Problem with fish "buoyancy"

[Fantail_Lover]

My fantails have been going to the surface of the water alot lately to "breathe" air. It looked occasional at first but recently Ive gotten worried- they've been doing it alot! Now one of the fantails is having trouble staying "balanced" and is pointed nose down tail up and has to swim to stay in the water. I do regular water changes and feed them healthy food like brine shrimp (which I heard helps this swim bladder problem)

Any ideas guys? Does this unbalanced swimming hurt the fish?

-Xan

 

[kll1221]

what are your water parameters? Nitrites/ammonia? Is your signature right? Sounds like something could be wrong there as well sometimes when they are at top they are gasping for oxygen.

 

[Lotus]

This has some advice: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/4468/swmbldr.html

 

[Fantail_Lover]

Yes my signature is correct, those have been my parameters for a long time, they never change (my tank is very stable). I looked at the website, that makes sense. I have noticed that the fish havent been crapping very much in comparison to the amount of food I have been feeding them. I think I'll let them go a couple days without food and then feed them some good 'ol brine shrimp. See if this helps...

Thanks guys, I'll let you know on any updates...

-Xan

 

[Seleya]

I would retest your water -- those readings have never changed, have they? Even with regular water changes, there should be some variation of at least one parameter. You set this tank up a month or so ago, correct?

What besides brine shrimp are you feeding them?

 

[seastaar88]

the dissolved oxygen levels in your tank may be low, also. do you have an airstone in there at all? our sharks at work do this (swim at the very top) when the D.O. is low.

 

[prettypleco]

Give them some shelled frozen peas. Boil for about a minute. Also when you feed make sure you soak any flake, pellet or otherwise dry food in aquarium water before giving. Usually when they are pointing nose down they have air/gas trapped in their upper intestine. When they are completely upside down [on their backs swimming] it's in their lower intestine. This happens when they consume dry foods. Or gulp food at the surface.

It is also a good idea to feed 3-4 small meals verses 1 or 2 large meals.


Poor water can also cause bacterial infections which can also cause swim bladder problems. If they are at the surface a lot I'd be concerned about how much oxygen is in their water. Warm tanks and poor water conditions can contribute to this.

 

[Fantail_Lover]

I would retest your water -- those readings have never changed, have they? Even with regular water changes, there should be some variation of at least one parameter. You set this tank up a month or so ago, correct?

What besides brine shrimp are you feeding them?

Well I tested my water about a week ago, but that was my last test strip. Before that I was testing every week for a long time - Im serious, nothing ever changed.

As far as air in the water I believe there is alot because the trickle effect of the filter action creates alot of air bubbles that float very slowly to the surface of the water. Like in a soda bottle when the soda carbination bubbles stick the the sides and float to the top very slowly. Thats what it looks like inside of my tank, so Im assuming the oxygen level is O.K. The temperature has been higher than normal however, I used to keep it around 70 degrees but recently its been higher (around 80). I think I'll start turning the heat off in my room at night again.

And no I dont only feed brine shrimp, actually thats their treat - normal food is goldfish flakes that are pre-soaked...

-Xan

 

[Seleya]

The thing is, these have been the same results since you first introduced the fish into the tank. I would be suspicious about your test strips and strongly recommend you get reagent tests (with the droppers) and test your tank asap for the big three -- ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. When was your last water change and what percentage did you change?

 

[Fantail_Lover]

I think the test strips do work because when I started out I had some really bad water that a very high ammonia level. It caused all kinds of problems with my fish and the first batch ended up dieing. Now that I know what I'm doing the strips show good water all around, but I need to go out and buy some new ones. Last water change was about a week ago and I replace about 30% of the water.

-Xan