sumpnfishy
Aquarium Advice Activist
In my wife's tank, she has a fancytailed (sig photo) and a orlando goldfish that she got around 5 years ago. Lately (past month or so) the orlando pretty much sits on the bottom most the time. Along with a few snails these 2 fish share a 35 gal corner tank.
Water parameters are good:
Am: 0
Nitrites:0
Nitrates:10-20
Ph: 6.8 - 7.0
KH:3
GH:1
Nothing has changed in that tank in over 6 months (tanks been up for 8+ months) and I do PWC every 2-3 weeks based on Nitrate levels. Filtration is provided by a Marineland canister filter rated for a larger tank. They are fed goldfish (I think Tetra) floating pellets (which has been a problem for the orlando to get too).
Other than sitting on the bottom like a catfish the fish acts normal. Just wondering if anyone has ever seen an older fish get too lazy (and fat) to swim around? If you look in the attached photo you see that it has small fins. I'm thinking it just is an old fish that has to work too hard to keep swimming. Never had fish like this so I didn't know if this is a normal occurance. Should the fish go on a diet?
The other fish acts completely normal. My wife is getting concerned and I'm not sure what to tell her (other than all fish die eventually).
Do I need to prepare her that the end is near?
Water parameters are good:
Am: 0
Nitrites:0
Nitrates:10-20
Ph: 6.8 - 7.0
KH:3
GH:1
Nothing has changed in that tank in over 6 months (tanks been up for 8+ months) and I do PWC every 2-3 weeks based on Nitrate levels. Filtration is provided by a Marineland canister filter rated for a larger tank. They are fed goldfish (I think Tetra) floating pellets (which has been a problem for the orlando to get too).
Other than sitting on the bottom like a catfish the fish acts normal. Just wondering if anyone has ever seen an older fish get too lazy (and fat) to swim around? If you look in the attached photo you see that it has small fins. I'm thinking it just is an old fish that has to work too hard to keep swimming. Never had fish like this so I didn't know if this is a normal occurance. Should the fish go on a diet?
The other fish acts completely normal. My wife is getting concerned and I'm not sure what to tell her (other than all fish die eventually).
Do I need to prepare her that the end is near?