to rise to a high level of about 15 ppm, the most critical stage, and at about day 25 the level should begin to fall off, although it's quite possible to run on for another 10 days. Most likely the nitrite reading will peak and fall off to less than 2 or 3 ppm by about day 30, and shortly thereafter to zero. If it does not, don't worry, it should drop sometime within the next 10 days or so.

Phase 3 - Nitrate (NO³)
Now that the ammonia has given birth to nitrite, the nitrite, in turn, give birth to the third and final nitrifying bacteria, nitrobacters. These bacteria are living entities that require oxygen and food (an ammonia source) to survive, grow on the surfaces of everything in the tank, and the waste from nitrobacter are shown in the form of nitrate with a test kit. When nitrate readings begin to increase, you can tell that these beneficial nitrifying bacteria are starting to establish themselves, which is what you have painstakingly been going through the cycling process to achieve.

 

Once your tank has shown 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and spiking nitrate, you are ready for your first water change! It's highly suggested to start slow with a clean up crew of snails, crabs, and a shrimp or two so your bacteria can slowly acclimate to the increase of bioload to process (poop). Once you begin to add fish, add no more than one per two weeks.

 

https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-the-nitrogen-cycling-process-2924241

[The cardinal]

4 hours ago, AshCom said:

You need to slow down.

 

No, your bacteria count is not good. No, do not add more fish.

 

There are multiple things wrong with how you are going about your new hobby. I'll piece each bit as we go. I suggest you read a bit into our beginners forum. There's a lot of good information out there.

 

First of all, fish tanks are not a fast process and, like an ecosystem, take time to develop. Your tank has been up for 14 days so it is definitely still cycling. I do suggest you save that poor cardinal ASAP and bring him back to your pet store because he is most likely suffering and slowly dying. Cycling with fish is inhumane and an evil thing to do.

 

This is your first problem. Tanks need to have at least 5 weeks to complete the nitrogen cycle. I suggest reading up on the nitrogen cycle. A detailed explanation is below.

 

A common misconception is that dry rock does not need to undergo a cycle but that is far from the truth. Dry rock is pest free and safe for reef tanks but contains dead matter from when it was live rock (thats why its often called "dead dry rock"). The dead matter will begin to rot, releasing deadly chemicals into the water and the process of expelling this dead matter is called "curing". Nutrifying bacteria can help this process but it takes time. Most suggest that you place dry rock into a new tank while it cycles to cure the rock (make dead rock into live rock) at the same time as your tank cycles.

 

 

The Nitrogen Cycle
The nitrogen cycle of a marine aquarium is a chain reaction in nature resulting in the birth of various types of nitrifying bacteria, each with their own job to do. Each new bacteria born consumes the previous one, and in turn, gives birth to the next bacteria.

The three components involved to make this happen are ammonia (NH³ or NH³+4), nitrite (NO²), and nitrate (NO³).

In general, the nitrogen cycling process usually takes about 30 days, but there is no exact time frame for this process to complete its task, as each aquarium is different. Factors such as how many fish, other livestock, and organic matter is present in the tank can vary the completion time, one way or the other. Testing your aquarium water during cycling is very important, as this will tell you what phase the aquarium is in at any given time throughout the process.

 

Daily dosing products like Dr Tims, MicroBacter7, and Bio-spira can help speed up the nitrogen cycle but are not a guarantee.

The 3 Components & Phases
Before explaining how the nitrogen cycling process works, here are a few diagrams and charts you can refer to for a visual aspect first.

Phase 1 - Ammonia (NH³ or NH³+4)
The first component needed in the chain is ammonia, and it is only during the cycling process that elevated ammonia readings should be present in an aquarium.
Once ammonia begins to accumulate in the aquarium, the cycling process begins. So where do you get the ammonia from? It is produced by such things as fish and other livestock waste, excess food, and decaying organic matter from both animals and plants. Now putting live animals into a tank for the purpose of cycling is not easy, because they are exposed to highly toxic levels of ammonia and nitrite during the process.
However, without ammonia present, the cycle cannot begin, and if ammonia is removed, or the supply is disrupted during cycling, the process stops. As you see the ammonia level rise during the cycling period, if you think by adding an ammonia destroyer or doing a water change to bring it down is helping, it isn't! You are only delaying the cycling process and preventing it from completing its mission. If you use fish to cycle an aquarium, it's a catch 22! You don't want to put the animals in harm's way by exposing them to toxic elements, but you need their waste as the ammonia source to get the job done. The good news is there are alternatives to cycling a new tank without having to use fish, as well as ways to help speed up the nitrogen cycling process.
Regardless of what method you use to cycle a new aquarium, the process is the same. Ammonia occurs in two states depending on the water pH. NH³, the unionized state, is more toxic than NH³+4, the ionized state because it can invade the body tissue of marine animals much easier. Almost all free ammonia in sea water with a normal pH is in the ionized state, thus less toxic. As pH rises, the less toxic ionized state decreases and the more toxic unionized state increases.
For example, a toxic level of ammonia as NH³ may be present with a pH of 8.4 being lethal, but the same level of ammonia as NH³+4 with a pH of 7.8 may be tolerated. Higher tank temperatures can also affect the toxicity of ammonia.

