week old perc down...

[bautin2]

I added a perc to my 10 gallon tank (see sig for specs) last Sunday, 10 or so days ago...

 

I acclimated him slowly, using the drip methods described on the forum. He seemed to be wigging out at first, but he settled down after a day or so...

 

The first couple times I fed, he ate flakes and seemed happy in his new place...

 

After a couple days, he began to linger in the same spot, staring at a live rock, he no longer ate when I put flakes in. He saw them and went for them, but didn't eat. I figured death was coming. I checked the nitrates on Day 6 and they had a reading of 0.3 mg/l. I did a 10% WC. 2 days later, the crabs were munching on him...

 

Anyways, question is: Were those nitrate levels too high for him? If so, could those have caused him not to eat? What are the possibilities that this fish just had it in for him from the get go? What sorta visible effects do high nitrate levels have on fish?

 

Note: I have a catalina goby (I know, he'll "die soon" because he's a "cold water" fish...blah blah blah) that sustained the week without a scratch...obviously unaffected by the raise in nitrates.

 

I dose kalk to makeup for evaporation and Kent dkH buffer. My readings are usually around 450ppm and 10-11 dkH. pH usually around 8.0.