Harlequin swimming awkwardly

[breezer40]

One of my female Harlequins is having problems swimming. I first noticed her swimming with her head up towards the top of the tank but when I went to catch her she started to swim normally again so I thought I would just keep an eye on her for a little while :?

She continued to swim head up with the sudden burst of normal swimming and at this point I also noticed my other Harlequins were giving her a hard time so I got the net and she is now in the hospital tank.

I'm thinking this is possibly swimbladder problems. I have tested the water and everything is sound. I have also looked closely for any other problems but nothing found and all other fish are normal. Can anyone suggest a possible treatment?

She is around 12 months old possibly more as she was a good size when I got her from the LFS. How long do Harlequins live and could old age be a possibility for her sudden swimming problem?

 

[Menagerie]

Old age can certainly affect various organs in the fish.

Try looking through these sites:
http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/hobbyist/hobbyist3.htm
http://www.aqualink.com/disease/sdisease.html#ich
http://fish.mongabay.com/diseases.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/fishdisho.htm
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/health.htm


~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp)?

 

[breezer40]

I think the problem is sorted. After a day in hospital the patient is now FULLY recovered. This is what I am thinking was the problem:

I have 3 very persistent males who are looking for some action. I think she was just exhaused from her efforts to escape their attention and quite stressed too (she is the only female that seems interested in breeding). When I put her in the hospital tank I added a little stress coat, dimmed the lights and gave her some peace and quite. Within an hour she seemed just fine. I have now upped the temps as this takes the males off heat and she is swimming in a shoal perfectly normal.

My water parameters are:
ammonia = 0
nitrites = 0
nitrates = 12.5mg/l
temp = was 27 (perfect for breeding these)..now 28

 

[Menagerie]

Glad to hear the happy ending! What is your male to female ration?? Most fish are good with 1 male to 2 or 3 females. This dilutes the attention of the male and the females are able to rest.

 

[breezer40]

I currently have 3 males and 8 females. She is still doing fine and acting as if nothing had happened

 

[Menagerie]

Good ratio!