Regular Member TonySydney Posted April 8, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 Hi Everyone, I am on holidays at the moment and I am spending a lot of time watching my goldfish. A lot of the day they are active but I have noticed that part of the day one will sit just above the bottom of the tank next to a fern. Another will hover at the surface of the tank seemly eating something that I cannot see. Another will hover just under the surface of the tank on one of the corners where the water is very still. If I go near the tank there is a flurry of activity from all three fish. I realised today that I am not sure what is normal behaviour - should the fish be constantly swimming about and looking for food all day? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member yafashelli Posted April 8, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 Hovering is probably normal, especially if they go wild when they see you. My fish are all terribly naughty things, so I'm the last to give advice on proper fish behavior. I hope you enjoy your vacation! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member GoldenSpoiledRotten Posted April 8, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 It's normal for a fish to have some periods of rest during the day. Unless it turns into a constant thing and they stop responding to you, then there's no need to worry. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jmetzger72 Posted April 8, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 What's the water current like in their tank? Butterflies aren't the best swimmers and may hover in corners to rest from a strong filter current. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TonySydney Posted April 8, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 I do have two internal power filters in the tank, I have the return pipe aimed at the glass walls to spread out the flow to reduce the current. Maybe I should experiment a bit to see if I can reduce the current even more. The fish do use all the tank most of the time. I worry that they seem so fragile and seem to get into trouble very quickly. I have never done a treatment for flukes as the fish have never exhibited any of the symptoms for this parasite. But ready the posts here I notice that some people do this treatment as a matter of course when they start a tank or a before they add a new fish. Is this something you think I should do? Would it make my fish more hardy after the treatment? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jmetzger72 Posted April 8, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 I do have two internal power filters in the tank, I have the return pipe aimed at the glass walls to spread out the flow to reduce the current. Maybe I should experiment a bit to see if I can reduce the current even more. The fish do use all the tank most of the time. I worry that they seem so fragile and seem to get into trouble very quickly. I have never done a treatment for flukes as the fish have never exhibited any of the symptoms for this parasite. But ready the posts here I notice that some people do this treatment as a matter of course when they start a tank or a before they add a new fish. Is this something you think I should do? Would it make my fish more hardy after the treatment? Your current is probably fine, then Flukes are so common that we recommend treating new fish with a several rounds of Prazi and then doing one or two maintenance rounds every 6 months or so. Flukes are hard to eradicate, so we just strive to keep their numbers low enough that the fish don't succumb to them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TonySydney Posted April 8, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 OK I have bought the Fluke treatment that contains Praziquantel. I think I had better start the treatment. It is the only thing I have not tried to keep my fish safe and healthy. The dosage instructions say 1 tablet per 20 liters, then after two days change 25% of the water and repeat treatment. I think I will do another water change before I start the treatment though. I just checked the pH of my tap water and it is 7.6, the tank water is 7.2. Is that a big enough different to cause a problem with my goldfish? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jmetzger72 Posted April 8, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 OK I have bought the Fluke treatment that contains Praziquantel. I think I had better start the treatment. It is the only thing I have not tried to keep my fish safe and healthy. The dosage instructions say 1 tablet per 20 liters, then after two days change 25% of the water and repeat treatment. I think I will do another water change before I start the treatment though. I just checked the pH of my tap water and it is 7.6, the tank water is 7.2. Is that a big enough different to cause a problem with my goldfish? The pH difference is fine. I would use salt at 0.1% with the Prazi. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jim_D Posted April 8, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 I think being cruisy for part of the day is pretty natural for nearly all FW fish kept in an aquarium for some time. They aren't hunting for food all day and the constant stress of being on the lookout for a predator is absent and they learn that life is easy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TonySydney Posted April 8, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 That makes perfect sense, I just stop short of Butler Service for my fish. They get a very easy life 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jim_D Posted April 8, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted April 8, 2015 That made me chuckle Tony 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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