Fighting Fish

[pad1974]

Hi

I have just noticed that one of the eyes of my fighting fish is badly swollen.

Can anyone tell me what may have casued it and if there is anything that i can do to clear it up? He is very lifeless and spends most of his time almost lying on the bottom of the tank. When I approach to feed he comes to life, eats and then drops to the bottom again.

 

[Joviella]

What tank do you have? what fish are in the tank?......Give us some more info and maybe we can help.x.

 

[pad1974]

What tank do you have? what fish are in the tank?......Give us some more info and maybe we can help.x.

I have the following:

1 x fighting fish
2 x rainbow fish
1 x shrimp
2 x cat fish
1 x swordtail

They are kept in a Bi-orb so don't think it is over crowded. I tested the water yesterday and the nitrate levels were a litle high. I have now treated this with Nutrafin water conditioner (Aqua Plus). I have also recently changed the food to TetraMin flake food.

Today he seems a little more lively although on close inspection it actually looks like he's got a cataract, the other eye is fine as are all the other fish.

It may be worth telling you that the cat fish and shrimp are relatively new to the tank.

Thanks for your help

 

[thegnu]

Nutrafin water conditioner wont cure your high nitrates. you should really do a water change straight away and do them twice a week at 20% at least. eye problems are caused by bad water as well as knocks and very old fish

 

[pad1974]

Nutrafin water conditioner wont cure your high nitrates. you should really do a water change straight away and do them twice a week at 20% at least. eye problems are caused by bad water as well as knocks and very old fish

Great.

Thanks for your help. He has been there since the beginning and is the oldest fish in there (as far as buying him is concerned).

Cheers

 

[Fate2006]

Isn't a bio orb 4 gallons?!

 

[pad1974]

Isn't a bio orb 4 gallons?!

I'm fairly sure it is a 30 litre tank

 

[pica_nuttalli]

sorry to break the news but 30L isn't even 10 gallons in size. that's really not a good tank for rainbow fish, not only because its too small but also because rainbows are river fish that do best in a long tank with a heavy current. if your catfish are cory cats, then they should be fine but most of the other commonly available catfish will quickly outgrow your tank

if you want to make your maintenance easier and improve your water quality, then take the rainbow fish back to the lfs. see if you can't get another swordtail or two (swordtails generally like to live in trios of 1 male and 2 females)

 

[dwarfgourami]

sorry to break the news but 30L isn't even 10 gallons in size. that's really not a good tank for rainbow fish, not only because its too small but also because rainbows are river fish that do best in a long tank with a heavy current. if your catfish are cory cats, then they should be fine but most of the other commonly available catfish will quickly outgrow your tank

if you want to make your maintenance easier and improve your water quality, then take the rainbow fish back to the lfs. see if you can't get another swordtail or two (swordtails generally like to live in trios of 1 male and 2 females)

Agree about the rainbows, disagree about the swordtails. Fast active fish that grow up to 4 inches, why would you want to keep those in a 7 gallon tank and a biorb at that. IMO swordtails shouldn't be kept in a tank shorter than 30 inches. Keeping a male in particular in such a confined space seems to be asking for trouble- where would his females go when they didn't feel like sex?