Sleepy Fish

[lizjamie]

I recently moved house - the move went fine, however since the move my oranda has been very lethargic and spends a lot of his time "sleeping" in a certaini corner of the tank. I dont think that he is ill as his fin is always upand if you move around in front of him he suddenly "wakes up", however I am concerned by his need to do this.

I have checked the water many many times and the tank has cycled now, (it uncycled on moving) but I am wondering if it could be due to the flat being qutie cold? (We havent sorted out the heating yet).

Thanks for your help!

 

[*Fishkies*]

How warm or cool is his tank? What's the current temperature? Does it fluctuate a lot?

What size tank is he in?
Does he live by himself?

 

[lizjamie]

It is currently sitting about 20 degrees celcuis and it fluctuates by 2 or 3 degrees maybe? I haven't seen any big fluctuations.

 

[WILDER]

I would get a heater to keep the heat in the tank at a constant temp.

 

[lizjamie]

I'm going to get one as soon as I can get to a decent pet shop (remarkably hard where I live now).

I am quite worried - I thought it might be due to lack of light but even when I turn the tank light on he doesnt get that much more active...............

Are there any other possibilities?

 

[WILDER]

There a desease called sleeping sickness but not sure on your type of fish.

 

[Imber]

Unfortunately there are a lot of things that could be the cause. Have you seen your fish poo? If it's long, stringy and white and trails for a while that could be indicative of a bacterial infection. You might try feeding some frozen, defrosted and skinned peas in case he's constipated. How do the gills look? Do they look pale or extra slimey? It's possible that your move and recycling of the tank stressed him out and let some opportunistic nasties get a foothold on him or it could be nothing. The heater is definitely a good idea.

 

[lizjamie]

No white stringy poo - although I am good at feeding him veggies at least once a week so maybe I wouldnt see it? His gills look look any different either........

 

[Imber]

Sorry, I don't really know what could be wrong with your little guy I have a bottom sitter that has permanent swimbladder problems so he's either a floater or a sinker, but bottom-sitting could be caused by a lot of different things and unless there's more symptoms I can't recommend medicating. If I were you I'd get that heater running and watch the water stats and keep them as pristine as possible. You might try salting up to .3% and then just watch the guy for any more symptoms. If you have access to a microscope you could do a scrape to check for parasites, but most people don't have that luxury. Best of luck to you and here's hoping that your oranda starts feeling better.