Changes in swimming habits...

[TAL]

Are there particular meanings to some changes in swimming habits?

For example...

My fish were all at the top of the tank suddenly.... (I had to rescue them)


But what if they all:

Swam at the bottom?

or stayed on the left side or right side if the tank?

I slowed down my feeding schedule (i was over feeding) and now the stupid goldfish I have is picking at the bottom alot and he never did that before?


Yesterday I put in some brine shrimp and ALL the fish - all of em... went nuts. Whats up wit dat?

 

[jo3olous]

the goldfish is hungry (it always is). obv all your fish love brine shrimp, and they have to compete for it because they are all cramped together receiving food at once. When i feed my fish i lay out food all over the tank so not 1 fish gets it all. unfortunately for you, you dont have much surface area to spread out the food.

But I would def believe they love the shrimp

 

[TAL]

the goldfish is hungry (it always is). obv all your fish love brine shrimp, and they have to compete for it because they are all cramped together receiving food at once. When i feed my fish i lay out food all over the tank so not 1 fish gets it all. unfortunately for you, you dont have much surface area to spread out the food.

But I would def believe they love the shrimp

Must be....

They didn;t react that way to the blood worms.

Heck..even regular feedings do not get that kind of reaction.


I think everyone should have fish.

I think I might p/u a 10 gallon tank in the next day or two just to give these guiys a little more room until I get the big tank in and up and running.

 

[Kissyboots]

I think everyone should have fish.

?? Uh, ok...

I think I might p/u a 10 gallon tank in the next day or two just to give these guiys a little more room until I get the big tank in and up and running.

What ever happened to cycling? And where did you get the 10g all of a sudden? If you move everything, like gravel, plants, and the filter, then maybe you won't have too many problems. But if I were you, I'd get that huge tank asap...and that test kit.

 

[TAL]

?? Uh, ok...



What ever happened to cycling? And where did you get the 10g all of a sudden? If you move everything, like gravel, plants, and the filter, then maybe you won't have too many problems. But if I were you, I'd get that huge tank asap...and that test kit.

Who needs cycling? I have a bio-wheel !!!!

I dont have the 10 yet.....but I will by the weekend.

I want the bigger tank but we just moved into a new house in a new state and my wife isnlt even sure yet where she wants it.

So..I have to wait a bit but hey... Ill end up with 3 tanks!!!

Test kit...good idea. Did I mention I just boiught a thermometer. Its in the tank now. Rana likes it. The water is apparently 79F. Mmmm toasty warm.

 

[emmanuelchavez]

Who needs cycling? I have a bio-wheel !!!!

Uhhh.... the bio-wheel means nothing without the cycling... You still have to cycle the tank so the bio-wheel can get that good bacteria that's keeping your current fish alive.

Maybe you should read a lot more... before you keep torturing the fish you have, and more-than-likely will get....

 

[TAL]

Uhhh.... the bio-wheel means nothing without the cycling... You still have to cycle the tank so the bio-wheel can get that good bacteria that's keeping your current fish alive.

Maybe you should read a lot more... before you keep torturing the fish you have, and more-than-likely will get....

Well....my no cycling comments was partly tongue in cheek but of cource that is hard to pick up on in simple text so I forgive you.

I will say that the bio-wheel (as someone else suggested as well) helped cover up some of my newb mistakes and probably kept my fish alive.

 

[Kissyboots]

I really don't know why you're so excited about the biowheel...cycling is necessary.

I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU GET RID OF SOME FISH ASAP!!!

If you don't know what tank you're getting yet, and you don't have the 10g up and cycling yet, then you need to do something about your current situation.

Btw, you have a betta who likes warm water and a goldfish who needs cold water, and you're happy that it's 79 degrees? I think you need to read up on what you've got in there and make some decisions today about what to do about it. Is there really no way you can give fish to your lfs?

I am not telling you what to do, I am merely stating what NEEDS to be done. Quickly!



Edit: It sounds to me like you're so overjoyed with your new pets that you can't see your errors. If you really love your fish so much, you should try to make them as comfortable as possible.

 

[TAL]

I am not telling you what to do, I am merely stating what NEEDS to be done. Quickly!



Edit: It sounds to me like you're so overjoyed with your new pets that you can't see your errors. If you really love your fish so much, you should try to make them as comfortable as possible.

Well..I always wanted fish. Even when I was a kid. Now I can finaly have them and its been fun to do with the kids. So yea..I;m having fun.

Now... being a newb I will also point out that my LFS has been really short on quality info when compared to what I have been learning here.

Now as for the Betta and the goldfish.... yea not meant for exactly the same tank butboth are eating and swimming and looking good.

Isn;t there some room they have for overlap?

What am I gonna do in the winter when the house gets cold? I may need to install a heater unit of some sort.

 

[TAL]

Allow me to add....

the pictures in the manuals I rec;d from the store show heavily populalated tanks in the pictures.... then I find out about the 1 inch per gallon rule which flies in the face of:

all the pictures in the manual

All the tanks at the pet store

And this tank I saw at my friend Billy's house when I was a kid...

so...its not all my fault!

