stillnzcookie Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Hi, one of our Harlequin Rasboras has started swimming weirdly, and I don't know what's wrong with it or what I should do. It started by swimming in an odd way - sort of wiggling its whole body - and got very hyperactive. Now it swims on its side..or upside down...or head up...or tail up...any way but the right way up. It is still very active and doing its wiggly swimming action, and I can't see anything visibly wrong with it - no marks or lumps or anything like that. It is about five years old. All the other fish seem fine, and all our water parameters are normal, except for pH, which has gone from 6.6 up to 7, over the last couple of months. Any ideas as to what might be wrong, and what I should do? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Without seeing a pic of the fish I am firstly going to suggest that this is old age. A lot of people would give a lot to have a rasbora of that age still alive in their tank Could be a stroke, could be a swim bladder issue but swim bladder generally means the fish floats upside down all the time, or head up all the time. There is possibly nothing you can do to help it get better but try a shelled pea (that is effective on swim bladder). Get a frozen pea and peel the skin off it, break it into small pieces and feed it to your fish. While your pH has gone up, that rise over a couple of months is not overly significant and the fish should be happy enough at 7. Swinging pH is what causes a lot of problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillnzcookie Posted March 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Thanks, Adrienne. Yes, our tank has been running for seven years, so we have quite a lot of fish that are about 5-6 years old, and I have thought a couple of other random deaths were probably due to old age. It's hard to find information about how long fish usually live for. Our only other Harlequin that is still alive is about 6 1/2 - it was one of the first fish we got! I'll try feeding a shelled pea and see if it helps at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Usually smaller fish have a shorter life span but there are exceptions to the rule Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiraka Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Usually smaller fish have a shorter life span but there are exceptions to the ruleYear old thread? livingart 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Where did that year go, must have been having fun kiwiraka and gligor 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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