Phase 2 - Nitrite (NO²)
At about ten days into the cycle, the nitrifying bacteria that convert ammonia into nitrite, Nitrosomonas, should begin to appear and build. Just like ammonia, nitrite can be toxic and harmful to marine animals even at lower levels, and without nitrite present, the cycling process cannot complete itself. Nitrite will continue to rise to a high level of about 15 ppm, the most critical stage, and at about day 25 the level should begin to fall off, although it's quite possible to run on for another 10 days. Most likely the nitrite reading will peak and fall off to less than 2 or 3 ppm by about day 30, and shortly thereafter to zero. If it does not, don't worry, it should drop sometime within the next 10 days or so.

Phase 3 - Nitrate (NO³)
Now that the ammonia has given birth to nitrite, the nitrite, in turn, give birth to the third and final nitrifying bacteria, nitrobacters. These bacteria are living entities that require oxygen and food (an ammonia source) to survive, grow on the surfaces of everything in the tank, and the waste from nitrobacter are shown in the form of nitrate with a test kit. When nitrate readings begin to increase, you can tell that these beneficial nitrifying bacteria are starting to establish themselves, which is what you have painstakingly been going through the cycling process to achieve.

 

Once your tank has shown 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and spiking nitrate, you are ready for your first water change! It's highly suggested to start slow with a clean up crew of snails, crabs, and a shrimp or two so your bacteria can slowly acclimate to the increase of bioload to process (poop). Once you begin to add fish, add no more than one per two weeks.

 

https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-the-nitrogen-cycling-process-2924241

My tank now has no nitrite and no amonia my nitrate is very low and my fish started to swim I jut needed to lower my flow thank you guys for all the help but but next time I get a fish how do I qt it I have no other tank but I do buy my fish from a trusted store that only sells fish 

[AshCom]

41 minutes ago, The cardinal said:

how do I qt it I have no other tank but I do buy my fish from a trusted store that only sells fish 

All you need for a quarantine tank is a 5-20 gallon tank from petco, a heater, a hang-on-back filter, and a small wavemaker. It should be a bare bottom, empty tank with no substrate or anything. The water in the tank should be tested daily, when in use, using a color test kit (like API or Red Sea) or digital testers, like Hanna Colorimeters.

 

Fish and new livestock should be in qt for no less that 2 weeks. Where you get your fish really doesn't matter because underlying problems can come up at any time. Of course, from particular dealers livestock will be in better conditions and healthier but quarantine is a perfect way to prevent a disaster. Ich, for example, sometimes doesn't show its ugly face until the conditions are right. With stressed or cramped fish, it can and will be a disaster waiting to happen. Another good rule of thumb is, if you purchase livestock in person, make sure you see them eat in the store and take note of what they are eating.

 

41 minutes ago, The cardinal said:

my fish started to swim I jut needed to lower my flow

Flow shouldn't really be an issue with most fish unless you were pushing 3000 gallons per hour in a 30 gallon (cycling the contents of the tank water more than 20-30 times an hour). I do still suggest holding off on any more fish until the new year at least. Your nitrites dropping from .2 ppm to 0 and nitrate from 0 to "very low" overnight means your parameters are swinging like crazy.  If your tank is a little more than 2 weeks old, it is still cycling, your dry rock is not cured, and your poor fish are in for a ride. Expect your nitrate to spike in the next week or so.

 

Pairing cardinals require you to identify its sex. This is because two males or two females will kill eachother. Here's a good guide on how.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/how-to-determine-the-sex-of-banggai-cardinalfish

[The cardinal]

Hello, 

All of my water parameters are in check and all of my other fish are happy and eating except my two cardinals (the other fish are my two clowns). I even tried feeding live brine and the bigger cardinal only ate one the other ate none what should I do?

[Orbela]

Nitrite is not a big deal in marine fish you need extremely high dosage of nitrite to affect marine fish now fresh water it is really bad. It’s a misconception carried from freshwater. Good to hear your fish are okay.