[Neil D]

So my 3 pearls are doing great! Healthy, swimming, all that jazz. But one of the females is...spazzing, to put it frankly. She keeps darting along the back wall of the tank ridiculously fast. I shined a light on her to check for velvet, but it didn't look like anything...

The other two seem fine. The main issue is that I'm going to be gone until Monday, so I may not have a chance to care for them. Any help you can give me ASAP is great!

38g tank
80* C
Moderately (and artificially) planted
3 pearl gourami
Penguin 350 Biowheel Filter
200W heater

 

[jaysee]

I would suspect that the 80 C water might be too warm for them.

 

[Chesh]

Pearls can go pretty warm as far as water temp is concerned, but 30c is about their limit. I'm assuming you meant 80 degrees Fahrenheit, because if your tank is 176F, I'm sure they'd all be having problems! How long have you had them, and have you seen any signs of aggressive behavior toward the spazzy female from the others? Have you checked water parameters?

I hope you figure everything out before you go away *worries*

ETA: HEY! NO HIDING!!! ^.^

 

[jaysee]

Yeah, I've seen fish spaz out before. Couldn't tell you why though.

 

[Chesh]

Hope he's okay. . .

 

[newtchaplin]

I had four female 3 spotted gourami's in the same tank and two out of four did that. All fish were fine but I think it happens because they are happy to be able to swim that much, compared to the fish store.

 

[Neil D]

Well, I haven't noticed any more spazzing, but they are super shy (like when I first got them), and look just a touch emaciated. I'll probably do a 50% water change tomorrow. I also switched them to the same food my bettas eat, to see if I can work on their weight. I'll also bring the temperature down a tad. What's the lowest it can safely go? 76* F?

(And yes, all my measures are in fahrenheit (stupid imperial system)

 

[jaysee]

My pearls do fine in 73 in the winter. They all survived the hurricane - 4 days at 58.

I'm thinking perhaps parasites? That's what I would treat for if they were my fish. You could try Prazipro.

 

[Neil D]

If I have to. I really, really hate medicating my tank. I do have Prazi, but I'll keep my eye on them for now, and if I notice any more weird behavior I'll medicate. Thanks!

 

[jaysee]

Prazipro is extremely mild in my experience.

 

[Neil D]

Alright, well, they seem to be fine, nothing going on. I'm still keeping my eye on them... Thanks for the suggestions!