Lack Of Movement Help Needed

[FishGO]

Hi guys, not been on in a while but in need of help!

Tank is over a year old now, no new fish for months. Tetras, 1 rainbow, 1 bala shark and 1 bristlenose pleco.

All has been fine from the start, last day or 2 there has been an increased lack of movement from all fish. Some are just floating barely moving, others swimming backwards slightly, staying in a corner etc.

Fish are still eating,
Temp is fine, filter and heater is ok.

Currently doing a 15/20% water change and hoping that helps, any ideas what could be causing it?...

Thanks in advance!

 

[LyraGuppi]

Any water parameters?

 

[FishGO]

Unfortunately not, think I'll try pick up a test kit tomorrow if possible, hopefully see some improvement in an hour or 2 after this water change.

Don't see what would have effected the water, absolutely no change last 10days..

Will keep the thread updated.

In the mean time any further advice would be appreciated!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The water change you have already begun is a good first step.
 
 
If its systemic, the water needs to be replaced.   What's your normal maintenance routine?  Do you do weekly water changes?  Are you consistent in doing that, or could the tank be suffering from a bit of old tank syndrome?
 
 
The reason I ask is this:  If your maintenance has been good and regular water changes have been happening, you can safely change 75% - 90% of the water to remove a contaminant if that is the cause.
 
Ultimately, if that's what it is, you should notice the fish start to move around more fairly quickly.  

 

[FishGO]

The water change you have already begun is a good first step.
 
 
If its systemic, the water needs to be replaced.   What's your normal maintenance routine?  Do you do weekly water changes?  Are you consistent in doing that, or could the tank be suffering from a bit of old tank syndrome?
 
 
The reason I ask is this:  If your maintenance has been good and regular water changes have been happening, you can safely change 75% - 90% of the water to remove a contaminant if that is the cause.
 
Ultimately, if that's what it is, you should notice the fish start to move around more fairly quickly.

Yes water changes have been reasonable consistant, 7-10 days for the most part.

Could be just what I want to see but appears to be a little movement already from most..

Was a 20litre change completed about half an hour ago, I'll keep checking in and perform
The same change either later tonight or early tomorrow.

As I'm typing this, certainly better movement already!

Since the tanks been running I've never changed more than approx 25 litres, should I maybe perform a larger change at some point soon if the fish recover?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Am going to take a shot here since you give no data on your tank size. Based on your statement that your were going to do a 15-20% wc and you then asked if 20L was enough, I am deducing you have a tank between 100 and 133 litres (26- 35 US gal.).The bala maye be the issue. These fish are not suitable for 99% of hobbyists because they need to to be kept in groups, grow big and are very active fish. They will eat smaller fish and they also need clean water.
 
It may be that your fish has grown over the last year and the tank for it is too small. Because of its size, it may be intimidating the tetras and rainbow. Because of its growth and possibly the tank size, the water quality is likely not what it should be and this is affecting the bala.
 
I will give you a few links to very good sites on species information where you can read about the needs of this fish.
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/balantiocheilos-melanopterus/
http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile21.html
http/www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/bala_sharks.htm
 
As you will note from the above you have should be keeping balas in groups and in much greater space than your tank provides.
 
I could be off in terms of the cause of you perceived problem (but not the bala info), so please be sure to get that set of test kits and check your stats.

 

[FishGO]

Am going to take a shot here since you give no data on your tank size. Based on your statement that your were going to do a 15-20% wc and you then asked if 20L was enough, I am deducing you have a tank between 100 and 133 litres (26- 35 US gal.).The bala maye be the issue. These fish are not suitable for 99% of hobbyists because they need to to be kept in groups, grow big and are very active fish. They will eat smaller fish and they also need clean water.
 
It may be that your fish has grown over the last year and the tank for it is too small. Because of its size, it may be intimidating the tetras and rainbow. Because of its growth and possibly the tank size, the water quality is likely not what it should be and this is affecting the bala.
 
I will give you a few links to very good sites on species information where you can read about the needs of this fish.
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/balantiocheilos-melanopterus/
http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile21.html
http/www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/bala_sharks.htm
 
As you will note from the above you have should be keeping balas in groups and in much greater space than your tank provides.
 
I could be off in terms of the cause of you perceived problem (but not the bala info), so please be sure to get that set of test kits and check your stats.
 
 
 

 
 
 
Thanks for the reply.
 
I posted about bala's way back when i first got them. I've explained before i was disappointed i wasn't informed at the time of purchase just how big they get, i bought 2, 1 died, I bought another it died aswell.
 
