morwilwarin

I am new at fish owning. My fish started acting weird a few days after me getting them. They were swimming aroung just fine and acting all playful with each other, and last night all of them just stopped swimming around. They stayed in one place and just seemed to be trembling. I thought maybe this is how they sleep? But I haven't seen it before. And it was odd that all of them did it at the same time. And then this morning I checked and they were still at it. I tried touching them with my fish net, and they would swim away and then come back and do the same thing. The only ones that aren't doing this is my dalmation mollie and my loach. I have 5 tetras, a barb and a swordtail and they were all doing it. What could this mean? I am afraid they are all going to die.

boff

Hi, have you just set up your tank or has it been running for some time. The first thing i would do is a water test to check for ammonia , nitrite and nitrate because when i started i Had water chemistry problems and my tetras were the first to suffer , does it seem like they a breathing really fast or gulping .cheers boff

morwilwarin

yes, they seem to be gulping. ill check my levels though, i just hope they'll be ok. i love my fishies.

boff

Hi, have you checked your water yet the sooner you do it the better .If the water is ok it might be a fungal infection i use Waterlife "Protozin" which works realy well for me or it might be some thing else .So some body with more experiance might be able to help ,but lets see wot your water is like first cheers boff.

morwilwarin

I checked my water and everything is perfect. It's currently at 78 degrees (F), none of my levels were even close to being somewhat dangerous. So you think it could be a disease of something? I think I'll go to a fish store nearby and see if they might now anything. Thanks!

boff

Hi you could try giveing Gunnie or butterfly a personal message hope you sort it out boff.

0morrokh

What is your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates?

mistycheri

How are you testing your water readings? Are you using the strips or a master test kit? The strips aren't very reliable. Can you post your readings?

morwilwarin

I don't know my readings, I used the strips. I asked at this fish store what the problem was and he said it might've been because I didn't give enough time for my fish to adjust before adding new one and that my fish had stress. They are looking better now though, they are starting to swim again and none of them are dead yet. He also told me to let them do a free water test so I am going to do that in a few hours. Thanks for the help!

Gunnie

The strips are not very reliable. Go ahead a do about a 30% water change. Just change the water out. Don't vacuum any gravel. A water change is always a good first start on things to try when your fish look stressed. If you can, get an ammonia and nitrite test in the drop form. I think your strips are giving you wrong readings.