Tetra lying on its side :'-(

[Tiesto643]

Hi All

So i woke up Sunday morning to find one of my Tetras (not sure what type, maybe Bloodfin, 1.5 inches long) upside down in the corner of the tank, unable to swim.

I hadnt done anything different in the tank, hadnt done a water change for a week (but somethimes i do only do it once a week with no problems), all other fish are fine. So i did my water change that day.

The other fish started going for him, he would only wriggle slightly, i have no spare tank for quarantine, and the Chiclids would rip him apart so ive made a makeshift protection for him cutting up a plastic bottle. so since Sunday hes been lying on the gravel on his side, in this protection area.

hes started moveing more, so water change yesterday i let him out for a bit to see if he could move enough when the fish go for him, but no good, so hes still hes back in solitery.

he will swim a bit on his side when i a fish gets close etc, but still doesnt seem to have balance to swim upright and use all fins correctly.

Ive read it could be Swim Bladder problem. And read to try and feed a frozen Pea. Ive tried, but he doesnt seem to have eaten anything since sunday.

Seems to be breathing ok, and as i said movement has improved since sunday, but im not sure what else to do, feel bad that hes been lying on his side for 4 days nows in the same spot.

Any advice?

Thanks

 

[LyndaB]

Tank size?

Occupants of tank?

Readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

 

[Tiesto643]

hi lynda sorry i forgot to mention those bits, got carried away waffling.

60 Ltre tank.
3 Tetras (maybe bloodfin)
2 Cichlids - Not sure what type, one is maybe an "African Butterfly Cichlid” (Maybe Anomalochromis thomasi). the other I believe is a “Red Zebra Cichlid” a blue one though, male i guess.

Readings i dont know. Ive just signed up to this site today to learn more about fishkeeping properly. I ordered my first test kit yesterday, have never tested the water before.

However these fish have all lived together fine for about 2 years.

 

[LyndaB]

Ok, your tetra is most likely suffering from stunted growth. The tank is too small for it and it hasn't been able to reach its adult size. Stunted growth always leads to early death.

You really need to know what species you are keeping in order to keep them properly. Can you google your cichlids and see what they actually are? Most of the cichlids that I'm aware of need 55 gallons or more. You're working with about 16 gallons. If all the fish have been in there for 2 years, you may have more impending deaths. Sorry.

How often do you change out the water? It's possible you've got toxic conditions in the tank.

 

[Tiesto643]

Thanks Lynda

Yeah I have been pretty sure my tank would be too small for the cichlids, didn't think it wold be for the tetras though. I have made a lot of errors with this tank which are obviously now showing. which is why I've just joined here to try and be one a better fish keeper.

I'm hoping to move to a bigger flat/house sometime soon so can get a bigger tank.

And my test kit will arrive soon so I can start keeping an eye on my water. I usually do about 20% change
Midweek and about 30% at the weekend. And usually 40-50% change very 2-3 weeks when i do a bigger clean.

I'll do some more googling on my fish.

 

[LyndaB]

Knowledge is power.

 

[Tiesto643]

So he's still alive. Still laying down most of the time but has got back the ability to swim, however not properly. So I've let him loose as he can now swim away when the other fish go for him, hopefully he will carry on improving.

I've now found out what my 2 cichlids are, one is a Jewel cichlid and the other is a pseudotropheus socolofi, (powder blue pindani). Still need to find out what the tetras are though.

Done my first water test today just before a 30% water change. Picture attached. I read them as below...

Ph - looks about 7.4
Ammonia - between 0 and 0.25
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 40

So I guess for a reading before a water change these seem ok? maybe nitrate a bit high. I'm going to leave it a day after the water change and test again and see what I get.

I also got a gh and kh water hardness test kit, but haven't done that yet as I don't really understand what the results mean and what I want to see. So going to read up on that a bit first.