# Parrot fish playing dead



## russianwolfy (Nov 25, 2006)

Hi all,

I own 4 parrot fish (i dont know if thats what they call them, but where i live this is their common name), which used to be active when i first brought them with my new tank. having done a couple of tank water cycles, they now are just "laying" on the ground most of the time, like they're dead but they're not. They're breathing fine. and when i feed them, they eat and swim normally. I can't describe the situation more than the perfect example is when you tell a dog to "play dead" and he lays on the ground sideways and just stares at you ?? thats the same thing.

Kindly advice whats wrong. Are they sick or something ?? i was told that they need about a week or so to adjust to the enviroment.

thanx.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

what do you mean that you have done a couple of tank cycles?
Cycling a tank takes about 6 weeks either with fish or with pure ammonia. Did you put your fish into a new tank? they could be suffering from ammonia poisoning.
have you checked the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in yor tank. Are those fish compatible with the type of water you have.? for example hardness and ph?
What size tank?
Healthy fish are active fish. They should not be just lying around.
You may have these fish die on you! Do a 25 % water change right away and make sure you condtion the water properly.
Change water daily or more often until you get the ammonia level down to zero.
Buy test kits. you need them to know what you are dealing with.
There is also a chance that the fish you bought are ill.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Unless its first thing in the morning and the fish are sleeping, laying on the bottom is never good. Change water and get your water tested ASAP. 

If the tank is less than 3 months old, always look to water problems first, before suspecting a disease. Even if you have a disease, the fish will never get well in poisoned water.

If the water turns out ok. then post back.

Are these fish "blood parrot cichlid" that is actually a hybrid? Hybrids are prone to birth defects (not likely if they were ok when you got them) and digestive problems. Have you been feeding worms?


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## russianwolfy (Nov 25, 2006)

Yes im new to the fish collecting hobby.
i bought a tank about two weeks ago and did two partial water cycles. one %25 and the second %50. I have a 52g freshwater tank. I bought test kits yesterday for pH and No2. pH was 7.5-8.0 and the No2 was 0.3mg/l. They were active when i bought them,, and they are active when i feed them. but lately they have been just laying down on the bottom sideways. I asked the guy who i bought the tank+fish from, he said that the parrot fish tend to get shy and need about a week or two to adjust to the surrounding enviroment. I dont know about this, but what im seeing is that they "look" sick. The other fish are ok. Oscars, Lionheads, Angelfish, tetra neons.
I will keep doing the partial %25 water cycle for a couple of weeks that was what i was adviced.
What else do i need to do ?


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## manda (Feb 9, 2006)

test for ammonia and nitrites.....


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## manda (Feb 9, 2006)

btw, if you are not cycled you should be doing a water change daily.


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## russianwolfy (Nov 25, 2006)

ok,, so i should do %25 water change daily until im fully cycled ??? which is when ?? how long does it take for my tank to not to need to change the water daily ?? How will i recognize that my tank has been cycled ??


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Search the forum for cycling, there are lots of posts. The short form is the ammonia levels should go up and then back down as the nitrite goes up and then the nitite goes down and the nitrate goes up. Both ammonia and nitrite are toxic and can kill your fish, thus the daily water changes. A tank is cycled when the ammonia and nitrite are both zero again. The nitrate will continue to climb, so you have dilute it with clean water once a week or so. Nitrates are also toxic, but much less than nitrite. The process of cycling a tank can tank several weeks, longer if something (such as sky high nitrites) kills the "good" bacteria you are trying to culture in your filter. Its best to test the water everyday and change enough water to get the ammonia and nitrite well into the "safe" concentration range. But it is possible to cycle the tank by changing water daily and testing every week or so to see if you have nitrate yet.


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## jasno999 (Oct 16, 2006)

I think you have no clue what you are talking about or doing. Just the way your are talking leads me to believe you don't even know the difference between a tank cycle and a water change. You are using the term interchangeably and you can't do that.

When you first get a tank you need to give it several week after you set it up to go thru a cycle. The basic principle is that you add a few fish or some fish food or a raw shrimp and get the filter running. It will take a few weeks but a biological filter will start to build up in the tank (on the filter and in the gravel) which will slowly break down the harmful chemicals in the tank such as ammonia and nitrites. 

After the cycle is over that is when you can start adding fish to the tank. After that you are supposed to do partial water changes every two weeks or so. Timing of water changes and the % of water changed is all debatable but water changes are done for nutrient export not for cycling.

