Spinning fish

JesusMcNugget
  • #1
I wanted to ask and see if anyone had any insight as to what is going on with one of my fish. It's a larger tetra and a few days ago he started spinning in the tank. Nothing has changed in at least a few weeks. So, why does my fish think he's a top all of a sudden?

The first day, I turned the lights on and he immediately started flipping out. He flipped upside down then decided to spin, face-down, in the gravel. He wasn't swimming in circles; he was spinning like a top/dreidel. He did this a few times. He spun for a couple seconds, swam upside-down to another spot very rapidly, then face-down spun again. He then did the same thing one last time then righted himself and sat on the bottom breathing extremely fast for a bit. After a minute or two, he was fine and back to normal.

Yesterday, I turn the lights on and he spun again. He spun face-down in the gravel again and swam upside-down to the middle of the tank then righted himself and sat there panting. This did not repeat. He was acting normally after that.

Today, the lights come on and he just flips and flops in place. Kind of spun a bit, but not nearly as much as before. He did spin, but only one or two rotations, then flopped around like I took him out of the water. After that, about 10 seconds of panting, and he was back to normal.

It only happens when I first turn the lights on for the day. He eats fine, swims around. Seems content and healthy. He does seem to like that back corner and swims around that area a lot, but he does venture out often enough and swims around the whole tank. It's not often that he goes up above the halfway point. I don't think he has problems getting above that level, he does venture to the top to chase food.

All of the other fish seem perfectly happy and healthy. I have tested the levels several times over the last few days. Everything seems to be holding steady. Ammonia is at 0. 0 nitrites, Nitrates are there enough to change the color (from tap water), but not enough to really measure so somewhere between 0 and 5. PH is around 7.4 and Temp holds at 78F/25C.

Seems like everything is fine as far as the water. Any idea what he's doing? I can find no information on this. I find some information on whirling disease, but that seems to be a cold-water parasite that can't survive in water this warm. On top of that, he's not swimming in circles. It doesn't look like he's chasing his tail. It looks like he's spinning like a top. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 

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AmberOcean
  • #2
Maybe he's just startled by the light? My betta tends to freak out when I turn the light on, especially if he doesn't notice that I'm walking over to the tank. I found something similar to your case. I have also had tetras who have done this when I turn the light on.
 

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NavigatorBlack
  • #3
It's extremely weird. Could you turn the main room light on before you go to the tank light, just to see?
In nature, light comes up gradually, not all of a sudden.
 
JesusMcNugget
  • Thread Starter
  • #4
There is a lamp with a 100 watt light bulb about 10 feet from the tank and the tank sits right next to the 55 inch TV. They are both often on for a while before the light on the tank hood comes on. There is a decent amount of light before the tank turns on. He does seem to sleep in the back corner behind some decorations. It's probably rather dark back there.

What I don't get is why this started all of a sudden. I understand the light may startle him, but why now? He's been in the tank for about 4 months.
 
NavigatorBlack
  • #5
What kind of tetra is he?
 

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