So atleast for just now its just 1 Bala and it seems comfortable, the tank is a little over 5 ft long and 140 litres. The bala is currently around a year old and 4.5/5 inches long. 
 
The tank looks a lot better today with fish all swimming around a lot more like normal. May well perform another water change later today/tomorrow.
 
I read a little on old tank syndrome, and noticed it spoke about the gravel, is there a better method of cleaning this other than just using the manual hoover? anything stuck the gravel just seems to stay there sadly.. seems a bit dirty over the 18months its been impossible to clean completely.
 
It reminded me i hadnt change the filter media, (sponge and ceramic) for quite some time.. i've cleaned them maybe 3 weeks ago or so but perhaps some new ones will help too, probably overdue.
 
Fingers crossed in the mean time! 
 
P.S thanks for the bala info!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Just an fyi. Most biomedia should not be replaced unless it is falling apart or is so clogged it affects flow and cannot be cleaned and improved. Both the ceramics and the sponges will hold beneficial bacteria which is lost if the media is replaced or cleaned "too well".
 
Doing larger water changes on a weekly basis is a good idea as well. I would suggest at least 33% and 50% would be just fine. It is very rare one hears that fish have problems because their water is too clean. You may want to ramp up to this level over a few weeks to avoid any possibility of OTS having a effect if it is at work. In such cases one needs to restore normal parameters gradually.

 

[FishGO]

Just an fyi. Most biomedia should not be replaced unless it is falling apart or is so clogged it affects flow and cannot be cleaned and improved. Both the ceramics and the sponges will hold beneficial bacteria which is lost if the media is replaced or cleaned "too well".
 
Doing larger water changes on a weekly basis is a good idea as well. I would suggest at least 33% and 50% would be just fine. It is very rare one hears that fish have problems because their water is too clean. You may want to ramp up to this level over a few weeks to avoid any possibility of OTS having a effect if it is at work. In such cases one needs to restore normal parameters gradually.

 
I believe the sponges and ceramics have been replaced once since i got the filter (approx 18months). Could be wrong though.
Been cleaning them from time to time in the extremely dirty water that comes when placed into the bucket with existing tank water. However there was a problem a couple of months ago when the filter was barely flowing, cleaned out the filter and all good again.
 
I think i'll try these larger water changes, i have always been under the impression that any more than 20% was only required/recommended when something was wrong with the water. 
 
I've just changed out another 20/25 litres before reading this, gave the tank a little clean as i noticed the fish were back to the same 'lifeless' state as yesterday.
 
Hopefully see some more improvement! Thanks for all the advice, really do appreciate it. 

 

[eaglesaquarium]

 

Just an fyi. Most biomedia should not be replaced unless it is falling apart or is so clogged it affects flow and cannot be cleaned and improved. Both the ceramics and the sponges will hold beneficial bacteria which is lost if the media is replaced or cleaned "too well".
 
Doing larger water changes on a weekly basis is a good idea as well. I would suggest at least 33% and 50% would be just fine. It is very rare one hears that fish have problems because their water is too clean. You may want to ramp up to this level over a few weeks to avoid any possibility of OTS having a effect if it is at work. In such cases one needs to restore normal parameters gradually.

 
I believe the sponges and ceramics have been replaced once since i got the filter (approx 18months). Could be wrong though.
Been cleaning them from time to time in the extremely dirty water that comes when placed into the bucket with existing tank water. However there was a problem a couple of months ago when the filter was barely flowing, cleaned out the filter and all good again.
 
I think i'll try these larger water changes, i have always been under the impression that any more than 20% was only required/recommended when something was wrong with the water. 
 
I've just changed out another 20/25 litres before reading this, gave the tank a little clean as i noticed the fish were back to the same 'lifeless' state as yesterday.
 
Hopefully see some more improvement! Thanks for all the advice, really do appreciate it. 
 

 
 
The smaller water change recommendations that you see from some sources are due to the erroneous thought process that the water holds the bacteria we want.  That's incorrect.  The bacteria we need grows almost exclusively on surfaces, so changing the water IS NOT a problem.
 
 
The rivers where these fish come from are always experiencing 'new' water, as the rivers and streams continue to flow.   I don't believe I've heard of anything where you can really do too large or too frequent of a water change, speaking purely about the water itself, not the stress of the decrease in volume for that short period of time, the only exception being 'OTS', where the fish would need to be acclimated slowly to the tap water, by gradually increasing to the larger values.  Additionally, water changes can be used to trigger spawning in some situations.