upside down wish??

[liljack]

UPSIDE DOWN FISH.....
last week i came home and lost some fish nitrite was off the chart did water change, added air, cleaned the 2260...was a little nasty at the bottom but its only 4 months old..any way about 3 days ago a shark started swimming upside down.thought he was dieing but he was eating..so i left him alone and 3 days later still upside down, laying around,BUT he swims from one end to the other and is eating all UPSIDE DOWN! so is he going to die,or did he just bonk his head on a rock or what....i hate to take him out if he might get bettter.....

[molocha]

my pleco was doing the same thing...i would see it floating upside down and i would think its dead but if i tapped on the glass it would swim hurriedly while still upside down...
its still alive

[Bluefyre_Rob]

Water quality problems or sudden change from poor to good water can affect a fish's swim bladder and cause them to lose control of their balance. If this fish survived the original problem, the swim bladder problem may correct itself after a few days. I don't know of any treatment for this problem other than time. Maybe someone else knows of one or can suggest any other problem that may be occurring.

[kmehlhorn]

bet me to it Blue i was gonna say he probably has a swim bladder defect.

[Mzungu]

So he is always upside down? Does he only swim around when it's feeding time? Is he lying on the floor of the tank for the majority of the time? Is his swimming erratic?

[wesleydnunder]

+3 for swim bladder issue. There is a radical procedure that's used to release deep water fish when you're fishing offshore. It involves releasing the pressure in the swim bladder by popping it with a small point, like the tip of a fillet knife. The swim bladder collapses and the fish can get back to the bottom. In a short time, the hole heals and the fish is none the worse for wear. In this case you may be able to use the tip of a small syringe to release the pressure. Like I said, kind of a radical procedure but may work if the condition doesn't right itself.

Mark

[liljack]

So he is always upside down?-YES Does he only swim around when it's feeding time?-No he will be at one end and then the other. Is he lying on the floor of the tank for the majority of the time?-Yes he mostly lays on the bottom.. Is his swimming erratic?-Yes he will point toward the top and then roll over and go to the bottom and take a rest break. He lays up against the rocks a lot, I scooped him in a net and brought him up and he ate outa the feed ring and spit water out when his mouth was above water level. i guess i`ll leave him alone and see..,,,water is still cloudy but it never really gets real clear,it tests good.

[Mzungu]

If it is a swim bladder issue, try not to take him out of the water.

I'm sorry, but it doesn't sound good... :(

[Tiapan]

yah, good luck with sick fish, glad the water quality is gettin good again

[Complexity]

...nitrite was off the chart

The question here is why was the nitrite off the chart? Is this a new tank that's cycling? Did something happen to kill of the nitrifying bacteria? Whenever something such as nitrite is off the chart, there is an underlying problem that must be corrected.

cleaned the 2260...

This may have been counterproductive, depending on how you cleaned the filter. When nitrites are raised, the last thing you want to do is disturb any nitrifying bacteria that is present in the tank. Cleaning a filter can clean out good bacteria, serving to exasperate the problem.

Please tell us how you cleaned the filter. Be detailed.

its only 4 months old..

So the tank is not a new setup. Then the nitrites should not have been detectable, no less "off the chart". There is something wrong. What you are seeing with the fish is a symptom of a bigger problem. And if that bigger problem is not corrected, there will be more fish with symptoms, including death.

any way about 3 days ago a shark started swimming upside down.thought he was dieing but he was eating..so i left him alone and 3 days later still upside down, laying around,BUT he swims from one end to the other and is eating all UPSIDE DOWN! so is he going to die,or did he just bonk his head on a rock or what....i hate to take him out if he might get bettter.....

He did not bonk his head. He is living in what appears to be polluted water (high nitrites). He will die if the underlying problem is not determined and corrected.

The fact that he's still eating is a good sign. He may survive if the real problem can be determined and corrected quickly enough. Otherwise, it's only a matter of time before he will die, followed by more health problems and death of the other fish.

Yes he will point toward the top and then roll over and go to the bottom and take a rest break.

He's struggling to survive. Add oxygen to the tank. A fish that darts to the top and then "rests" at the bottom (in a way that appears as if he's exerted all his energy) is a very bad sign. It seems he's suffocating and is using his last ounce of energy to try to survive. Add oxygen to the water to help him.

water is still cloudy but it never really gets real clear,it tests good.

Tests are only one measure of water quality. If you have water that's consistently cloudy, something is wrong. Water should normally be crystal clear.

