Female White Cloud Mountain Minnow Observed Lying On Gravel

[Kaidonni]

Observed some very peculiar behaviour from the female White Cloud Mountain Minnow this morning (I've had her almost three years now). She was in the far corner near the filter, lying partly on the gravel but at an angle, with her body erect and her tail curving upwards. She wasn’t headstanding. I thought she might have died sometime in the night, but when I tried to get a closer look, she sprung into action, swimming about. She did have a see-saw motion as she swam, and looked slightly bloated (I fed flake food last night). She seemed to want to keep low, close to the gravel, and resumed a stationery position on top of the gravel shortly afterwards. Possibly constipation? Or something worse (hopefully not!)? She does seem to experience trouble sometimes after I feed flake food, and I endeavour to feed de-shelled, de-frosted pea once a week, mushing it up and cutting it into tiny pieces (I don’t blanch the pea or cook it). The two male White Cloud Mountain Minnows were fine this morning.

I also noticed a small, light brownish-mass floating in the general areal, could have been some dead plant material, fecal matter or even a bit of flake food that hadn't been eaten. No idea if it came from the female Minnow. She seems fine this evening, not bloated.

I have no reason to suspect water quality issues, I am careful to ensure next to no flake food drifts to the gravel (there will always be the odd flake or two, but I have observed the Minnows scouring the gravel for leftovers in the past). Water temperature fluctuations are anywhere from around 22c-23c to 24c-25c, heater is unplugged (so any warming is from ambient room temperature increasing/the tank light). A 50% water change each week, and my water tests last weekend prior to my weekly maintenance left me with no cause for concern (did not test nitrates last weekend, but the previous testing about 3 weeks ago gave me 30-40ppm). Total Dissolved Solids might be a little over 300ppm currently, and I have noticed an upwards trend over the last four months, but there’s little I can do about that (except perhaps be a bit more restrained on the use of Prime during water changes, and use less warm water in my attempts at temperature matching - I don't think I'll be going for reverse osmosis filtration).

 

[Delapool]

Could it be a constipation issue? Egg-bound?

Otherwise from the description - water chemistry would be first suspect but yours sounds good. Can't comment on TDS.

 

[Kaidonni]

I fed some de-shelled, de-thawed pea tonight, and she is experiencing problems right now. She is basically struggling to keep her balance as she swims about, with a see-saw movement and her front higher than her tail (she's angled slightly upwards). She's also settling on the gravel from time to time.

It's entirely possible I didn't de-thaw the pea for long enough - I was in a bit of a hurry to get things done - or picked a pea that wasn't as soft. I generally mush it up and cut it into little bits, although some pieces are still a bit big, and possibly not moist enough. I even wet the pea additionally with a bit of tank water as I mush it up (or, at least I'm taking to that as part of the preparation, and did that this evening). I don't blanch the pea.

I can say it is definitely connected to feeding time, as she was absolutely fine this morning, and was fine prior to feeding. I know I feed every other day, but did consider fasting them tonight and feeding the pea after my weekly clean tomorrow afternoon. Maybe it would have been better, or maybe that isn't going to cut it this time. Part of me wanted to test the nitrates tomorrow before the weekly clean (not urgent, but I do get obsessive and latch on to things, and I thought testing after feeding the pea would have been the most sound approach - not that it would have much impact on nitrates, but I never rule anything out).

Minnow fry do keep popping up in the tank. I believe my weekly clean's are too much for them, so generally they just disappear after that (unless the Minnows nom-nom them, possibly during the tank maintenance...). It is therefore possible she is egg-bound, perhaps even a combination of factors. A tropical fish specialist I have been in touch with has also suggested colic as a possibility. I think that using aquarium salts would be a good idea at this stage, so I'll mix them in with my water change tomorrow.

A tropical fish specialist I have been in touch with has also suggested colic as a possibility. I think that using aquarium salts would be a good idea at this stage, so I'll mix them in with my water change tomorrow. Possibly 2g/litre.

 

[Delapool]

Salts would be next to try.

Maybe a different food or adding brine shrimp may help?

 

[Kaidonni]

I'm going to fast for a few days, and try a different approach to food preparation. For one, I'll try soaking any flake food prior to feeding, about 5 minutes should probably be okay - possibly dried foods expanding inside the Minnow is causing her the problems (there is virtually no time for any food to soak before the Minnows devour it). I've opted for 1.5g/litre aquarium salt in the meantime.

She's swimming perfectly normally today, no bloating or anything else.