Can Fish Faint?

[lilfishie]

Tank size: 60l
pH: 7.2
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20 (Same as tap)
kH:?
gH:?
tank temp: 22

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
Turned the ligh on my tank this morning to see one of my WCMM dart around then suddenly stop with fins in full flare and get stuck in a plant (current carried it there) only to turn another tank light on come back and its swimming around again with the rest

Volume and Frequency of water changes: 25-50% weekly

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: only water safe and liquid ferts

Tank inhabitants: 10 WCMM

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): Live plants and the 10 WCMM

Exposure to chemicals: non that i can think of

To me it looked like he fainted but i'll leave it to the experts

 

[Athena]

Perhaps it was just stunned temporarily due to the tank lights being turned on suddenly? I remember reading somewhere that it's best to put the room lights on for a while, say half hour, before turning on the tank lights - so that it's a gradual thing, rather than going from total darkness to extreme light.

Some fish are more sensitive than others - maybe it freaked your fish out and caused it to spasm somehow?

Athena

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah i've heard the same before but never really credited it much as i've never seen any evidence of shock from turning lights on/off myself.

but it seems to fit for this case doesn't it?

 

[B13]

Perhaps it was just stunned temporarily due to the tank lights being turned on suddenly? I remember reading somewhere that it's best to put the room lights on for a while, say half hour, before turning on the tank lights - so that it's a gradual thing, rather than going from total darkness to extreme light.

I try and do that because sometimes, one of my coolie loaches goes completely and utterly MENTAL when the tank light comes on. Seriously, he/she goes crazy, streaking back and forth across the front and sides of the tank until he/she finally crashes into something that he/she can hide under!



I mean, I know that coolies are as mad as a bag of cats, but this lil' fella goes plain, plumb ape-####!!

 

[boeingtech]

i had a similar incident with one of my angel fish i turned the tank light on when the room was dark and he freaked and sort ofturned upside down in the plant and started to breath really slowly i thought he was a gonner i was gutted.
Then all of a suden he just started to swim around as if nothing had happened.Learnt a lesson that day to never turn the tank light on when the room is totally dark.

 

[lilfishie]

thats the thing the room wasn't completely dark before hand, the tank light is always the last thing i do before i leave for work like a hour / hour and a half after

 

[WILDER]

Fish can have panic attacks if something freaks them out.

 

[lilfishie]

well its still fine now and its the only time its happened in the week i have had them

 

[WILDER]

I wouldn't worry then it just sounds like he got spooked.