Serpae tetra acting weird . Should I be worried.

[TropicalFlow]

HI

i have a serpae tetra in a ten gallon tank. She seemed normal until a couple days ago when her swimming pattern was off. She swims slowly with only her front fins, she also swims in circles a lot. i have 4 more guppies with, theres no bullying. it aint swimblaader either

 

[bettasXD]

HI

i have a serpae tetra in a ten gallon tank. She seemed normal until a couple days ago when her swimming pattern was off. She swims slowly with only her front fins, she also swims in circles a lot. i have 4 more guppies with, theres no bullying. it aint swimblaader either

You should buy 5 more serape tetras. They do best in schools of at least 6. Also, filling out the emergency template will help.

 

[TropicalFlow]

You should buy 5 more serape tetras. They do best in schools of at least 6. Also, filling out the emergency template will help.

Hey, I have a tank with more serpaes . Sadly they always bully this one ( which I named paprika). He gets a shredded tail and always hid. I put him with my guppies and he’s been in there for a year ish. Always active and happy

 

[bettasXD]

Hey, I have a tank with more serpaes . Sadly they always bully this one ( which I named paprika). He gets a shredded tail and always hid. I put him with my guppies and he’s been in there for a year ish. Always active and happy

Then could it be parameter issues? How are you sure that it’s not swim bladder?

 

[TropicalFlow]

What is the water volume of the tank? 10 gal
How long has the tank been running? 2 years
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 75-76
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) one serpae tetra, 4 guppies and 1 snail .

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? 1 a week
How much of the water do you change? 25-30 percent
What do you use to treat your water?
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Both

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yup
What do you use to test the water? API test kit and test strips .
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:5ppm
pH: 6.5

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 1 a day unless skip on Sunday
How much do you feed your fish? 2 flakes per fish
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Topfin
Do you feed frozen? No
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? Yes

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 1 and1/2 year
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? 3 days go
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Swimming weirdly ( not swimbladder ) like I. Circles
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon no purchase?
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? He has made beautiful white tips on his fons

Then could it be parameter issues? How are you sure that it’s not swim bladder?

I know it’s no swimbladder bc she is not always Always at the bottom or top His belly is not full of air. And he eats. I have also experienced swim bladder with this exact serpae

 

[bettasXD]

What is the water volume of the tank? 10 gal
How long has the tank been running? 2 years
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 75-76
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) one serpae tetra, 4 guppies and 1 snail .

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? 1 a week
How much of the water do you change? 25-30 percent
What do you use to treat your water?
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Both

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yup
What do you use to test the water? API test kit and test strips .
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:5ppm
pH: 6.5

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 1 a day unless skip on Sunday
How much do you feed your fish? 2 flakes per fish
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Topfin
Do you feed frozen? No
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? Yes

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 1 and1/2 year
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? 3 days go
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Swimming weirdly ( not swimbladder ) like I. Circles
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon no purchase?
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? He has made beautiful white tips on his fons

I know it’s no swimbladder bc she is not always Always at the bottom or top His belly is not full of air. And he eats. I have also experienced swim bladder with this exact serpae

Ummm I’m not sure how to help then… Can someone more experienced help?

 

[TropicalFlow]

I dunno, who should I try to find maybe?

What should I do? My serpae tetra is swimming with her front fins only. She hasn’t eaten for a while now, I just can’t get her to hangout at the top long enough for food. Some times she will face straight up and try to go to the top she will for a couple seconds then grace full swims down.

NOTE: This is Not swimbladder. She is not laying on her side or sinking or floating. There is also no floating or sinking. He has suffered from swimbladder before, not from over feeding either.

It seems like it’s very hard for him to swim up to the surface and he swims in circles.she also like this corner . I will try to get image.
I can’t get image. She sits straight up pumping her front fins at the top right side near the filter, in the tank

Around 5 days ago I noticed that my serpae tetras swimming pattern was acting weird . Her swimming was Off pattern. She only basically uses her front fins. She hasn’t eaten in 6 ish days so I am worried. She has maybe lost a bit of color, but idk. She come to the top in a corner, and sits in a upright position. I had never seen him do this before, so I was confused.


NOTE: This is not swimbladder . She is not sinking or floating. She is also not bloated on the abdomin. I have experiencedswim bladder with this exact tetra.


Ten gallon tank

GH: ( in test strip) 60
KH: ( test strip) 80
PH ( not test strip) 7.0-7.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20 ppm ( will do water change soon )

Tank has been used and established for a 2 years. It has a heater and filter. She is housed with 4 guppies, and 1 snail.

I know serpae tetras are schooling fish but this serpae was/is always bullied or was the bully in other serpae tanks. Therefore she has been happily living with them guppies.

 

[BigManAquatics]

Well, serpaes do bully each other a lot, especially in bigger schools. Otherwise they are known to bully other fish. And swim pretty random. Not eating definitely shows a problem though.

 

[TropicalFlow]

Well she’s the opposite. She cowers if there’s a fish close to her size. She does not bully the guppies. Yes, I’m concerned about her not eating, also the color loss. Is it normal for her to only use her front fins to swim?

 

[BigManAquatics]

Usually front fins are used mostly for steering, as the power usually seems to come from the tail. At least most fish i have observed.