Is This Normal?

[brandoncw]

Last night near midnight for me I heard a loud splash in my tank so out of curiosity I got up to check out what was going on and noticed my rbp was swimming somewhat slanted and lightly bumped into things but when I had the light on he straightened up and acted normal, could it just be that it was disoriented by the dark or symptoms of a possible disease?

 

[Lateral Line]

It is not uncommon for fish in a tank to appear to be behaving oddly when it is dark.

 

[brandoncw]

That is what I figured but I just didn't want to be too sure
Thank you

 

[Byron]

I have no idea what "rbp" refers to, but some fish are nocturnal which means they will be scampering about during total darkness.  They can "see" in the dark less by eyesight but more by other senses.  So this may or may not be something to look into.  Fish crashing about is certainly not normal in most cases.
 
I am assuming from your description that this was during the night, not just after the tank or room light went out.  But just in case, I will mention that when the tank light is turned on or turned out, there must always be light in the room, be it daylight or artificial lighting.  Many fish will be seriously stressed by sudden light or dark.  And on this note, when you do want to investigate into the tank during the dark, never turn on the tank light, but use a flashlight,  Turning on the tank light in a darkened room can cause very serious issues for fish.  If someone flashes a light on you in a dark surrounding, you know what it does; in fish this is amplified because it takes the fish up to 30 minujtes to adjust to light/dark.
 
Byron.

 

[BaylorPerez]

Certain fish, can see within the dark with their other senses, while they are crashing into objects it isnt exactly normal, but it is at the same time as they get used to the surroundings in the dark. Having some fish that are nocturnal, can be fun and a easy way to fall asleep to as they wont make much noise, if any, But if they start getting white spots, red gills, or anything, you may want to find out whats causing it, in the mean time just keep an eye on that fish, and make sure he doesnt break any of his scales/fins  

 

[brandoncw]

He wasn't crashing he was more lightly touching the bog wood with he nose as he swam around rbp means red belly piranha
I think the splashing was the fish attempting to catch a minnow that I couldn't get out of the tank before I put the piranha in so I just left it somehow the minnow has survived for a few months now note* I do not feed him live fish just omnivores cubes (frozen) bloodworms (frozen) and once a week a chunk of fresh red meat (very lean)

 

[BaylorPerez]

is the meat cooked before placed into the tank with the piranha 

 

[brandoncw]

To about medium rare yes