Do fish move?

[Penguin]

Yo guys,

As I am new to looking after fish my knowledge can be written on the back of a postage stamp. So hopefully one of you guys might give us a clue?

The thing is, I inherited a 10 gallon tank when I moved into my new gaff. The fish did not look too happy then as the filter pump type unit was screwed and was pumping about a teaspoon/day. I have fixed that now so the water should be nicely filtered. I have done several water changes making sure to use water treatment.

I currently have 5 Neon's, 6 glowlights, 2 peppered catfish, 1 hugh gourmi (spelling?) and 5 fastly dwindling guppy's. It's the guppy's that have the problem. They just seem to sit on the bottom for a few days making the slightest effort to get to the surface. whilst sat on the bottom they gulp abit like they are short of air? and then die! the thing is they only die one at a time and all the other fish seem unaffected. Saying that the neon's and glowlights just seem to sit in the same place like they are stuck by an invisable bungy. Is this a sign of stress or illness?

So any ideas? Stuff to try?

one other question, what sort of water current conditions do they prefer? fast moving or reasonably still?

Cheers guys

Penguin over and out!

 

[gadazobe]

No wonder they're unhappy, you're way overstocked for a 10 gallon tank. Is this a new or established tank? Also, we need water parameters before we can tell what the problem is, but it does sound like an ammonia spike. You need to get the water tested at your local fish shop or get a test kit and test the water yourself. Once you have the results post them here and then we will be able to go from there.

 

[dolphin]

Hi Penguin

Dito what gadazobe said. It sounds like a new tank problem too me.

 

[Tropicalfishfn]

Yup over stocked but you moved them so theres some stress there. tHEY should bounce back soon enough

 

[William]

Incedently fish never stop moving, they must have water passing through their gills to obtain oxygen because without true lungs they can't breath like humans can.

 

[dolphin]

Hi William

That is not guite true. Most fish can pump water over their gills. and thus do not have to keep moving.

 

[Tropicalfishfn]

well we learn abot this stuff every day

 

[William]

Hi William

That is not guite true. Most fish can pump water over their gills. and thus do not have to keep moving.

I stand corrected!

 

[jumpman]

I think it's sharks that have to move to get water moving over their gills, although saying that I think there are some reef sharks that can just sit on the bottom..

 

[Tanked]

jumpman you are mostly right. most saltwater Sharks need to keep moving. usually the coldwater variety, great white, hammer head etc.. Nurse sharks have been know to just lay on the ocean floor.

 

[steve-0]

jumpman you are mostly right. most saltwater Sharks need to keep moving. usually the coldwater variety, great white, hammer head etc.. Nurse sharks have been know to just lay on the ocean floor.

yup most sharks have to move but i saw this show on discovery and there is a type of sark that can just lay on the bottom.... Also there were theseother sharks that were electrically charged and whn one was getting eaten you could see the electricity flowing through its body......i know its a little of topic but i had to get ti out of my system

 

[Jamnog]

i think it could be partially stress related like the others say the tank is slightly over stockied but i think perhaps the water chemistry of the water might be affecting the fish the tank maybee going through whats known as a cycle this might make the water a bit toxic to the fish when you add the stress of the move it all adds up. if the tank gets knocked that stresses the fish if people jump about on the floor infront of the tank on a second story that might stress them a bit. the water changes help also i advise you use some plants and if you can afford one get a water testing kit. it would be nice to get a slightly bigger tank but if thease fish are dropping like flies then it might not be over stocked for long hope the tank improves and best of luck sorry to hear about all this good luck and keep at it

all the best jamnog

 

[Penguin]

Yo Guys,

I have a little more info on the problem. I got the water tested lasted night at a pet store. It seems the ammonia level is OK (about 0.2ppm), but the nitrates are through the roof. I have also bought a water testing kit that covers pH, Nitrates, Nitrites and ammonia.

So what is the next course of action?

Will high levels of nitrate effect the plants in the tank. As my plants don't seem to want to grow and just rot?

The fish have not been moved at all they were in the house when I moved in. Although the tank is on a laminate floor which does bounce a little when walked on. I assume from what people have been saying that this might stress the fish?

Any more ideas?

Any input appreciated

Cheers Guys

 

[Jamnog]

the bouncing floor wont affect them to as large an amount as the hight nitrates i think this is prolly whats causing the fish to become stressed the plants live off nitrates as thier food but it the nitrates are too high the plants die. like too much of a good thing. where do you get the water from when your doing you water changes? i will have a look and find that cool topic on cycling thats full of info you will need to know. generally i think they use dilution of the water with fresh chlorine free water thats been left for say 24 hours with an airstone bubbling in it. they do water changes to reduce the amount of nitrates or nitrites. as you are allready doing water changes i have to wonder what the water your inrtoducing has in it.

well mamapish found this

 

[Penguin]

I have done about 5-6 water changes since i moved in, in May. I change about 5 litres in a 10 gallon tank. I use tap water with a chlorine remover treatment. Is the water ready straight away after treatment or is it best to let it still for a while?

I will test my tap water tonight to check quality.


cheers

Penguin over and out!