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I picked up what I believe is a male L350 yesterday. He's in my planted 75 right now. Really awesome looking fish, about 8" SL and 15" TL.

He's been acting odd.

Since I got the fish, he's been breathing more quickly than his tankmates, which include several mid sized cichlids and other, smaller loricariids. He's also been spending most of his time on the glass in the front of the tank. I haven't seen him eat yet. I've tried algae wafers, sinking cichlid excel, sinking carnivore pellets, and vibra bites. Haven't been able to hit the grocery store yet but I'm gonna try to grab some zucchini tomorrow.
I did see him poop today and the feces is long, stringy, and very light green, almost white, with occasional air bubbles. Not sure if this is significant.
His belly is rounded like he's been eating. I don't know how long he was at the store.

I did a 40% water change today and he seemed a little more active after that, but he's still breathing fast and not eating.

Parameters:
T- 76°F
pH- 6.7
Ammonia- 0
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates- 40ppm

Any idea what's going on, or what I can do to convince him to eat? I know nitrates are a bit high but could they really be affecting him that much at 40ppm while the other fish are fine?

Pics attached, not sure if they'll help.

Sounds like the shock of a new environment was a bit heavier than usual. Don't worry too much about eating, it's in good condition and can go weeks without food. Just do regular water changes and it'll be fine. You might also want to ensure a good amount of oxygenation.

Its behaviour relative to the existing fish should take into account they are used to their environment and especially the water parameters. The new fish is not and will take a few days to do so depending on how different from its prior surroundings.

Hope that helps,

Jools

Thanks for the reply. This is reassuring. Filtration is two fluval 406's plus a small surface skimmer but I may add an air stone if he doesn't improve. Hopefully the wayer changes will help him acclimate over the next couple weeks.