I have a feeling you set the tank up and simply thru the fish in and a proper cycle was never established. So I am guessing that the ammonia levels and nitrite levels are high in your tank and the fish are suffering and may die.

You should probably take the fish back to the store until you get your tank cycled. If you can't do that then I would do a 25% water change just about every 2 days for a while until the biological filter builds up. But in doing the frequent water changes you are going to extend the time it takes for that biological filter to build up. But you have no choice at this point.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Angels, parrots, lionheads, and oscars? I hope your tank is huge.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Also, that tank is overstocked. 52 gallons is not big enough for a single oscar. You really need to do some reading so you know what you are doing before you toy with animal's lives. 

List your total stock, your water levels (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate), and your water change schedule. Also, Read up. read about the fish you have and the nitrogen cycle.


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## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

kind of off topic, but there is a different between fish keeping and fish collecting. fish keeping is when you keep the fish and fish collecting is go out there and catch fish.


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2006)

lol i have a 10g and i didnt cycle it..my fish is doing fine..i never took a ph test or checked for water hardness...follow my rule, "do too much and you'll get too little" don't worry about all those shmuck stuff....make sure your water is clean...keep it filtered...WC once in a while and you'll be fine....you guys are probably scaring all the new fish keepers...last time i tried keeping fish with "cycling" and this and that bolony, my fish ended up dieing because of it...just play it cool..now with your "parrot fish", they're acting lethargic so check your water QUALITY as in cleanliness and clearness..make sure the water doesn't smell or look polluted...no need for thousands of water changes..especially with a 52g and only 3 fish..unless they're HUGE waste producers, don't worry...and for a fact, I don't toil with fishes lives, i make them better


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## Phantom_Cichlid (Jul 3, 2006)

betta_love how did that help with russianwolfy's question? betta_love I taking it you dont know how of a bio load that is on that tank with all those fish in there.


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## gemjunkie (Jan 20, 2005)

betta_love said:


> lol i have a 10g and i didnt cycle it..my fish is doing fine..i never took a ph test or checked for water hardness...follow my rule, "do too much and you'll get too little" don't worry about all those shmuck stuff....make sure your water is clean...keep it filtered...WC once in a while and you'll be fine....you guys are probably scaring all the new fish keepers...last time i tried keeping fish with "cycling" and this and that bolony, my fish ended up dieing because of it...just play it cool..now with your "parrot fish", they're acting lethargic so check your water QUALITY as in cleanliness and clearness..make sure the water doesn't smell or look polluted...no need for thousands of water changes..especially with a 52g and only 3 fish..unless they're HUGE waste producers, don't worry...and for a fact, I don't toil with fishes lives, i make them better


 
You are EXACTLY the kind of people all the chain stores LOVE to have come in! You keep them in business. A 10g tank is THE hardest tank to keep stable and get cycled with any success. The problem most people have with cycling tanks is impatients, sound familiar?


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

"cycling" or the nitrogen cycle is definately something to worry about. But cool it guys... we can have a civil discussion about cycling here... and if not your post WILL be deleted.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Well since no one wants to talk about cycling I will...

russianwolfy, I would highly suggest you read this thread. It kind of clears up the confusion on cycling and puts it into fairly easy terms to understand. 
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/general-freshwater/7125-nitrogen-cycle-basics.html

You see, cycling or bad water chemistry is THE biggest killer of fish in the hobby today. A lot of people come to my work and ask me why all their fish are dying. They automatically assume its a disease. I politely ask them to bring in a sample of water, and we test it, and 90% of the time... its water quality and cycling being the culprit. Ammonia burns fish and damages gills, nitrite bonds to their gills better than oxygen and so they can't take up oxygen very well when nitrite is present. So you see, a combo of the two can be very very deadly. Fish that actually survive cycling (which is sometimes the case if your lucky like betta_lover), often are accompanied by health problems such as fin rot, and often have a shortened life span.


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## dakotagirl (Nov 22, 2006)

*I have 2 parrots..*

My two parrots do the exact same thing! The first week I would touch them with my net to make sure they were still alive  

My tank is completely cycled, good stats, good water, but they still lay almost on their sides and look like they are dead or dying. But as soon as the lights are off or no one is in the room, they swim around all over the place and eat and play (I know this because I stand around the corner and watch them!) Here is a website that has really helped me with my parrots: www.parrotcichlid.com

Hope this helps! 

Barb

P.S. It was suggested to me to put a few dither fish in with them to make them feel safer and I added 6 tetras which I think helped.


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