Hi,

I need help. I think one of my fish might be ill but Im not sure. He's my biggest comet. He seems to spend quite a bit of time in one corner of the tank lately. I've also noticed that when he's quite still, his head starts to go down and his tail starts to go up. Now I dont know if that's him resting and normal or not. He seems to swim around ok though but when he stops and just rests thats when it happens. I wondered if it might be a bit of swim bladder or constipation.

Any ideas?

Thanks!!!

Richard

hi richard and welcome to kokos

for us to get a better idea as to what could be going on please answer as many questions from the box above as you can. tests can be done at your lfs if you dont have any..

Sorry meant to say, I have done all tests, results normal on all!

yes your results may be normal but we need you to fill in the big box with all the questions.

ph 7.6
KH 10d
GH >16d
NO2 0mg/l
NO3 5mg/l
Temp in the tank is c. 22C

The tank is a 75l Juwel Rekord with internal filter.

3 fish, 2 small comets and the big boy who's not quite himself.

Water changes twice weekly, c. 16l each time. 2 live plants and air stone and wall. Fish are fed on dry flakes once daily.

Hope that info helps.

you have the same tank as me

its around 16 uk gallons and as such thats enough room for one large gf or medium sized comet, even then you will be needing a bigger tank. so for your three fish its going to be cramped, so water quality and bacteria control are going to be hard.
saying that your parameters are good and is it possible for you to get a test done for ammonia? the fish shop should be able to do this for you.

as for your fish, i cant see anything specifically wrong as most fish when resting can adopt weird positions. if he is hiding on the bottom more than usual then yes theres something wrong. have you noticed anything else about him not quite right ? any redness or swelling?

have you seen him poo lately? and if so what did it look like. if you could maybe starve for a couple of days and feed some cooked, shelled, squashed pea then that may clear out his gut. fish need variety in the diet.

aquarium salt too may help bring him around and use 1 level teaspoon per gallon dissolved and this might perk him up a bit as it will act like a tonic.

i hope someone else can give you more help richard. keep us posted

the only thing i can think about is the poo. i havent seen him go for a few days, infact only once about 2 days ago. i'll try the pea technique, I've used it before to great affect. Ammonia is also fine, meant to say that!