Tank Information:
36 Gal Bowfront
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
20ish nitrate
77 degrees F
5 gallon water change every 3 days (so 20-30%ish per week)
Hey all!
About four days ago I had a molly that effectively spun itself to death (kept chasing its tail until it was too exhausted to, and then kept trying). I never was able to diagnose the cause, and there were no prior symptoms (went from happy one day to near constant spinning the next). I didn't see any other odd behaviour in the fish the next couple days, so I dismissed it as a freak accident.
About once a month or so I feed my fish some peas and give 'em a two day "fast" to cleanse 'em. I just finished doing that today and fed the fish their normal meal. Within 5 minutes of eating my smallest cherry barb started darting around the tank furiously, and between its frantic swimming is both burping bubbles and gulping for air at the surface. Furthermore, it has now "chased its tail" twice (gone in two really fast circles like a dog would) just like the molly, then gone back to darting all over. It also has flashed on my rock decorations once or twice. I imagine the behavior will die down after the food has "passed", but was wondering if anybody had any idea what might cause all that. She also appears to now have slight swim bladder trouble (when she stops moving every now and then she slowly begins floating up toward the surface). Nobody else seems to be behaving oddly at all.
This seems like a stretch, but could it be possible an internal parasite would cause all that by feeding off the food I'd just given the fish? I had also noticed some long stringy white poo in the tank about a week back, but never figured out the culprit (and couldn't find any more on subsequent inspections).
Thanks for the help!
Edit:
After about 40 minutes she appears to be more or less back to normal. I've seen her "yawn" once or twice and she's a little more twitchy then usual, but her behavior is normal. I also notice she seems to be bent at a very slight angle where her tail starts (maybe 5-10 degrees?).
36 Gal Bowfront
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
20ish nitrate
77 degrees F
5 gallon water change every 3 days (so 20-30%ish per week)
Hey all!
About four days ago I had a molly that effectively spun itself to death (kept chasing its tail until it was too exhausted to, and then kept trying). I never was able to diagnose the cause, and there were no prior symptoms (went from happy one day to near constant spinning the next). I didn't see any other odd behaviour in the fish the next couple days, so I dismissed it as a freak accident.
About once a month or so I feed my fish some peas and give 'em a two day "fast" to cleanse 'em. I just finished doing that today and fed the fish their normal meal. Within 5 minutes of eating my smallest cherry barb started darting around the tank furiously, and between its frantic swimming is both burping bubbles and gulping for air at the surface. Furthermore, it has now "chased its tail" twice (gone in two really fast circles like a dog would) just like the molly, then gone back to darting all over. It also has flashed on my rock decorations once or twice. I imagine the behavior will die down after the food has "passed", but was wondering if anybody had any idea what might cause all that. She also appears to now have slight swim bladder trouble (when she stops moving every now and then she slowly begins floating up toward the surface). Nobody else seems to be behaving oddly at all.
This seems like a stretch, but could it be possible an internal parasite would cause all that by feeding off the food I'd just given the fish? I had also noticed some long stringy white poo in the tank about a week back, but never figured out the culprit (and couldn't find any more on subsequent inspections).
Thanks for the help!
Edit:
After about 40 minutes she appears to be more or less back to normal. I've seen her "yawn" once or twice and she's a little more twitchy then usual, but her behavior is normal. I also notice she seems to be bent at a very slight angle where her tail starts (maybe 5-10 degrees?).
