Change in Swimbladder

[NHSuz]

Since November 15th - we brought in a fish that was swimming upside
down in our small pond outside and put him in a 29gal tank.
Up until a week ago, he was swimming upside down able to move about the
tank - but not able to keep himself down in the water for very long. He
was eating (although I never actually saw him eat). I feed him every
few days - shrimp brine or a pea or sinking wafer.

Now... he has started sitting at the bottom of the tank upside down.
Occasionally he moves around. But, he seems very lethargic to me. The
Ammonia,Nitrate,Nitrite levels all test zero. The ph is around 74-76.
The tank temperature has been around 68. And it has been cold lately
and the tank is near a window. I put a heater in to raise the temp to
the low 70s. I also added 4T of aquarium salt.

My question is... why the sudden change in flotation? Could it be
affected by temperature or does this signal the end for our fish?


Thank you for any help you can provide.
Suzanne

[Geezer From The Freezer]

NHSuz wrote:
>
> Since November 15th - we brought in a fish that was swimming upside
> down in our small pond outside and put him in a 29gal tank.
> Up until a week ago, he was swimming upside down able to move about the
> tank - but not able to keep himself down in the water for very long. He
> was eating (although I never actually saw him eat). I feed him every
> few days - shrimp brine or a pea or sinking wafer.
>
> Now... he has started sitting at the bottom of the tank upside down.
> Occasionally he moves around. But, he seems very lethargic to me. The
> Ammonia,Nitrate,Nitrite levels all test zero. The ph is around 74-76.
> The tank temperature has been around 68. And it has been cold lately
> and the tank is near a window. I put a heater in to raise the temp to
> the low 70s. I also added 4T of aquarium salt.
>
> My question is... why the sudden change in flotation? Could it be
> affected by temperature or does this signal the end for our fish?
>
>
> Thank you for any help you can provide.
> Suzanne

nitrate being 0 is suspect. If he's stopped eating it may be time for
euthanising the fish. Are the gills active, do you have good water agitation
from a bubbler or filter outlet?

[NHSuz]

The gills are active. We have a Whisper Power filter 30 that came with
the 29 gal tank.
I'm not sure why a low Nitrate is bad. Can you explain?
I just put some very fine sinking pellets into the tank and he seemed
interested.

[anemone]

In an established tank (after it has cycled) thee is always some trace of
nitrates in the water...indicates that your beneficial bacteria are actively
working converting any ammonia and nitrites quicky....

The only other reason nitrates would be so low is that you do 100% water
changes every day (really bad!) or have an extremely heavily planted tank
(that the fish can hardly swim though)

Do you use anything (liquid or filter medium) that soaks up ammonia,
nitrites, or nitrates by any chance?? They will stop your tank from
cycling...or cause it to re-cycle constantly
"NHSuz" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> The gills are active. We have a Whisper Power filter 30 that came with
> the 29 gal tank.
> I'm not sure why a low Nitrate is bad. Can you explain?
> I just put some very fine sinking pellets into the tank and he seemed
> interested.
>

[NHSuz]

No. I don't use any liquid or filter medium. I also re-tested the
Nitrates and they are at 5ppm now. (I probably thought the color
indicated 0 before).
We only have 4 small plants (plastic) that are at the 4 corners of the
29 gal tank. By the way, this is the only fish we have in the tank - it
is around 6 inches long.
The tank is sitting in front of a window that faces east.
We wait a few weeks before we change the water.. but we did change it
about >= 40% over a week ago. (we have well water, in case you are
wondering about the chlorine).
We shake out the spongy thing that sits in front of the biobag into a
bucket containing some of the aquarium water we are taking out.
We also replace the white (biobag?) along with its charcoal contents.

Suzanne

[anemone]

Thats ok then!!!!
Nitrates showing means the cycles established!
To avoid a mini cycle, change/clean each of your filter media 2-3 weeks
appart to give bacteria a chance to grow onto the new/clean media.
Try doing smaller changes more frequently so that your water doesn't change
too much...something like 10-20% twice a week. Smaller changes are easier
and more gentle on the fish.
HTH
Hope all goes well with your fish!
"NHSuz" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> No. I don't use any liquid or filter medium. I also re-tested the
> Nitrates and they are at 5ppm now. (I probably thought the color
> indicated 0 before).
> We only have 4 small plants (plastic) that are at the 4 corners of the
> 29 gal tank. By the way, this is the only fish we have in the tank - it
> is around 6 inches long.
> The tank is sitting in front of a window that faces east.
> We wait a few weeks before we change the water.. but we did change it
> about >= 40% over a week ago. (we have well water, in case you are
> wondering about the chlorine).
> We shake out the spongy thing that sits in front of the biobag into a
> bucket containing some of the aquarium water we are taking out.
> We also replace the white (biobag?) along with its charcoal contents.
>
> Suzanne
>

[NHSuz]

Thank you.
Suzanne