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upside down unicorn

Sat, 02/06/2010 - 19:03 — binnyc

Have a 3 year old unicorn hybrid, (parrot and flower horn)....who is now spending most of it's time upside down and hiding under foliage.  He's not corkscrewing, will swim upright/normally to feed, has excellent color, slime and fins...he's eating and besides the new hiding/upsidedown behaviour, seems his healthy/agressive self. 

Ph is 7.4, temp 80 degrees, no ammonia, nitrates or nitrites in water.....I use a well established bio filter w/ a water turnover of 4x per hour: 1/4 water changes weekly w/a dechlorinator.

No new fish for over 2 years....no deaths in 4.

Don't think it's a perminent swim bladder problem..no distended belly.  Have added kosher salt to the water to kill any parasites and aid in overall health.

Any help?

Comments

Sun, 02/07/2010 - 00:51 — Peanut

Re: upside down unicorn

I agree with Shaz. Sometimes in the beginnig of a swim bladder problem a fish can still swim upright at times. But, it's more difficult than normal. He will get tired and end up swimming upside down. As the blockage gets worse with feeding, he won't be able to right himself at all.

Don't feed him anything but thawed, shelled, frozen peas for several days. If he's not better at that time, fast him for a couple, then go back to feeding only peas. It's really important to not feed him anything but the peas until the blockage has cleared.

Continue feeding the peas once a week to keep swim bladder problems away.

Sat, 02/06/2010 - 20:08 — shaz

upside down

I would still suspect an intermittent swim bladder problem, continue to watch for any escalation