Help! Just purchased my RTG but he started to develop something around his eye need help for solution!

[ArowanaKeeper416]

The one photo is the arowana at the previous owners tank and other two is after I put him in my tank after the second day adding him in the tank.
The RTG is healthy when I checked him before I bought him he’s about 10-11”. Had him for about 3 days now and has developed some white around the rim of his eyes but it doesn’t look like cloudy eye and I don’t see any milky haze on his eyes. He is swimming all around the tank fine but does not want to eat ever since I put him in. I have him in a 180g with a 70g sump. It’s a brand new tank so I haven’t had any beneficial bacteria built up in the filter. I let it run for a week adding seachem stability everyday with the recommended dose prior before adding the arowana in.
My sump has filter floss and lava rock in the first chamber where the water drops down to, the middle chamber has brand new k1 media that hasn’t been cycled but have been running a pump to get it to sink with a marine block and the last chamber is just my return pump connected with ketapang leaves being pushed back to the tank.
I just did a 30% water change to both the tank and sump and squeezed a sponge filter from my other tank with beneficial bacteria into the filter floss of the sump. I also added epsom salt to the tank as recommended by the previous owner. I have an 8” bubbler running in the tank for aeration. With the temp at 84. Any suggestions on the situation? Thank you!
-Paul

 

[Cirrus]

What is your PH? Did you acclimate the fish gradually into the tank? These fish are quite resilient, especially if purchased healthy, which it sounds like yours is. That said, you really should have a properly cycled tank when introducing fish. My guess is you are dealing with a bit of stress related to the uncycled tank, and possibly due to a bit of PH shock? If not the PH shock, then its likely the unicycle tank. Hopefully your newly added BB will help things out. You can try adding a heaping tablespoon of aquarium salt per 10 gallons of water. It is not unusual for arowana to stop eating for a few days to a week when transferring to a new tank.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[ArowanaKeeper416]

I think it might have been the un-cycled tank since I’ve read they like softer and slightly acidic. I did acclimate him before putting him in. What would you recommend I have for PH? I have about 11 ketapang leaves in my return pump outflow, should I add some more leaves directly in the tank ? What are your thoughts on purigen and fluval clearmax being added for chemical filtration would it be any necessary to have them in the sump? Thank you for the help Cirrus!

• PH -7.4
• Ammonia- test 1: 0ppm test 2: 0ppm
• Nitrite- 0.5 ppm
• Nitrate- test 1: 10 ppm test 2: clear

 

[ArowanaKeeper416]

The eyes are starting to look better now. Should I still continue to add epsom salt for the next water change ?

 

[Cirrus]

I use aquarium (epsom) salt at 1 tbs per 10 gallons on an ongoing basis. Your PH is okay if kept stable. I personally keep mine at 6.5 - 7. I'm not familiar with the filter media additives you refer to. I tend to keep my system pretty simple. I am a huge believer in sumps, ample mechanical filtration, and frequent water changes. I'm pretty sure your fish will be fine. You seem pretty dedicated to care well for this fish.

 

[ArowanaKeeper416]

Okay I’ll continue with aquarium epsom salt for he next water change. I will see how he goes this coming week hopefully his appetite comes back soon. Thanks again !

 

[ArowanaKeeper416]

I finally figured out the cause it was ammonia burn due to the red in the tail and eyes which caused fin rot and cloudy eye. It was due to my sump I used GE silicone 2 and was reading online that it is not safe for the fish due to the additive for it to be resistant to mildew and mold. I have shut off the sump and have been using sponge filters and a bubbler and immediately did a 50% wc to take out the ammonia. I added aquarium salt and will be doing another 50% wc today to fully remove any left over water from the sump. Is there anything you would suggest to help with recovery? Will be posting the current water parameters of the aquarium and another after the wc tonight.

 

[Cirrus]

Ammonia burn usually clears up within a week or so. If your tank was not fully cycled there could have been some ammonia build up in relation to that too. Either way, your fish should make a full recovery. Look forward to updates.