I Think My Fish Is Sick.

[SworDTail KeePer]

Hey guys I need help. I am not sure if my swordtail is eather sick or just resting. Well one of my female swordtails is just hangingout by the top of the filter all day. She sits there and stays in the same spot all the timie until I feed them. What do you think could be a problem?

 

[Lynden]

If the animal is eating, it is simply fatigue. It happens sometimes with lots of fishes, from oscars to baby whales.

 

[SworDTail KeePer]

So what should I do to help it?

 

[Lynden]

Nothing. Let her rest. If the others are pushing her around to an extreme degree, quarantine her. Shes just tired. Its no big deal.

 

[SworDTail KeePer]

Ok thanks for the tip.

 

[Lynden]

No problem. Remember, if a fish looks sick, dont medicate it just to be safe. Medication is a final effort, a last stand, its something you do when there is nothing else.

If the swordtail shows some more symptoms, dont be hesitant to post it here. Although right now you have nothing to worry about.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

What are your recent stats for ammonia, nitrates and nitrites and what temp is the tank set at? How many male/female swordtails do you have plus other tank stocking and size of tank in gallons? Is the fish pregnant at all?
Making sure you do not medicate your fish unesarsarily is one important thing but if a fish has recently started acting out of the norm you must still explore all posibilitys for the change in its behavior wether its condition appears to be very serious or not.

 

[Lynden]

Oh yeah, is the fish pregnant? cause if it is, it will retire to a corner to give birth. The stats to his tank as far as I know it are in his signature. Also, swordtails can withstand an extreme amount of ammonia, so nitrogen shouldnt be a problem. Your clown loaches and your neons would die long before a swordtail would of ammonia poisoning.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Oh yeah, is the fish pregnant? cause if it is, it will retire to a corner to give birth. The stats to his tank as far as I know it are in his signature. Also, swordtails can withstand an extreme amount of ammonia, so nitrogen shouldnt be a problem. Your clown loaches and your neons would die long before a swordtail would of ammonia poisoning.

That is no basis onto which not test your water quality, even different fish in the same species or of the same type can tolerate ammonia and nitrites to different degrees depending on their individual genetics, the fact that one of the fish is behaving unwell is a cause for concern and a quick test of the stats. If ammonia or nitrites are above 0 no matter how little the levels may be, that is a cause for concern.

 

[Lynden]

No its not, fish arent made of priceless silk, they can tolerate a difference once in awhile.
I have never used a test kit, save a pH and one nitrite test, on my FW tanks. They did exeptionally well.

 

[Synirr]

No its not, fish arent made of priceless silk, they can tolerate a difference once in awhile.

Unless they are discus or seahorses
Tokis is quite right, some individuals are better able to withstand poor water conditions and changes in water chemistry than others. I don't test my water on a regular basis, but you can be darn sure than if I had an unusually lethargic fish I would, just to be on the safe side. Ammonia or nitrite levels above 0 are cause for concern because in a cycled tank these should always be at 0. Whether the fish can deal with it or not isn't the problem, the problem is that you could potentially have a mini cycle on your hands.

 

[Lynden]

Please, everyone, cast your views upon this:
I do not dechlorinate the water I add to my FW tanks. I would, and do, if there are baby egglayers in there, but not on a regularly occasion. I feel this is not nessesary since the charcoal sucks it out anyways. When i have alot of dechlorinator, i add it, but i usually save it for the marine tank.

Get this: I have never, never, never lost a fish due to this. And go ahead and kick the living s*** out of me if you want, bomb my house, punch me in the face, do anything, but i challenge you this: prove me wrong. Tell me why this is so incredibly wrong. If some fish are weak, which i do believe, and have experienced, obviously i do not have any right now.

Please do not tell me i am stupid for doing this. Synirr can tell you why. It is not killing my fish, so therefore it appears this is okay to me. And i am not the only one who does this.

-Lynden

 

[Synirr]

Please, everyone, cast your views upon this:
I do not dechlorinate the water I add to my FW tanks.

Me either, but I can afford not to, since my tap comes from a privately owned well and the water is exceptional and free of most dangerous chemical additives anyway. Perhaps yours is the same? Water chemistry can be drastically different depending on the source, and just because you and I can get away without dechlor doesn't mean most people can. I know many a person who has lost fish from this, so it can and does happen. Water from the city water system where I live can kill a betta overnight, for example. My mother used to have bettas at her workplace and kept wondering why they'd die randomly... turns out that the cleaning lady had changed their water with tap and didn't dechlor.

Anyway, this thread isn't about how delicate fish are. This thread is about a fish that may or may not be sick, and it is absolutely good advice for this person to simply test their water. That may not have anything to do with it, but better safe than sorry. Not saying they should test regularly, and if they don't have a test kit and don't want to spend money on one then that's fine, but it's not a bad idea at all to test your water if you see something that might be a warning sign, such as a lethargic fish.

I think that maybe you need to try to understand that your experiences are not shared by everyone else on earth, and that just because something works for you doesn't mean it will work or is right for everyone else.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi SworDTail KeePer

Whenever a fish is looking out of sorts, it's always a good idea to do an extra water change, using dechlorinated water. It will hurt nothing and might do a lot of good.

Do you live in a part of Louisiana that was effected by the recent flooding?

 

[Lynden]

Whenever a fish is looking out of sorts, it's always a good idea to do an extra water change, using dechlorinated water. It will hurt nothing and might do a lot of good.

Thats good advice.

About the water, my town does not heavily chemicalise the water, so i think this is why i can get away with it. And you are right, i shouldnt say stuff that may only work for me. I usually dont, its only when im asked an opinion. Sorry about this.