Barb ?

[BlackWolf0503]

Two of my barbs are floating around during the day with their heads down. If my dog looked at me that way I'd go look for an accident on the floor. I know that they sleep upside down, this just looks really strange. Are they okay or should I be worried? Thanks

 

[smb]

How long have they been doing this and did you recently acquire them? How many others are there and what other fish in what size tank? Do they become more active when you turn the lights out?

It is a bit odd if they do that all day with the lights on.

 

[Alien Anna]

Apparently its usually a sign of water quality problems. Is your tank cycled? Check your ammonia and nitrite levels and if there's a problem, do a 20% water change immediately and 10-15% daily until it reaches zero (ie the tank cycles).

 

[BlackWolf0503]

They have been doing it for most of the day. They also have been their usual trouble staring selves. I did a 25% water change today. My Tetra's are doing just fine. The tank is about a month old & fully cycled. My buddy helped out with good bacteria bio bags & Chems. Last water test Thursday was okay. I was kinda almost thinking it looked like they were mating?? The two that are affected are my green tiger & the albino tiger. They have been eating very well. The green has lost some of his color but his fins are brighter.

 

[BigChiefSmokem]

They have been doing it for most of the day. They also have been their usual trouble staring selves. I did a 25% water change today. My Tetra's are doing just fine. The tank is about a month old & fully cycled. My buddy helped out with good bacteria bio bags & Chems. Last water test Thursday was okay. I was kinda almost thinking it looked like they were mating?? The two that are affected are my green tiger & the albino tiger. They have been eating very well. The green has lost some of his color but his fins are brighter.

I had the same problem with my barbs. They would just float at an angle toward the gravel with the light on. With the light off, they quickly resumed their playing and swimming. I couldnt figure it out, except maybe they were uncomfortable with the light on.

 

[smb]

Could it possibly be from too strong of lighting? Do you have any top floating plants? If not, maybe try putting a plant on top and see if they are always below it until the lights go off. I take the bottom plastic piece off from my plastic plants and hang them at the top with the glass top on it and let it float.

You could also try putting some electrical tape on the bulbs to cut down on the light and see if they become more active. Although, don't discount what AA mentioned either because I' not saying lighting is the problem, just giving another possibility is all.

 

[aquamanis]

In my short experience with the TBs, everytime they done that there was something wrong. The first time the nitrite levels were too high, the second time there was an outbreak of itch. The TBs seem to be the first ones to show a sign that something is wrong. To me it looked like the fish that had his head down was also flapping his fins to keep the other TBs from attacking it as they seem to know when a fish is sick. When things are going fine they don,t do it.

 

[BlackWolf0503]

Thanks All I'll get a water test tommorow and see how that pans out. Full light has never bothered them before but I'll try that too. Aquamanis --so you use Barbs like Canaries in mines, I love it Thanks for all of your responses.

 

[Moe]

Tiger barbs are very sensitive to nitrite. Head pointing down is a sign. Some point down after eating. A lot of tiger barbs point down for short periods but if they are pointing down all the time something is wrong. Whenever one of my tiger barbs died it started by pointing down all the time and not swimming.

 

[BlackWolf0503]

Their back to their normal chase mode this morning. I'll still do a water test later today. Thanks all

 

[BlackWolf0503]

The Water test was perfect, their was nothing abnormal & my LFS told my the the water was great. He also told me that the reason that Barbs hover around looking at the gravel is that theie Swim bladder is in in front of their stomach & when they eat alot & get full they kinda tip over like that Based on thier current weight & the weight of the food they ingested. Thanks All

 

[smb]

The Water test was perfect, their was nothing abnormal & my LFS told my the the water was great. He also told me that the reason that Barbs hover around looking at the gravel is that theie Swim bladder is in in front of their stomach & when they eat alot & get full they kinda tip over like that Based on thier current weight & the weight of the food they ingested. Thanks All

Yes but you said they did it all day tho. They can't be that full all day. I'm just glad to hear that all is well no matter what was wrong!

Did you do a water change before they became active?

I had one Tiger Barb that seemed to do that when it was too bright but I would have to think it was more of a water param problem than anything.

BTW, incase you don't know yet, I only know aggro cichlids and not trying to challenge you or even debate. Just trying to learn is all.
I know Tiger Barbs and red tail sharks. That's about it from the world of community fish so I can't learn if I don't ask.

 

[BlackWolf0503]

No problem at all SMB. All of your advise prompted me to do a water test. Which led to the answer. So you did answer the question in a kinda sorta backward way. Knowledge is why we are all here, to know more about he finny friends that we have & like. It's all good man, thanks for your help. Have a great one.

 

[smb]

Thanks for the feedback. It helps everyone when someone reports back with their progress because none of us can know for sure the solution unless we are there and see it.

I'm glad you got it sorted and the lil fellars are happy now but I had nothing to do with it at all. That was all AA, aquamanis, Moe and BigChiefSmokem. All the good options were taken before I got here and I didn't really add anything.


Thanks again for letting us all know the solution. It helps us and anyone else with the same problem that might be looking for the answer.