mazie51109
Aquarium Advice Activist
So yesterday, I was cleaning my 20 gal which is temporarily boarding my grandmother's fish, one of which is a tinfoil barb. I made the mistake of filling the tank with the cold water hose, and I didn't wait long enough for the water to heat back up before adding the fish. I slowly added the fish, allowing each one to adjust to the water temperature. A few minutes later, I looked over and the tinfoil barb was spazzing out- darting around, flipping upside down, jumping, hitting the sides of the tank, etcetera. By the time I got to the tank, the poor thing was paralyzed and laying on its side on the bottom. I thought for sure he was a goner. I quickly caught the fish in a plastic cup, ran him to my empty quarantine tank which has a heater, and dropped him in. He didn't move, but I cold see he was still breathing. I reached in and sat there for a good five or ten minutes, holding him upright and allowing him to breathe off the surface once in a while. I eventually let go, and he was still sluggish but he could at least keep himself upright. I was expecting the worst, but when I went to check on him this morning, he was swimming around, energetically looking for his friends! I was so relieved. I'm going to keep him in the QT for a few more days just to be sure he's healthy and eating. What a success story!