I have 2 goldfish and 2 plecos in a tank on a dresser and one of the plecos is being very strange. This has happened before but this morning I came into my room and turned on the light and it flipped our, swimming all over, jumping out of the water (but still in the tank) and just going crazy. Now, I just opened a drawer and it did it again. I know the water is not right currentely, since I just got them from my sister and it's really bad right now. Is this why it's acting so weird? I don't even want these fish but I don't want them to just die (or give me a heart attack from freaking me out) so what should I do? I've been treating the water with chemicals to change the pH and water hardness, and my sister has done this before.
Has anyone had this happen before? This is my first real fistank and I don't know what's normal. I'm better with mammals....
2006-11-29 12:14:17 · 5 answers · asked by Claire 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
Sounds like you have high ammonia levels. Goldfish and plecos are EXTREMELY HIGH waste producers. They poop a lot, constantly. Unless your tank is 50+ gallons, your fish are producing a lot of waste and a lot of ammonia, which is painful (it burns their skin). This could be the cause of them trying to jump out.
How often do you water changes? You should be changing 20-30% of the every week.. more, if you have a lot of fish in a small tank.
Leave your water parameters alone (pH and water hardness) - fish are very adaptable, and a slightly off pH is better than a pH that changes all the time.
Don't add salt to the tank. Goldfish don't need salt, no freshwater fish do, it's just a waste of money (unless you're treating for parasites)
If you don't these fish, I suggest you bring them to your petstore. They will probably take them, and you won't be stuck with them. They would definitely give you some store credit or something. You could then sell the tank (they usually sell for 1-3$ per gallon, used, more if you have filter and light and stuff)
Anyway, please CLEAN your water, and possibly buy a stronger filter. Just because you don't want them, it doesn't give you the right to be cruel to them (which is what you're doing, even if you don't know it and aren't doing it on purpose). It's like leaving 10 puppies and 10 kittens in a tiny cage and never cleaning it.
If you DO plan on keeping these fish, goldfish need 20 gallons of water each, and common plecos (which can grow to 18"+) need 30 gallons each. So if you want to keep these, invest in a bigger tank (say, 100 gallons, and you could get another goldie)
2006-11-29 12:23:57 · answer #1 · answered by Zoe 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Stop messing with the pH and water hardness. Fish can accept a wide range of pH levels and trying to change the levels can mess up your water chemistry. You need to focus on the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, which can kill your fish. Your pleco is acting like there is high ammonia or high nitrite in the aquarium and that is very dangerous. Buy a test at the pet store and test the levels for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Ammonia should be at zero, nitrite should be at zero, and nitrate should be under 20 ppm. If they are above these levels, you should add 1 tablespoon of freshwater aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water to the aquarium and do water changes of 20% of the water every day until all the levels are back in the acceptable range. Also, FYI, goldfish need 10 gallons a piece minimum and so do common plecos, so eventually you will need a 40 gallon aquarium or larger (55 gallons is better). If you don't want them, you can post an ad on http://www.craigslist.com to look for someone to take them off of your hands, or you can try to give them to a petstore or pond store (or sell them if they are really large).
2006-11-29 12:24:37 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
donna is right... plecos are active at night.... so light and vibrations will freak it out. you have to give it a place to hide... like a driftwood (real or fake)..
and high ammonia and nitrates could be the problem too.
2006-11-29 14:32:46 · answer #3 · answered by professorminh 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sounds like you are scaring them.... turning on the light suddenly, opening and closing drawers . fish are very sensitive to vibrations the sounds go right thru the water
2006-11-29 12:39:16 · answer #4 · answered by donna l 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
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2016-10-04 13:06:35 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