I recently moved some fishes from one fish tank to another. The fishes don't move. All they do is lie on their stomachs on the tank bottom and breathe. Is there anything wrong with them?
2007-10-03 18:41:09 · 7 answers · asked by andddyy 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
It sounds like you may have fish that are experiencing new tank syndrome!
Hopefully you used water from the old aquarium when moving them! Use your test kit and check your water parameters!
2007-10-03 18:46:20 · answer #1 · answered by Me 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
How long ago was this move? If today, your fish are just adapting to the new tank. They may have behaved the same way when you brought them home - it usually takes a day or two for fish to settle in to a new home and swimming and eating normally.
If it's been 3-4 days, I'll agree with "new tank syndrome" which is actually ammonia poisoning. Moving the water doesn't help, but moving the gravel and filter from the old tank would. These contain the bacteria necessary to break down your fishes' wastes from ammonia (which is toxic in small amounts) to nitrate (which they tolerate much better). If you've drained the old tank, these wouldn't help, since the bacteria need to be wet and have a filter, air pump, or other source of oxygen to stay alive.
You can do a larger than normal water change to help your fish out - about 25-50% of the tank volume. Just make sure the new water is about the same temperature as the old, and that you use conditioner to remove chlorine/chloramine.
If your old tank is still running, you can change the filter pad and put the old filter media in the new tank, and/or add some of the old gravel in a mesh bag to the filter to get a bacterial "starter". Also, you can turn the heater up a few degrees to get the bacteria to reproduce a little more quickly. But it'll be about 3-6 weeks (and some cloudy water, which is natural - don't try to clean the tank out thinking this is "dirt" - it's multiplying bacteria which you want!) before your tank is back to normal. If you don't test your water for ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate, you may want to do 15% water changes twice a week to keep your fish more comfortable until the bacteria build up.
2007-10-04 01:57:38 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I think that maybe your fish is dying. Sorry to say it but if you put too much of the chemical you put in the water or too little then that might have hurt them.
2007-10-04 01:47:11 · answer #3 · answered by MadisonTaylor 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
aww not to worry, they're just adaptibng to their new water chemical.
next time, pour some of those new water into the old water frequently just to let them adapt.
good luck
2007-10-04 05:08:34 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
they would be stressed out by the move, give them time and they should be fine. if they're not dead yet then they shouldn't die if left alone.
2007-10-04 01:49:08 · answer #5 · answered by larz2189 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your fish are already dead. hahahahaha
2007-10-04 04:00:30 · answer #6 · answered by lolwut 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they r resting
2007-10-04 04:58:07 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