Spirally swimming fish?

[bingoboy]

hello,

I've got a bunch of congo tetras, like 8. recently one of my biggest ones started swimming funny. he will be spiralling around like he is dizzy or something. half the time he will appear to swim fine and then will go into this fit of funky swimming. i am wondering if anyone has any idea what this is and what i should do about it.


thanks,
scott

 

[Firebug]

Hello! welcome to the Tank! How long has your tank been set up? Has it gone thru a cycle? what are the water params?(ph, ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte) Do they have any white spots on them that look like sprinkles of sugar or salt? Sorry for all the questions!

 

[ecotank]

Aside from the questions about your water conditions.

This is most likely the action of a male congo tetra, this spinning and side to side action is done basically to show who is the alpha male of the group. (he's trying to get the chicks)

Unless your water perams are out of the normal ranges, I wouldn't worry too much about this little display of dominance.

 

[bingoboy]

tank is a 30g, was set up a few weeks ago. i haven't had the water tested so i don't know about that. i have been doing about a 20% water change each week since the tank is kinda newish and i hear i need something like that to keep ammonia levels in check. the congo tetras aren't all big ones, i've got 2 bigger ones (about 2 inches), 4 medium ones (about 1 1/4"-1 1/2" inches), and 3 lil one's (about an inch). oh there are also 2 small clown plecos, and 2 cats. all of the rest seem fine...oh now the big congo that was spiralling lays on the bottom sideways sometimes . something is definately wrong with him. as for fishy sickness, close inspection doesn't reveal anything with him that *looks* wrong, ie spots or bulges or anything else.

 

[TaffyFish]

Doesn't sound any more like dominance behaviour to me, sounds more like your tank is still cycling and the big Congo has ammonia or nitrite poisoning. They are riverine species and need highly oxygenated water, ideally with plenty of current. Not the fish to pick for cycling the tank.

Your stocking level is too high, I would ask the lfs that supplied them to you to take some or all of them back at least until you're cycled. You could complete the cycle fishless using ammonia.

I would have thought Congos need more space than a 30g, probably a 4ft or 55g minimum. Though I've often admired them, I've never kept them so am happy to stand corrected on that.

 

[ecotank]

I agree with Taffy. While the male congo does have a pretty cool swimming technique to establish dominance, this is sounding more and more like bad water!

Water changes remove Nitrates with are the end result of the cycle that starts with ammonia. Your tank doesn't seem to be cycled at all, and these are not hardy fish that will survive in a cycling tank.

See if you can take all your fish back and then cycle your tank. Get a good test kit, you simply CAN NOT keep fish without a test kit! When the tank is cycled or almost finished cycling, ask questions about the types of fish you wish to stock the tank with. Your way overstocked for a 30g right now.

 

[bingoboy]

i've got some friends that have had larger tanks for awhile that have space in them. maybe i can gettem to hold some of my fishies for awhile.

how does one go about seeing if/when their tank is cycled, do you guys have any links to info that might be helpful?

 

[ecotank]

Check the article section of this site for plenty of info on cycling and Iggy's tank cycle recipe http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13406

You need a decent test kit to determine when your tank is cycled.