a fish is acting strange

by **mallik** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:45 pm

I have a 5 gallon fish tank which is up and running with bio sponge filter, and a heater set at 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit. I treated the fresh water. It has sand as substrate. The fish i keep are

4 Yellow labs cichlids ( juveniles)

2 Dusty blue cichlids (juvenile)

My question to all the freshwater forum users is

One of my yellow labs is constantly swimming near to the bio sponge filter. How many times i try to divert its attention it still goes to the same spot. Is it something I am doing wrong or with the fish.

I feed the cichlids spirulina, smashed boiled beans without salt, and fish pallets.

Helpful suggestions would help. If something is wrong with the fish any medication suggestion will also help.

by **natalie265** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:40 pm

Well, my very first thought is that a five gallon tank is not even close to sufficient for the types of fish that you have in your tank. A full grown yellow lab is about five inches. What is your long term plan for these fish?

Secondly, yellow labs are very territorial fish and will often stake out a place in the tank as their own. It's very normal behavior.

by **mallik** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:06 am

Hi,

Thanks for responding to my query, Right now the tank is quiet big for all the fish to swim. In fact all of them are very active and swimming along. In the long run when the fish mature and grow large I plan to get a 20 gallon tank. As for now i would like to stick to this tank. Also I have sand substrate. Is there a easier way of cleaning the substrate without scooping sand along with the fish waste. I use a plastic tube and suck out as much waste as possible without scooping too much sand. My Cichlids love sand. They dig into it a lot. So I would like to keep it.
And I am happy to learn that there is nothing wrong with my fish and it is the common behavior of cichlids. Once again I thank you for your helpful suggestions.

I have a lot to learn in fish keeping. :)

by **DanDman18** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:57 pm

Right now, a five gallon tank may suffice, but when they grow up they are going to need something much bigger than even a twenty gallon tank. I would recomend nothing smaller than a 55 gallon, and even that is almost pushing it. As for the sand, there really is no "easy" way to clean it, but I think the added cleaning time is worth the look of sand, and the benefits for the cichlids, Good luck with your fish.

by **natalie265** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:13 pm

Dan is right. If you want to keep the fish you currently have, you will need at least a 55 gallon tank, and you'll need it sooner rather than later. Last October, i bought three baby peacock cichlids (not the same as yellow labs, but similar adult size). Nine months ago, they would have fit in a five gallon tank. Now, less than a year later, they are almost full grown. It's really not fair to keep the fish you have in a five gallon tank. They need room to grow so they can be healthy and reach their full potential.

by **mallik** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:00 am

DanDman18 wrote:
> Right now, a five gallon tank may suffice, but when they grow up they are
> going to need something much bigger than even a twenty gallon tank. I would
> recomend nothing smaller than a 55 gallon, and even that is almost pushing
> it. As for the sand, there really is no "easy" way to clean it,
> but I think the added cleaning time is worth the look of sand, and the
> benefits for the cichlids, Good luck with your fish.
Thanks Dan,
Happy to take your advise. Also what is the medicine for getting rid of itch. It is a nasty infection. In the past i had few fish die from the infection. I had to decontaminate the whole tank. It is real sorrow to see pet fish die like that.

by **DanDman18** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:34 pm

To get rid of ich, I would recommend going to your local fish store, they should have many different medications, they all work, just follow the directions on the medication. Make sure that you start treating them as soon as you notice the disease, the longer you wait the harder it is to get rid of, and causes more damage to your fish. Also, make sure you turn the water up to around 85-86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius), and remove the carbon from your filter.

by **mallik** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:51 pm

DanDman18 wrote:
> To get rid of ich, I would recommend going to your local fish store, they
> should have many different medications, they all work, just follow the
> directions on the medication. Make sure that you start treating them as
> soon as you notice the disease, the longer you wait the harder it is to get
> rid of, and causes more damage to your fish. Also, make sure you turn the
> water up to around 85-86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius), and
> remove the carbon from your filter.

Thanks for the advice. Will follow the same. I have a separate tank for sick fish. I usually treat the sick in that tank. The other thing i noticed with sick fish is their tummy bottom skin turns pale white. I do not if this is caused by itch or some other parasites. Fish loose appetite and mostly swim near to the surface.

by **dream2reef** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 2:35 am

Raise the temp in your tank 5 or more degrees for a week, gone.

by **mallik** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 8:50 am

Thanks for the helpful suggestion.

a fish is acting strange

10 posts