Perform 50% water changes to give the fish fresh, healthy water. Do this daily. While doing that, let's see if we can get to the root of the problem.

Please tell us more about your setup. What is the size of the tank? When did you set it up? What equipment are you using? What substrate. Any plants? What other fish? What filters? Lighting?

What are you using to test the water? Dip test strips? API Freshwater Master Test Kit? Something else? What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? pH? GH? KH? Test at least twice a day. Any changes? Test before and after a water change. Any changes? Test 8 hours after a water change. Any changes?

Is it possible that there is a dead fish in the tank that has not been found? In a cave? Behind plants?

What are you feeding? How often? How much?

Can you post pictures of your tank? Of the cloudy water? Of the fish in the tank?

Give us as much detail as you can. There is an underlying water condition problem that must be resolved or not only will this fish die, but all the fish will end up dying. Never, ever should water be cloudy for long periods of time nor should it ever have a nitrite spike. Let's see what we can do to figure it out and get things on track.

[Complexity]

I should add something else. Please tell us what your regular maintenance routine is. How often do you perform water changes and how much water do you change each time? Do you vacuum the substrate? If so, how? Do you hover over the substrate to remove debris or do you plunge the tube deeply into the substrate? Do you move the substrate around (stir it, smooth it, anything)?

[wesleydnunder]

The question here is why was the nitrite off the chart? Is this a new tank that's cycling? Did something happen to kill of the nitrifying bacteria? Whenever something such as nitrite is off the chart, there is an underlying problem that must be corrected.


This may have been counterproductive, depending on how you cleaned the filter. When nitrites are raised, the last thing you want to do is disturb any nitrifying bacteria that is present in the tank. Cleaning a filter can clean out good bacteria, serving to exasperate the problem.

Please tell us how you cleaned the filter. Be detailed.


So the tank is not a new setup. Then the nitrites should not have been detectable, no less "off the chart". There is something wrong. What you are seeing with the fish is a symptom of a bigger problem. And if that bigger problem is not corrected, there will be more fish with symptoms, including death.


He did not bonk his head. He is living in what appears to be polluted water (high nitrites). He will die if the underlying problem is not determined and corrected.

The fact that he's still eating is a good sign. He may survive if the real problem can be determined and corrected quickly enough. Otherwise, it's only a matter of time before he will die, followed by more health problems and death of the other fish.


He's struggling to survive. Add oxygen to the tank. A fish that darts to the top and then "rests" at the bottom (in a way that appears as if he's exerted all his energy) is a very bad sign. It seems he's suffocating and is using his last ounce of energy to try to survive. Add oxygen to the water to help him.


Tests are only one measure of water quality. If you have water that's consistently cloudy, something is wrong. Water should normally be crystal clear.

Perform 50% water changes to give the fish fresh, healthy water. Do this daily. While doing that, let's see if we can get to the root of the problem.

Please tell us more about your setup. What is the size of the tank? When did you set it up? What equipment are you using? What substrate. Any plants? What other fish? What filters? Lighting?

What are you using to test the water? Dip test strips? API Freshwater Master Test Kit? Something else? What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? pH? GH? KH? Test at least twice a day. Any changes? Test before and after a water change. Any changes? Test 8 hours after a water change. Any changes?

Is it possible that there is a dead fish in the tank that has not been found? In a cave? Behind plants?

What are you feeding? How often? How much?

Can you post pictures of your tank? Of the cloudy water? Of the fish in the tank?

Give us as much detail as you can. There is an underlying water condition problem that must be resolved or not only will this fish die, but all the fish will end up dying. Never, ever should water be cloudy for long periods of time nor should it ever have a nitrite spike. Let's see what we can do to figure it out and get things on track.

Vicki, I think in her original post about this tank there was a prolonged power outtage prior to the high nitrites. She'd said that the fish were gasping at the top. I thought the tank was cycling because the filter bacteria died from hypoxia and the fish were gasping fron nitrite poisoning, not lack of oxygen. Nitrite will take the place of the oxygen that normally bonds to the hemoglobin, not allowing the hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the body. The fish's body feels the lack of oxygen and triggers the instinctive reaction of going to the surface as if the water was oxygen-depleted. Nitrite poisoning is typically called brown-blood disease because the hemoglobin isn't carrying oxygen and doesn't have the concomitant bright red color. I'd suggested water changes to lower nitrites and possible salt treatment to offset the nitrite poisoning. Inntwho, my 2 pennies again.

Mark