Question about my fish tank??

Question

Hi I changed the water in my fish tank last week and scrubbed it out to get all the dirt out and then I put fresh water in and put my fishy back in. Everything was fine but today I noticed my fish staying at the top of the water and when he tries to swim down its as if he is being pulled back up, so he is just staying at the top... is there something wrong with the water? its as if he is struggling to swin down because the water is keeping him floating to the top? any idea why this is and what I should do???

Answer 1

It could be a few problems.

* may not be enough air in the water.  He's swimming in the stuff that's the most oxygenated.

* might be latent chemicals in the new water.  New water might be slightly heavier.

Try and follow these rules:

* Always use treated water, or the the fashioned way (let the water sit out for 3 days...most of the free chlorine leaves the water)

* Never replace more than half the water at a time.

Hope your fishy recovers.

Answer 2

He probably just has something where he's swallowed air, If he's floating on his side. Fish get it the whole time, it's really common, if your worried, you could always pop in to your local fish shop, and ask someone about it!

Answer 3

when you scrub out or completely empty a tank you actually ruin the good bacteria in the water, do you have a filter? if so did you clean the filter or leave it dirty. this is important because if you cleaned it too with tap water (you should only clean the filter with dirty tank water), the whole tank will have to go through the nitrogen cycle again which takes 6-8 weeks. your fish may be sick because he has produced ammonia (which all fish do) and your tank does not have the good chemicals in it to break it back down. if he is having trouble swimming down into the water he may have a swim bladder disease. these are caused by internal fungal infections mostly caused by poor water quality or poor quality food. my advice is to get all of the water tested either at your local aquarium or to buy your own full test kit, research the nitrogen cycle, and buy your fish some plants (for digestion and to absorb nitrates) and an anti fungal medicine from the aquarium. never do a complete water change, instead by a cheap gravel vacume from the pet shop and do a ten to twenty percent water change every week. remember to add the right water conditioners and test your water regularly. good luck with your fish!!!

Answer 4

the filter is probably pulling him back up but about the scrub you were using, did you ever put soap on it before like washing dishes, car, shoes and ever put soap cuz thats the problem, soap is harmful to fish and will kill it.

Answer 5

You did use water condition didn't you? Otherwise this is the problem, half empty the tank and fill with the conditioned water.