[OscarDempsey]

We have a vey small convict in a 30 gallon tank all alone, and he is behaving very strangely. He began hiding a few days ago which is very un characteristic for this fish. Today we noticed that he is leaving his left side fin up against his body and not using it to swim. He also seems to be swimming a bit erratically. Any ideas on what is wrong with him and what steps to take to help him.

 

[OscarDempsey]

By the way ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are all reading zero. The ph is at 7.9. He has started darting instead of swimming.

 

[mlancaster]

Hi OscarDempsey,

It sounds like he is being skittish. It can be caused by a number of things, but water quality is the first suspect. Seeing as your water is good, it makes it much harder to determine. I would say start off with doing a water change (using water conditioner) and see if there is any improvement.

Are there any other tank mates?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[cichlid_kid96]

Sorry it sounds like his swim bladder broke and if this happened there is no saving him

 

[OscarDempsey]

Thanks for the answers guys. There are no other tank mates. What would cause his swim bladder to break ?

 

[Flippercon]

Does the fish eat? What is the temp in the tank?

 

[OscarDempsey]

The fish ate yesterday but not as much as normal. The temp is right at 80 right now.

 

[Flippercon]

Well I have no clue. You might have better luck in the illness section.

 

[OscarDempsey]

Thanks I'll post there too.

 

[conoholic]

um ( forgot which one ) but either nitrite or nitrate shouldnt be reading 0 ( think its nitrite ) it should be atleast 5 to 10 ppm. so your tank isnt cycled.

 

[Flippercon]

um ( forgot which one ) but either nitrite or nitrate shouldnt be reading 0 ( think its nitrite ) it should be atleast 5 to 10 ppm. so your tank isnt cycled.

It's nitrites that should be zero and nitrates can be zero but is probably a mis test. You should have nitrates in there if it cycled.

 

[OscarDempsey]

I did a retest today and there was a very small reading of nitrates(the lowest color that wasn't zero on the results card, sorry im away from that tank and the kit at the moment). Im guessing the zero reading was due to a water change the day before and the fish being so small he wasn't producing very much ammonia that could be converted to nitrates. I could be wrong but im fairly sure its cycled. Its been set up since january, i used seed medium from another tank, and i used danios to do a mini cycle for two weeks even with the seed material. I have not had much luck in the illness section, but from doing research i think its either bloat or some sort of parasite. These seem opposite, but they are the only things that i can find that roughly match his symptoms. Let me know if anyone has any experience with these problems or if im way off the mark. By the way I will keep a closer eye on my levels to make 100% sure the tank is cycled thanks fllipper.