Weird guppy behavior

[ParanoidFishperson]

I don't know if I'm tripping or my fish is the one who is, coz gurl is weird af. In the morning when I check on them she's behaving so lively. Like pecking around the decor, the plants and just swimming around. She still eats, and her companions are her sister (who is slightly bent on the back but she still is acting well) and some hengeli rasboras.

So, the tea is she kinda gets drowsy? Kind of slows down when it's nearing 6:30pm and it continues until the timer turns the lights off at 7:00pm. Then when the light turn off, she swims again (probably bcoz the lights turn off and on suddenly) and forages and a little and then goes to the bottom to rest. And in the morning it starts all over again.

Help me guys, this is very new to me and I'm stumped in other words my brain is just cooked.

Like is this disease or just routine. Coz gurl better be telling me why or it's the clove oil for her if this worsens .

 

[Colin_T]

How long have you had the fish for?

Assuming the water quality is good (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, less than 20ppm nitrate, pH around 7.0 or a bit higher), it could be she is suffering from jet lag. This happens when fish get transported around the world and end up in a tank with a different lighting schedule to what they are used to. It normally settles down after a month or so.

Apart from that, I would need photos and video of the fish to see if it's something else. But if she is eating well and doesn't have any physical lumps or bumps or weird colours, it's most likely jet lag.

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TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

If the light unit is programmable, have it on a low setting for the first 30-60 minutes and increase the brightness over time. Do the opposite in the evening and gradually reduce the light for the last 30-60 minutes before lights out.

If you don't have live plants in the tank, you only need the light on for a few hours in the evening. You might turn them on at 4 or 5pm and off at 9pm.

If you do have live plants in the tank, you can have the lights on for 8-16 hours a day but the fish and plants need 8 hours of darkness to rest. Most people with live plants in their aquarium will have the lights on for 8-12 hours a day.

 

[ParanoidFishperson]

How long have you had the fish for?

Assuming the water quality is good (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, less than 20ppm nitrate, pH around 7.0 or a bit higher), it could be she is suffering from jet lag. This happens when fish get transported around the world and end up in a tank with a different lighting schedule to what they are used to. It normally settles down after a month or so.

Apart from that, I would need photos and video of the fish to see if it's something else. But if she is eating well and doesn't have any physical lumps or bumps or weird colours, it's most likely jet lag.

--------------------

TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

If the light unit is programmable, have it on a low setting for the first 30-60 minutes and increase the brightness over time. Do the opposite in the evening and gradually reduce the light for the last 30-60 minutes before lights out.

If you don't have live plants in the tank, you only need the light on for a few hours in the evening. You might turn them on at 4 or 5pm and off at 9pm.

If you do have live plants in the tank, you can have the lights on for 8-16 hours a day but the fish and plants need 8 hours of darkness to rest. Most people with live plants in their aquarium will have the lights on for 8-12 hours a day.

Tomorrow I will send some vids, is it fine? I have had her for some time about 2 months, this is just recent because I have been looking at my tank in the late afternoon just of late. I gave her and her sis a salt bath this morning thinking it'd solve this but prolly it's deeply ingrained in her mind to dose off or sum sorry for the lack of a better word.

 

[Colin_T]

It's fine to post a video whenever you get free time. Upload videos to YouTube (or another video hosting website), then copy & paste the link here.
If you use a mobile phone to film the fish, hold the phone in landscape mode so the footage fills the entire screen and doesn't have the black bars on either end.

Jet lag should have settled down after 2 months so this could be something else. She might be old and just going to bed early.
Did you get her from someone or from a pet shop?
Pet shops usually have young fish, whereas if you got her from a friend, she might be getting old.

 

[ParanoidFishperson]

It's fine to post a video whenever you get free time. Upload videos to YouTube (or another video hosting website), then copy & paste the link here.
If you use a mobile phone to film the fish, hold the phone in landscape mode so the footage fills the entire screen and doesn't have the black bars on either end.

Jet lag should have settled down after 2 months so this could be something else. She might be old and just going to bed early.
Did you get her from someone or from a pet shop?
Pet shops usually have young fish, whereas if you got her from a friend, she might be getting old.

She is from a pet shop, next summer I'm planning to breed my own live-bearers so that they're genetically hopefully stronger (mutts)

 

[ParanoidFishperson]

This is in the morning, I turned the lights on for the vid. She is dull bodied one and her sister Is the one with black based tail.

Also just to ask and since I don't want to make a new thread her sister looks skinny and bent but as you can see from the vid she's active and apart from that she still eats a lot to the point she gets plumpy. Does she have the skinny disease if so what the symptoms, so that I don't work myself up for sumn that probably isn't.
Morning:

 

[Colin_T]

She looks ok. I would just say it's her and how she is, early to bed and early to rise. Swim about all day looking for food like guppies do.

I would deworm the tank to treat the fish for intestinal worms and gill flukes. Guppies and other common livebearers from shops are usually riddled with worms. Section 3 of the following link has more info on deworming fish. I would start with treating for round/ thread worms (using Levamisole), and then do flat/ tape worms (with Praziquantel). If you can get Flubendazole, that treats both types of worms.

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