Do you ever look at them - and think OH NO

[BettaMomma]

Several times now I've come up to one of my fish's tanks and looked in and thought OH GREAT... What's that fuzzy crap hanging off their fins, back and head!... or What the heck are those white spots now!... UUGH!
Only to see them fall away a few minutes later and then the fish looks perfectly fine?

??

Well it happens to me on a regular basis. And it turns out that they just had gunk or goop hanging on them. Something that was floating around on the top of their tanks. It's particularly bad because a lot of diseases start by things showing up either on their heads or backs - and since they swim up to the top for air regularly, that's the part of them that touches the surface of the water. And, it happens a lot here cuz none of my tanks except 2 have filters so nothing really gets stirred up so the "gunk and goop" just sits up there at the top of the water.

It happened to me again this morning. I was convinced Six was coming down with ick - he had 4 white "things" on him. As I was feeding him, he was darting around the tank and they all fell off. Musta got stuck on him earlier when he went up for air.

 

[ThatDarnDragon]

very rarely with me. I take a net or something and just skim the top of the tanks to clear any unwanted gook. it helps.

 

[50000_tears]

yeah this is very familiar..happins to amy alot she gets lint on her face i think

 

[Bettabelieveit]

Yeah, Animal likes to scare me like that regularly, I think he gets a good laugh out of it *glares at animal* so not funny...!

 

[OohFeeshy]

Only really with my cories. Where they sit so still, they tend to get a light dusting of sand... I think ICH! then realise its not... duh...

 

[3fsh]

It's never happened to my bettas before... but SEVRAL times I've thought that the triggers had ich. They have gazillions of tiny little scales that just grab on to the sand at the bottom of the tank when they dig around in it. It freaks me out every stinkin' time... lol, that and when they get little bubbles stuck in their scales. I scare them with my hand to see if it falls off when they dart away.

 

[FalconStorm]

Oh, so that gunky film on the surface of a non-agitated tank is normal? Whew! I noticed that on a couple of my one gallons this weekend and was afraid someone had sprayed a chemical nearby or something... I'm glad to know that it's common and not life threatening.

 

[Whiskerz]

The only time they scare me is when they look 'dead'. Like lastnight for example...

I was feeding my bettas and of course, they all came to the top for their food, except for one (who is getting pretty old now). So I go to give him his food, and he wasn't moving, just laying on the bottom. I kinda gave his tank a little shake so he would move but he continued to lay there. I thought he had passed away...until I put the net in there to scoop him out, THEN he started swimming around

....then I told him to never do that again!

 

[BettaMomma]

That happens with my girls sometimes.
All of them come rushing up for food except one. It's never the same one, either.
One of them just doesn't show up.

I think sometimes it's that she's asleep in a cave, or under a bridge, or something like that. Scares me too.

 

[Easystreet]

I dont have the gunk issue..but...


I do hate when they are dead a sleep. They are just floating (right side up) leaning against something snoozing away. You go to feed them and open the hood and they just keep on snoozing. Usually Hachi comes running to the surface when that hood comes up. Then you give the tank a light nudge, still doesnt move, panic sets in you give the tank a good jolt and Hachi goes "woah woah whats happening? What? What? Feeding time? WoooooHoooo let me start sprinting in the front of the tank!"

Then you *sigh* thank god lttle dude is ok.

End mini heart attack.

-Jason

 

[Synirr]

It doesn't happen to me much with my bettas, but my oscar LOVES to scare me like that
He likes to sit on the sand and sometimes it clings to his bottom fins and looks like some kind of fungus, and I don't know how he does it, but he also gets sand on his head a lot and it looks like ich.

 

[BettaMomma]

I bet he knows it paranois you and he stands on his head every which way possible so as to stick some sand on it. Then he laughs his rear end off when he sees your nose pressed up against the glass yelling "NOOOOO!!!!"

 

[Synirr]

I bet he knows it paranois you and he stands on his head every which way possible so as to stick some sand on it. Then he laughs his rear end off when he sees your nose pressed up against the glass yelling "NOOOOO!!!!"

Knowing him, he probably does!!
He also does this funny thing where he stands on his head right over the bubblestone with his mouth wide open... when I catch him doing it he quickly looks up at me and bubbles come out his gills