Tank Specs:
20 G. Long, with 1" Fantail Calico and a 2" Red-Cap Ornada
(2) AquaClear HOB filters (150 and 200)
Temp steady at 78 deg. F
Water change of 25% twice a week, conditioned with Tetra AquaSafe.
PH: 7.2-7.4 (same as tap) Amm.: 0 NitrIte: 0 NitrAte: 10-20
Running for 3 months.

The fishies are fed once or twice per day, a small pinch of goldfish flakes or frozen bloodworms for each. Both filters contain carbon which is clearing out Ick meds I had in there a few weeks ago. Tomorrow, I will change out the carbons with new ones to make sure all the meds are out. The Ick was pretty bad - I lost my Black Moor to it. These guys (?) appear to have completely recovered.

Sorry for the long post, but this is very odd...

I've noticed during the past few days, the Ornada's been keeping his dorsal fin down a lot. I don't know if that's significant, but it's not usually like that. Today after a feeding, I saw him doing something weird... I thought he might be sick, but I'm not so sure... It looks like he's going into a "trance" or something! He was just swimming along, looking fine, then he seemed to zone out - just go stiff and float there - not moving. He began to sink, and drift slightly. I thought the worst - he was fine just a minute ago, now it looked like he was about to get sucked into the filter. Just as he approached the intake, he "snapped out of it" and began swimming around normally again. Then, a minute later, he went to a calm spot in the tank and the same thing happened again! He kept doing this for maybe 10 minutes. It was weird because after a while, it seemed like he was deliberately putting himself in a calm area, and coming to a complete stop before each "zoneout."

It gets weirder: The Calico comes up to the Ornada while he's zoned out, and starts rubbing all over him, and nosing him around the tank! There was no reaction from the Ornada. It didn't seem like the Calico was bullying the Ornada at all... just rubbing a lot. Then, the Ornada snaps out of his trance and swims away from the Calico. The Calico goes after him, and continues to rub all over the Ornada. The Ornada doesn't seem to mind this very much, but will "teasingly" swim away once in a while, and make the Calico chase him a little.

Next, the tables turn and the Ornada chases the Calico around! But as soon as he catches up with the Calico, he zones out again. Then again with the rubbing...

It's very strange! What could my fishes be up to?

Jay

hi jaywitika
it sounds that your fish is acting normally, lots of fantail types swim then stand still for a while, its normal, and shows you it is really happy. your other fish is probably just doing a mating ritual, where the males nudge the other fish around the tank and this again is normal.
the only thing i can tell you is that your tank may be slightly over crowded. fantail types need about 10 gallons each.
enjoy your fish they sound like they are really happy

Hi, Sandy!

Thanks for the encouraging words - but I'm still afraid. This morning, when I turned on the aquarium light, I saw the Ornada sitting on bottom at the back of the tank, behind a rock. The light must have startled him, because as soon as it went on, he started going nuts! Swimming erratically, bumping into everything. He eventually came to his senses and calmed down.

I noticed that he seems to be trying to swim through the glass of the tank, like he wants to get away, or something.

Today when I got home from work, he was sitting on the bottom again. His fins looked thinner, and I could see little streaks of red (the veins?). It doesn't look like finrot, but maybe it's just the very beginning stages? He came up to eat, but them went right back down to the same spot on the bottom when he was finished. Could he (she?) be about to lay eggs? Maybe (s)he's looking for a good hiding spot to do it, but not finding one inside the tank.

I don't know what's going on! Help! (and thanks, too)

Jason

ok, your tank specs check out pretty well. even though youve got one too many goldies (as per general rule of thumb), your excellent filtration and waterchanging habits are enough to counter act any "bad things" that can happen from overcrowding. just try not to add any more fish at all to this tank.

ive seen this trance type behavior when dealing with parasites before. however, this was due to flukes and their grazing habits/techniques. with that in mind, you would do very well to keep a close eye out for any scratching behavior on the gravel or in the corners or plants, etc.

you say it seems to want to get out of the tank through the glass? is it pacing to and fro while rubbing its nose, head or sides along the glass? if so, thats definitely a sign of parasites or some other agitant. since your water params check out, this leaves us with parasites. also, the degradation of the fins with red streaks are possible signs of parasites as well.

firstly, do you see any ich left anywhere at all? youll need to be very sure so that you dont decide to treat for flukes when its just the ich making a comeback.....

can you get access to a microscope? it would only need to be a beginners type scope that goes up to 400X magnification. if youd like to know how to perform a diagnosis with a scope dont hesitate to post back about it.

post back soon.

paul

I can't see any Ick on either fishy (though it's tough with the Ornada, because he's white) or any dust on any of the ornaments. I'm pretty sure the treatment was effective - I treated with RidIch for a full week, with 30% water changes each day. The first day of treatment was when my black moor died. I found him the next morning stuck to the filter intake, most his black color gone. I cleaned out the filter that day, before adding the second dose. After the third dose, all Ich was gone from the two remaining fish. I then continued the treatment for 4 more days. That was about 3 weeks ago.

It's hard to say if he's flashing, or just bumping into things by accident. If he's been sitting at the bottom for awhile, and I approach the tank and turn the light on, he gets startled and swims frantically about, confused. It kinda does look like he swims along the glass, because when he has these "fits" it's usually things near the edges that he bumps into - the tubes for the airstones, or a thermometer suction-cupped to the front.

That's the first thing - he spazzes out. After he calms down, he'll eat, and then begin his "playing dead" routine: He swims to the top of the tank, goes limp, and lets himself sink to the bottom. He moves only his "side" fins to right himself if he starts to turn, or approaches an ornament on his way down. While he sinks, the other fish rubs over him, nips at his a litte bit, then starts sticking his nose in the ornada's rear. The ornada totally lets the other fish do this, and it's not something that ocurred before a few days ago.

When he gets to the bottom, he'll slow himself down, swim back up to the top, and do the while thing again. After a few times, he will find a spot on the bottom of the tank and just sit there - usually it's along the back wall, near the middle, directly under the heater. It looks like he's just lying there, not moving.

I've noticed that while he is "playing dead" and drifting around, or sitting at the bottom, sometimes it looks like he's holding his breath, because his mouth stays closed and his gills don't move for what seem like an extended time (maybe 20-30 seconds?). Sometimes, it looks like he's a little *too* calm - so still you'd think he was dead, except his eyes are still looking around. Most of the time, though, he's breathing normally - not very rapid at all.

In short, he just doesn't look well. There are a few missing scales on each side of him, and he doesn't seem to be as shiny and bright as he used to be. His belly is raw from sitting at the bottom so much.

Through all of this, the Calico does not appear to be sick at all. He's a toughie.

I appreciate your help!

Jason