clamped tail

Question
I just recently moved and during the move purchased a larger fish tank (29 gallons with a top fin filter) for my last remaining cichlid which I've had for 20 months. I conditioned the water and let the tank run for a day before placing him in there. Unfortunately all of the water was new and also new gravel. I placed him in the tank at night and by the next morning he was in bad shape. His tail was clamped and he couldn't lift his body off the gravel. He also looked as though he was gasping for breath. I thought maybe he had ammonia spiking and did a partial water change just to be safe. I also took the water to my local pet store and they tested the water saying everything looked just fine. Since then he has been laying on his side or propping himself against plants and things so that he isn't lying on the bottom. It has been 2 days of this and I don't know what to do. He also hasn't eaten in the past two days but that isn't a huge deal since he is a big fish about 4 inches long. Besides this he looks relatively normal. I don't think he has much time and I don't know how to treat him because his symptoms are so bizarre. Help!"


Answer
Hi Tricia;

He is probably in shock. New water can be so much different in chemistry that it can really be hard on them. Hopefully he will recover just fine. It just takes time. Watch the levels of ammonia to be sure they don't spike. Make a partial water change as needed if it does.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins