Why don't my fish swim around?

[Qwoz]

My fish never do any swimming that is worth watching. They just sit there. My 4 neon tetras just sit there in the back corner of the tank and tred water, My orange serpea tetra hides when i turn the light on, and my Red platty sits in the upper right back corner of the tank next to the heater... Why do my fish hate me?
All of them seem extremely afraid of people moving around outside they tank and after 3 weeks they still haven't adjusted to life in my tank. The water quality if fine, no ammonia, no nitrates. I even change the water once a week.
Do i need more fish to accompany them? I don't want to add too many right now cause i'm doing a fish in cycle.

 

[Whiskers]

no nitrates? or do you mean nitrites? could you post the actual numbers for us? if they are hang'n around the top alot you might have water condition problems. but you are right i wouldn't add any more fish untill your problems are solved. do you have places for fish to hide in? oh and what size tank is it? you've probably posted it but i don't recall without going through all the threads. if you can, please toss the answers in here ppl can help you better.

 

[Joeyb1731]

No ammonia is good but there should be nitrates. How about nitrites? Those are important to test. Read up on cycling

 

[Qwoz]

I don't to do a water test right not but yea i have hiding places. I have this one hiding place that 2 neons got stuck in and died...

 

[GiantManLittleFish]

With a fish in cycle they don't move to much because they are in shock. I used to do fish in cycles and know all about them. I've lost a few fish, but not as many as everybody here thinks I should have. The fish don't move around alot. Your schooling fish are shy because they don't have buddies to be around. Some of your fish might be kind of light sensitive. A floating plant might help. Also more hiding areas and plants so they know they can hide if they need to.

 

[jo3olous]

stressed out fish. if you add more to the tank = dead fish.

 

[LadyLail]

If you don't test the water, how do you know that there is no ammonia? I agree that fish aren't going to be as active while involved in a cycle, but the way you described it sounds to me like too much ammonia in the tank; maybe I'm wrong. How big is your tank? Are you doing WC's during the cycle- if not, you may want to start to ease the effects of the cycle on the fish. Depending on teh size of your tank, AFTER IT IS CYCLED, you need to either add more fish to the schools or take some back and build up one school. All the fish you have are schooling fish and aren't going to act right without other fish in the tank. Do you mind being more specific about tank size and the 'scape, your routine (WC, feeding cycle, light schedule, etc) and when you started the fish in cycle? That'd help us help you.

 

[Mace]

water temp is a big one too i had a couple of corys that wouldnt swim just sat there and then i changed the water temp for 73 to 77 and guess what they got more active. also someone said above that all those fish you named are schoolers and if they dont have anyone to be with they will just sit there especially the platy, from the sounds of it he is the only one you have

 

[exhumed07]

sounds to me like u need to do a water change to help relive stress. I've done multiple fish in cycles and have yet to loose fish. durring the cycle water changes are key to keeping the fish healthy and active.

 

[Matt Nace]

For a newer fish hobbiest, you should be testing the water parameters for Ammonia, NitrItes and Nitrates. The cycle is important to understand as well as which fish you are choosing to keep.

Doing the cycle with or without fish is up to each person.I have always done fish in. When I began keeping fish almost 20 years ago, I failed at first. I had deaths..high ammonia..over feeding. It is all things that you learn or need to know.
I probebly would have enjoyed it better knowing about the cycle and things to do to help avoid some problems.

In your case..it could be a number of things but w/o testing..we can only assume right?

I would assume your are still in a cycle as other's have already said. You probebly have stressed fish due to that..but even so..I think the fish are not grouped properly. That single platy and tetra may be lonely even after you cycle.

I would as suggested..do a water change and condition the new water and make sure it is the same temp.If you dont buy test kits..then you have to watch the conditions and the fish. Vaccum the gravel and avoid over feeding. Just a few flakes or mini pellets at a time and if they eat that then maybe more.

I suggest in the 10 gallon(from reading your other posts I think that is what you have) that you think what you really want after it is cycled and things become stable.

Maybe replace the platy and Serpae with a slightly larger school of neons?
Maybe the neons need a darker substrate and or a floating plant to feel more secure?

So many little things could change how the fish are acting. Start with getting the water changed , vacum the gravel and dont touch the filter for now. The filter should not be too gunked up unless you over feed.

I hope you get it resolved as I remember it being frustrating for me too at first.

 

[Mike in Mass]

Hi all,

Brand new to this frum and could use some help. I have the same problem as the original poster. They look healthy but mostly swim in place in the back corner. Here's the rundown:

New tank: 4 gallon desktop
Filled with well water therefore no chlorine. Had water tested at PetCo, told water was fine.
Purchased two Bleeding heart tetras (under 1 inch each)
Let the tempatures in the bag and tank equalized. Added small amounts of tank water to bag several times over an hour.
One concern - the tank water was very clear UNTIL I poured the fish into my tank. The water quickly became slighly cloudy. Some type of reaction?
I am feeding 3 times per day - trying to keep the amount small as to not polute the tank. They do eat - sometimes swinging out in front, but not for long.

I read this thread and don't understand the commnets about "the cycle". I am assuming that has to do with introducing fish into a new tank and building up the proper bacteria and managing nitrates? Came someone shed some light?

I got the desktop tank so I can watch the fish swim while on boring con calls. Not too much to watch right now.

Thanks

 

[Thyra]

Water testing is the key here and once you have the cycle under control, then you can deal with the fish. The above comments about the fish are true. IME I have not found neons to be as active as some other fish, but serpaes in groups are really active - at least 4 - 6. We do need to know the size of your tank, your water parameters and the temp.

 

[OrangeCones]

We do need to know the size of your tank

The tank size is given as 4 gallons. IMO, this is too small for a shoal of tetra, no matter the size.

 

[Thyra]

Whoops! I totally - over looked the tank size. Now that I read the thread - I don't know how, but my response was to a different thread entirely - I honestly don't know how my response got here, but OC is right - a betta would be your best bet.

Now I need to figure out who I was trying to respond to.

 

[Thyra]

My bad!! I didn't read the date and I was responding to someone from 2009. I do wish people would start their own threads instead of adding to someones that is several years old - but what can I say - I just did the same thing.

Anyway - welcome to the forum Mike. How about if you start a new thread and we certainly will try to help.

 

[Mike in Mass]

Thanks Thrya.

I'm happy to start a new thread. I belong to another forum where you get chastised for not searching first.

I did read up on the water cycle. Perhaps my two fish are just not feeling too good while the tank goes thrpough its initial cycle.

Thanks for the replies thus far.

Mike