# "Fainting" Cichlids?



## Maine_Fish (Apr 7, 2012)

Stopped by a local PetCo today. In their "mixed African cichlids" tank were a couple white mbunas of some sort...pretty sure they are albinos (white with red eyes). They are smaller. About 1.5" long.

Anyway, I wanted them. When the guy working in the fish department reached into the tank, they went crazy (not unusual), and then they both rested upside down on the bottom of the tank. They were still breathing, but not moving. He stated that the tank was NOT set up for Africans (about 70 degrees and a pH of about 6.8). He blamed the tank parameters for stress, and said that "fainting" was sometimes a response to stress. After a couple minutes, they both began swimming around again.

Against my better judgment, I purchased both of them. They'll be quarantined until I know they're OK.

Anyway...just wondering...do Africans faint? Any ideas on what could cause this behavior?


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## DarwinAhoy (Mar 13, 2013)

Many fish do this. While I don't see it often with the various African rift lake cichlids, it's EXTREMELY common with fish like bala sharks, neon tetras, and some catfish. At the store I'm in, I have a humphead glassfish that does this every time I go into the tank, but I feel it suffers from a stress-induced seizure disorder which is a bit abnormal from the other species mentioned.


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