Red Platy just hanging out at the bottom of the tank.

[jcostantino]

I had to do a major water change (30%) because my nitrites were very high (>1ppm) since I'm cycling my 14 gallon tank. Right now one of my red platys is just hanging out at the bottom of the tank. He's breathing, his fins move and he will go forward a bit but he ends up just floating about 1/2" off the gravel.

It seems to be the opposite of swim bladder disease.. he hasn't eaten in about two days but last night he was starting to move towards the food (tetra min flakes) but I don't believe he ate much, if anything.

His tankmates (another red platy and a dwarg gourami) are doing fantastic in spite of the nitrite spike. Right now nitrites are measuring .5 ppm since changing the water and ammonia is between 0 and .25 ppm.

And another thing, the water seems very cloudy but that might be due to the nitrogen cycle, right?

 

[Zagz]

You can do another water change of 50%. Did you add dechlorinator to the tank when changing the water. The cloudy water is a normal occurance and will go away on it's own.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I agree with Zagz. Another water change would be very good. Also, when you add new water to your tank, make sure it is the correct temperature as well. Adding in water that is significantly different in temperature can also shock the fish a little. It's a good sign that he seems to be getting a bit more active.