poppet

Hi I am really worried about my little guppy. We have had him for about a month now and up until now he has been very healthy and happy. This morning I noticed he was swimming just below the surface of the water and now 12 hours later he is still there! He seems to be swimming around ok but doesnt seem to want to leave the surface. He appears to be swimming around in large circles. We thought feeding time would coax him away from there but no such luck. We put a few flakes near him and he looked as though he was eating them but then he would spit them out again. He also looks very bloated and I am getting really concerned. He is a gorgeous little fish and I am starting to think something is wrong with him. All water parameters have been checked and are fine. Is he sick? Please if anyone has any ideas what could be wrong please let me know!!!!!!!!

Gunnie

Does he look like he's having trouble swimming? Do his scales stick out like a pinecone? Look at this link and tell us he is having any of these symptoms:

http://www.fishlore.com/Disease.htm

poppet

I've had a look at the diseases page and the only thing similiar to him is that he is seems very bloated. His scales dont look any different and are not sticking out that I can see. He is swimming ok but he is seems to stay in the same spot. He does not look lethargic or anything either. I am very confused because I cant tell if he is sick or not. If it wasnt for his swollen tummy and not leaving the surface for so long I wouldnt think there was anything wrong with him.

COBettaCouple

he may have a swim bladder issue. can you try feeding him some pea? thaw a frozen pea about a minute in the microwave, peel off the skin and cut or tear it into the tiniest pieces you can and see if he'll eat some pieces. 1/4 of the pea is probably about the most to feed him at once.

poppet

Thanks will try him with the pea and see how it goes. Will keep you informed on his progress..

Jay

i know its probably the first thing you checked but we have some guppies at work and some started with the same symptoms. Found the water quality was poor. got some active bacteria in a bag and buried in gravel (under gravel filter) sorted out in a few days.

As i said I'm new to all this so sorry if I'm stating the obvious

poppet

Hi Jay thanks for the advice but have checked water quality twice now and it is all good. We are going to put him on his own for a while in another tank and see how he goes. It'is day 2 now and he is still doing the same thing. Still looks bloated and still swimming in circles.

poppet

We put him by himself with the pea and he would not touch it. On thing we have noticed tough when we turn the light off he swims around normal and when we turn it back on he swims to the top again.

COBettaCouple

that's interesting behaviour, especially for a guppy. i'd almost think he was playing 'sick fishie' - if you use a mirror to watch the tank for a little while, does he swim normally if he thinks you're not watching?

poppet

Watched him from around the corner and still near top, turn off the light and he swims around normal.

COBettaCouple

I hope a guppy expert reads this - i've never heard of a guppy doing that. It's almost like he's afraid of the light or something. He seems to have the ability to swim normally, but for some reason only swims with the lights off. Does he swim normally if there's a very low light level in the room or if you are near the tank when the lights are off?

poppet

Yes with low light and being near the tank he swims around normal. FLBettaCouple have you seen our new platy picture.

COBettaCouple

will he eat flakes normally if the lights are low? cooked spinach or daphnia are other things you could try for constipation relief (if that's his problem).

I don't think I've seen a picture of your new platy - i've not gotten down to tank/fish photos yet today though.

poppet

FLBettaCouple its in this section under unique new platy and yes he has been eating his flakes.

COBettaCouple

hmm.. well if he's swimming normal and eating fine with dim lights, maybe he's just got some sort of issue with the lights. i can't really think of any other explanation for his unusual behaviour as he doesn't seem sick, just funny about lights.

Tazmiche

Is he swimming in the flow of the filter? mine seem to like to swim in the current . I have a tank with all male Guppies,* i have experienced something similar to this with a couple in the past. I bought an air pump and stone for tank and the behaviour changed back to normal. Have to say my boys are all crazy!!

COBettaCouple

really? i'll have to remember that if we get a guppy tank sometime.

poppet

Yeh the guppies are crazy we have another boy who is inlove with our female sunset platy, he does not even look at the four female guppies.