First unhappy fish.

[bagsmom]

Well, I named one of the fish Nellie Clampitt because it's a Nervous Nellie and is sometimes a little clamped up. I was thinking it was a stress or perhaps spawning issue.

Water is fine and other fishie friends are happy and frisky.

This fish appears healthy as far as how it looks -- but not how it acts. Eyes look fine. Fins look great and so do scales. No bloating or misshapen areas. Still eating fine.

It has found a place to the side of the waterfall. It gets down between a couple of rocks and just sits there in the strong current.

Next steps? If it is stressed, I don't want to traumatize it further by netting and relocating. I doubt I could catch it anyway.

I'd appreciate any thoughts. I used to have aquariums (aquaria?) but am new to ponding and goldfish.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

This single fish could have been traumatized by something at most any time. If it is eating, swimming, and shows no infectious manifestations I would just leave it be. Quarantining it at this point will only traumatize (stress) it more.

 

[bagsmom]

Thanks! That's what I thought also. Good to have verification from someone with experience!

 

[bagsmom]

I'd love to know why it is drawn to the area with strong current. It is less visible from the surface there -- but the cave would be even better. Maybe the flow of water is soothing? Who can tell with fish?

 

[bagsmom]

I think Nellie needs fish therapy. He/she seems fine today.

 

[bagsmom]

OK folks. The Saga of Nellie continues.

(For pronoun consistency, I'm calling her a she. I have no idea if male or female.) But she was wedged in between the rocks again for a long time today. When I fed the rest of the crew, she stayed put till near the end of the "meal." When she came out, she swam kind of frenetically. There was a desperation to it. She ate a few pellets. In between, I got the sense that her tail was slowly sinking down. She would right herself, then slooowwly the tail would go down. She is now back wedged into the rocks.

I wonder if this is a swim bladder problem? Maybe being between the rocks gives her a sense of stability that she's missing when she is adrift?

 

[AlyssaFish]

The only time I've had fish with sinking problems like you describe were a batch of red rosies I bought infected with saddleback chilodonella, or when my ranchus eat a lot of sand like a bunch of derps and it weighs them down until they poop. :/