# Problem with my fish laying on bottom



## bigali (Apr 16, 2009)

I am having a problem with my fish. He lays on the bottom untill feeding, then begins acting crazy and bouncing of things like decorations or the substrate. He is eating flakes and bloodworms . He the lays down again. he has a few spots that look wierd on his body any help would be great. Thanks


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

... Again. Read the stickies. 

http://www.fishforum.com/tropical-fish-diseases/must-read-all-members-please-read-652/


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## aquakid (Jun 22, 2008)

I had the same thing except the livebearers went into spinny attack mode.


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## bigali (Apr 16, 2009)

Thanks for the post it... i will put more infor next time.. Fish died...


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi
i'm so sorry that your fish died. 
are your other fish ok.


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## bigali (Apr 16, 2009)

All but one of my other fish seem ok. One of the small ones is acting wierd, 
i have a 29gallon freshwater that is about 6 weeks old.
2 mollies (male)
1 sowrd tial
1 platy
1 dwarf gourami
1 hi fin tetra,
2 other small fish dont remember what they are
there are some live plants(bamboo) and one other type 
almost no natural sun ligh 
whisper 30 filter 
i dont know what a co2 unit is 
i performed my last water change last week and did about 25%
i do weekly water changes of about 25%
i feed daily in small amounts a mix of tetra flaks and frezze dried hikari bloodworms
i havent both a fish in a while and i use the little test strips that petco uses that are color coded.
So i see my fish bouncing off items on the tank, (only the 2 smallest fish are doing that) the one platy and that other fish i dont remember. i thnk it is some small platy. neway will test water and let u know but my marble molly is also chasing my cremsicle molly.. and he also picks on these two fish the little ones. my tetra also beats these guys up a little, and the gourami does his own thing . i wonder if the fish i am keeping are not supposed to be together ne advice is great, i also for to say i am useing a compact florecent for about 10 hrs a day


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi
if possible would you be able to buy a liquid test kit,as the strips are
rather unreliable.
has your tank gone through it's cycle ?
what dechlorinator do you use ?


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## Firefighter337 (Jan 1, 2007)

One of my oscars use to float on its side all around the tank, then you turn the light on it woke her up or something. Sometime she would sleep in the tree. Odd fish. Has lived for over 1.5 years. Shes getting big. 

The other tiger oscar use to pick up gravel from the bottom and take it to the top, then drop it and repeat. Until I threw some food in there for him.


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## bigali (Apr 16, 2009)

i use api water conditioner and i will try to buy a liquid test lit can u recomend a brand. also i dont know anything about a cycle where can i read up on this... thanks 
ps, i aslo use api stress coat, i have not had a chance to get to the pet store since i have been sick...
the fish in this pac has some black streaks on his body, dont know if htis is anything but any help would also be great. thanks


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi
many members here including myself use API master liquid test kit.
the cycle.
basically in a very short explination
your filter will grow bacteria wich is good ok 
it takes between 6-8 weeks to complete,so yours should be well on it's way.
the water readings you want from your test kit are.
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitate 10-20
while this is taking place please do not clean your filter at all,when your cycle is complete
you can give the media a rinse in the water you take out on the water change day,
then i think you only need to rinse again once a month,you won't need to change anthing
in the filter on a regular basis although the LFS will tell you to do so.unless there
is stuff in your filter falling apart,don't change it. 
you can carry on with small water changes,as this will help the fish during this time,as
the toxins in the water build up,this will help dilute it.
i would advise you not to buy any fish at this time,as they will add to an already unstable bio load
and will probably not make it.
i'd just like to say i wish you a speedy recovery from being not well too.
hope this has helped a little.


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## bigali (Apr 16, 2009)

Very helpfull thanks. so i dont need to change the filter media every month like my lfs says so?
I will buy that liquid test that you have recomended


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi
no you shouldn't need to change it,not unless it's falling to bits,
all you will need to do is rinse it in the water you take out
on water change day,when it comes to the real timew to change anything
only change one small thing at a time,otherwise you will loose the good
bacteria that you have.


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## bigali (Apr 16, 2009)

thanks. i am greatful for all you hel. hopefully toda i will be able to pick up the api master test kit. i amexcited about the things i ahve learned...if i have live plants do i need to peform more water changes? and also what type of substrate are you using in that amazing tank you have there? THANK YOU!


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

thank you 
the tank had sand at the front,and gravel at the back,it was kept seperate by a
plastic devide that i siliconed to the bottom .
the only live plants in there are vallis,and a couple of java ferns,anything
else that i have in there will be either plastic or silk.
except real wood and rocks.

you don't need to do more changes of water,just regualr every week.
dechlorinate the water before you add the fresh back into the tank,
and if you can warm the water so that it is the same as the main tank that will
be better for the fish,turn the heater off before you do your water change.
if you can leave the filter running in a safe way then do so,the only time a filter
should be turned off is really for maintainance.


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## bigali (Apr 16, 2009)

excellent... what type of sand did u use, u have a fresh water tank right? i liked the sand alot!! why did u mix the subsrate?


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi
the sand i used is play sand from the toy store 
i mainly chose the split for two reasons.
the plants got the gravel basically because they were growing in it
and i didn't want the whole tank to be sand.
it was for the benifit of the corydora catfish,
i found that their barbels(whiskers) were becomming very short,
by changing them to sand they grew back 
if you chose to use the play sand,i let you know now that you need to wash it
lots,and lots,and lots,and lots in clean water.
also it needs to be stired on water change days to stop any aerobic pockets.


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## bigali (Apr 16, 2009)

i love the sand look... may put it in my next set up.. witch i am in the maklet for now. i want something bigger.. do you still do water cahnges weekly on your big tank.. i have been told that the larger tanks are easier to care for... what do you find..


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi
i think that bigger tanks are always best if you have the room,
and you can afford to get one.
mine takes a little longer than the smaller one,but i don't mind.
many people buy second hand ones,as there are some real bagains to be had.:-D
i feel that many fish would do better in bigger tanks,as some are very fast swimmers
and really enjoy the room.
as for my tank,i clean the water everyweekend,and test twice a month
the water readings,just because the water looks clean,does not mean that it is,
i find that problems can be got on top of,if the water is tested regularly,
in the past i kept a folder with all the information in it,i've slacked over the years.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

If a filter has charcoal in it then it does need to be changed every now and again,
Or replace it with just sponge, Charcoal after a short time can leach alot of harmful stuff back into your tank.

To high of Nitrite levels I have found to cause laying on the bottom, followed by alot of sparatic movements, Gills will sometimes turn red, Death follows usually shortly thereafter, once nitrite poisoning sets in It's pretty much to late.

Test strips are garbage, Wouldn't want my life dependent on their accuracy,
Drops are the only sure fired way to go.


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