 

[Kissyboots]

LFS info is usually inaccurate or for the benefit of selling a product. So it's not good info. But if you possibly can, I would definitely urge you to bring some of the fish there, if not almost all of them, because you are only hurting them in the long run.

Since it doesn't seem you did much research on the fish before hand, how do you know they are looking good? Can we have some pics possibly?

I'm not sure about the temps because I myself have never kept a goldfish because they are nitrite machines, and imo they're ugly...so I can't say for sure what the overlap is. But as far as I know cold water fish and tropical fish should not be kept together.

Since you seem to have the money (and snow which means coldness), I'd suggest getting a heater (for the larger tank of course.)

 

[Kissyboots]

Allow me to add....

the pictures in the manuals I rec;d from the store show heavily populalated tanks in the pictures.... then I find out about the 1 inch per gallon rule which flies in the face of:

all the pictures in the manual

All the tanks at the pet store

And this tank I saw at my friend Billy's house when I was a kid...

so...its not all my fault!

The stores have a lot of fish in their tanks because it's temporary. They get sold so they aren't cramped for very long. So it's ok for them to do it. Why you wounld take advice from friend Billy...idk.

For you, personally, like I've said before, stick with the rule until you're settled in and then you can experiment (with the proper research of course.)

 

[TAL]

Pictures are a great idea and I may have some up later tonight and you will see how much space they DO have - although I will admit the bio-load is too much for the space and ideally I would like to see some more room. I think the Wishies would like a few more in the school and that isn;t possible now.

I was just a guy who;s wife brought home some fish and now I am learning alot and I thank each and every one of you for your time and help in this matter.

Gotta jet...time to put the peanut butter cookies in the oven!

 

[DesignsOnYou]

First of all, yes, you will need a heater to keep tropical fish, which all of yours are except the goldfish. I get that your wife just brought fish home and you're having fun, and that's great, but you do need to do some more research. Honestly, I'm not sure why all your fish ARE alive. I mean, I'm glad they are, but I think it's in spite of several large obstacles. I think we've already covered this, but your common pleco will get huge, the gold fish shouldn't be with the rest of them, the glofish is a danio which is a schooling fish and is probably lonely, and the rainbow shark tops out at 6". They may all look fine and be eating now, but you need to have a better plan long term. I'm glad you're excited, we all are when we set up a tank, but you can't just dump them in a 10 gallon unless you move everything, including the gravel and filter, and hope that your bacteria stays alive. And I would almost guarantee that the adult sizes won't even fit in the tank, much less have any room to swim. I'm with Kissy, do some more research, figure out what you're going to do, and stop buying fish for now. Also, post pictures when you get a chance. I really don't mean to sound harsh, I think we're all just trying to explain the problems to you since it seems like your enthusiasm is clouding your judgment. Post some pics, and good luck getting everything figured out.

 

[emmanuelchavez]

Well....my no cycling comments was partly tongue in cheek but of cource that is hard to pick up on in simple text so I forgive you.

I will say that the bio-wheel (as someone else suggested as well) helped cover up some of my newb mistakes and probably kept my fish alive.

Lol. I think you're just letting the bio-wheel thing go to your head too much.

Seriously - just slow down a lot, read, process the information, and make sure it makes sense before doing something even more harsh (for your fish). It'll be more expensive for you in the long-run if you don't do your research now. You may think your fish look happy, but unless you're a "fish whisperer," I have no idea how you'll know what they really feel. For all you know, they're planning a hostile takeover... *GOLDFISH*

You seriously can't rely on pictures on advertisements either. All they want is your $$$.

And forgiving me for "missinterpreting" your no cycle statement? pft. please! *crazysmil I read it well, and i read it twice (or thrice ). It is hard to pick up on smart-alick-eyism (did I just make up my own word?) when reading / writing.

 

[TAL]

Ahhh...

This is fun

My fish love it here.

My rainbow shark is swimming upside down now.. How much happier can he be to be doing tricks like that!!!

 

[Surprise_Clown_Loach]

When you go to a larger tank. Make sure you put your old filter (as is) on the new tank in addition to your new larger filter.

Test for NH and NO2 daily. It's surprising you haven't lost more of your fish. Do water changes accordingly.

For swimming habits. Stressed out fish, or high levels of NH, NO2, NO3 can cause fish to swim weirdly. (change in swimming habits)

It's hard/impossible to rule out bad water and/or stress given your setup.

 

[DesignsOnYou]

A fish swimming upside down is not always a sign of him having fun. Sometimes it is, but sometimes not. Are you actually reading and absorbing anything that we're saying?

 

[Kissyboots]

Ahhh...This is fun

How so? ...

 

[DesignsOnYou]

I was wondering that too, Kissy. Is that sarcasm again? Does he recognize that maybe upside down swimming isn't a good sign? (I realize that some fish just do this.)