I have a female Flowerhorn named Camillia. We have got her for about 2 days now. On her first day she swam around her tank learning the environment. The next day we noticed that Camillia kept staying on one corner (Near the water filter and the water heater). She wouldn't get out of that spot. The shopkeeper who sold Camillia said that she loved eating dried shrimp. We simply followed and she did. She would only swim up for food and sit back down on the aquarium floor. The shopkeeper said that she also ate live fish weekly. Today is her weekly live fish feeding. We gave her some live fish and refused to eat them. Starting from yesterday (Today is her 3rd day with us) we noticed that she wouldn't swim around anymore. Is she sick? Is there a way to save my poor fish?
Flowerhorn isn't swimming
- Thread starter Mr_Chemical
- Start date
Few things
1) Feeding live fish is a bad idea unless you breed the fish yourself. They carry disease and pathogens. The best food source is prepared food like pellets, supplemented with the shrimp, etc.
2) What are your water parameters like? Do you test your water? Has the tank completed a nitrogen cycle? If the answers to any of these are "no" or "I dont't know", there are probably several problems which would cause the fish to not feel well. Putting fish in a fresh, uncycled tank can be lethal for the fish.
3) What is the décor like in the tank? Is it bare tank, or do you have plants, wood, etc? If the fish is hiding under the filter, he probably is scared. Especially as a small fish, if the tank is just a glass box he won't come out in the open for fear of predators. Floating plants and enough sightbreaks + décor in the tank will make the fish feel more secure.
Hope this helps
1) Feeding live fish is a bad idea unless you breed the fish yourself. They carry disease and pathogens. The best food source is prepared food like pellets, supplemented with the shrimp, etc.
2) What are your water parameters like? Do you test your water? Has the tank completed a nitrogen cycle? If the answers to any of these are "no" or "I dont't know", there are probably several problems which would cause the fish to not feel well. Putting fish in a fresh, uncycled tank can be lethal for the fish.
3) What is the décor like in the tank? Is it bare tank, or do you have plants, wood, etc? If the fish is hiding under the filter, he probably is scared. Especially as a small fish, if the tank is just a glass box he won't come out in the open for fear of predators. Floating plants and enough sightbreaks + décor in the tank will make the fish feel more secure.
Hope this helps
Most important bullet is number 2. Do you know about the cycle? If not, you should read this
https://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
And get a bacterial supplement like "dr. tim's one and only" immediately. Fish will probably die in coming weeks without it. Or, if you have a friend with an established fish tank (more than a couple months) you can take some of their filter media and put it in your filter to seed it.
I'm a novice in taking care of fish. Which is why I don't understand much of what are nitrogen cycles and such. Although, I will try my best to research more about these fishes and their needs. I just bought my fish some decorations ( a small shipwreck and a small flower ) where it swam and hid behind in. I will try to see where I can find these in my local pet market.
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I also suspect the tank isn't cycled, and depending on the tanks size, the fish could already be poisoning itself with ammonia.
It usually takes 6 to 8 weeks for a tank to cycle (cycling is building up enough of a population of nitrite and ammonia consuming bacteria to keep the fish from poisoning itself) the smaller the tank, the worse and faster toxics build up.
You can dilute the amomnia and nitrite by large doing daily water changes.
And these changes won't effect the cycle because unless you change 100% of water every day, there will be plenty of ammonia left to feed the bacteria.
I suggest 50% per day until the cycle is evident.
You find out if the cycle is finished by testing the water for ammonia, nitrite, and the least toxic nitrate.
When tests read 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and some nitrate, the tank is cycled.
These test kits are simple to use, and on par or easier than High School 101 chemistry.
It usually takes 6 to 8 weeks for a tank to cycle (cycling is building up enough of a population of nitrite and ammonia consuming bacteria to keep the fish from poisoning itself) the smaller the tank, the worse and faster toxics build up.
You can dilute the amomnia and nitrite by large doing daily water changes.
And these changes won't effect the cycle because unless you change 100% of water every day, there will be plenty of ammonia left to feed the bacteria.
I suggest 50% per day until the cycle is evident.
You find out if the cycle is finished by testing the water for ammonia, nitrite, and the least toxic nitrate.
When tests read 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and some nitrate, the tank is cycled.
These test kits are simple to use, and on par or easier than High School 101 chemistry.
https://www.amazon.com/API-FRESHWAT...pID=51FQhbpfB0L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
This is the test kit, I recommend this liquid one over the "strips" sold in stores because these are much more accurate.
I know it seems like a lot to learn at first, but there is a science that goes into fishkeeping that must be at least partially understood to keep fish alive in water
This below is the nitrifying bacteria I recommend, luckily it is on sale right now. If you buy the proper amount of this, you can bypass the cycling process, and not subject your fish to the toxic chemical buildup, and you won't have to do water changes every day. If you get this and put it in, I would wait a few days before water change, then get on a schedule of doing about 50% once a week, or more (level of nitrates right before water change will tell you if you need more- if 20ppm or above, should probably do larger % or 2 a week)
https://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquatics-Nitrifying-Bacteria-Freshwater/dp/B001LULBXI/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1537190535&sr=1-3&keywords=dr+tim's+one+and+only&dpID=41VPmNGzQLL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
This is the test kit, I recommend this liquid one over the "strips" sold in stores because these are much more accurate.
I know it seems like a lot to learn at first, but there is a science that goes into fishkeeping that must be at least partially understood to keep fish alive in water
This below is the nitrifying bacteria I recommend, luckily it is on sale right now. If you buy the proper amount of this, you can bypass the cycling process, and not subject your fish to the toxic chemical buildup, and you won't have to do water changes every day. If you get this and put it in, I would wait a few days before water change, then get on a schedule of doing about 50% once a week, or more (level of nitrates right before water change will tell you if you need more- if 20ppm or above, should probably do larger % or 2 a week)
https://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquatics-Nitrifying-Bacteria-Freshwater/dp/B001LULBXI/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1537190535&sr=1-3&keywords=dr+tim's+one+and+only&dpID=41VPmNGzQLL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
Thanks I needed it. Learning fish care is worth it if it's for the sake of your love for fish. Seeing the little pets grow is very satisfying.
Everything that gourami swam said is good advice... while you are waiting for test kits to turn up in mail, do a massive water change and see how the fish acts in clean water... check fish for burnt fins and other abnormalities on its scales and fins, if you are not sure that your filter is cycled stop feeding or feed very small amounts and change a lot of water daily.. Go for a bare bottom tank with that flowerhorn as well so you can keep on top of the tank parameters, you can add what decorations you want to your tank when your filter is cycled and the tank is running properly.. a flowerhorn is not the best fish to keep if you are still working out how to cycle your filter.. there is loads of stuff you can do to try and work out the problem while waiting for test kits to turn up in the mail..
Don't feed your flowerhorn goldfish e.t.c
Don't feed your flowerhorn goldfish e.t.c
