I've noticed my two older White Cloud Mountain Minnows - one male and one female - having a tendency to arch their backs, so they curve their spine and caudal fin upwards or downwards, and then straighten their backs (it isn't a permanent deformation - it doesn't appear to be a deformation of any kind, or due to any injury).
However, both last Saturday evening and yesterday evening, the female was repeatedly arching her back so it was curving upwards - especially her caudal fin, and by quite a bit - and she was swimming about the tank doing this, and going a bit like a see-saw in terms of her balance as she moved forward. She was completely back to normal Sunday morning. Yesterday evening, she did appear to go closer to the surface than last Saturday. It doesn't look to be like any sort of injury, and once again she is completely back to normal this morning. Yesterday evening, she did appear to do a see-saw movement, as if trying to maintain bouyancy, while she was stationary.
The main observations was that last Saturday she was going at it with the one male earlier in the evening, fighting a lot, but I had observed them and fed them since that and she was swimming fine. It was after the light went out, a couple of hours after feeding flake food. It was again after the light went out and a couple of hours after feeding flake food yesterday evening.
Now, I have had Minnow fry in the tank, and have a few even now (the numbers went up in the week since last Saturday, so eggs have been laid recently), but I've never seen any of them in the act of laying eggs before...could she have been attempting to expel eggs?
Alternatively, is it possibly constipation? I am endeavouring to feed de-thawed, de-shelled pea once a week now (I don't blanch them, though), and I shall be doing so Sunday (I feed every other day). That means if it is connected to constipation, I won't have a chance to observe it until Tuesday next week when I next feed flake food. It also means that the pea might help.
However, both last Saturday evening and yesterday evening, the female was repeatedly arching her back so it was curving upwards - especially her caudal fin, and by quite a bit - and she was swimming about the tank doing this, and going a bit like a see-saw in terms of her balance as she moved forward. She was completely back to normal Sunday morning. Yesterday evening, she did appear to go closer to the surface than last Saturday. It doesn't look to be like any sort of injury, and once again she is completely back to normal this morning. Yesterday evening, she did appear to do a see-saw movement, as if trying to maintain bouyancy, while she was stationary.
The main observations was that last Saturday she was going at it with the one male earlier in the evening, fighting a lot, but I had observed them and fed them since that and she was swimming fine. It was after the light went out, a couple of hours after feeding flake food. It was again after the light went out and a couple of hours after feeding flake food yesterday evening.
Now, I have had Minnow fry in the tank, and have a few even now (the numbers went up in the week since last Saturday, so eggs have been laid recently), but I've never seen any of them in the act of laying eggs before...could she have been attempting to expel eggs?
Alternatively, is it possibly constipation? I am endeavouring to feed de-thawed, de-shelled pea once a week now (I don't blanch them, though), and I shall be doing so Sunday (I feed every other day). That means if it is connected to constipation, I won't have a chance to observe it until Tuesday next week when I next feed flake food. It also means that the pea might help.
