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bely crawling
- