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first off i know i have several fish that get too big for my tank, in the steps of getting a 60gal. secondly i know water parameters is key to diagnosis, but i ran out of testing supplies, so im a bit s.o.l.

with that said i have a rainbow shark that looks like he is gonna kick the bucket. i put him in about 3 weeks ago. havent had any problems till last night i noticed the my algea eater (belive its a chinese algea eater) was getting a bit rough. this morning i noticed he was hiding. then this evening i noticed he was swim weird. or when he stayed still he would be vertical. so i did my usual water change. and moved him to a 10 gal hospital tank.
i just bought the tank today with other plans, so i set it up, put half (5gal) water from main tank, and 5 gal fresh water and an airstone. hes got the tank too him self till he gets better.
anyone got any suggestions? do you think it could be something other than my cae roughing him up? I think he is just stressed from being roughed up becuase hes the only one with any problems. he has no markings other than a few damaged scales in the shape of the cae's mouth

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

poor thing past about 5 minutes ago. i was hoping he would pull through it but i guess not. he fought to the very last minute.

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

Sounds the as if it was just the combined effects of shock, damage , and persecution from the other fish. Some fish just give up and die if they have been violently attacked. The shock causes retraction of blood from the extremeties, in order to insulate the internal organs, but in many cases the shock response goes on for a hyperextended period of time, and the fish begins to mentally close down and die. Dont feel too bad about it, it happens soetimes, and unless you have access to steroid treatments theres not always anything you can do to bring them round.

Just be careful about what you put in with that CAE in future, hes obviously got the mean streak that means the tank he's in can no longer be considered a true community setup. Gonna have to choose fish that outgun the CAE from now on.

i think the cae needs to be moved, i put him in just as a quick fix for an algea problem. i didnt really pay attention between the different algea eaters. ill see if i can find him a suitable home, and maybe a more suitable tankmate for the rest of the crew

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"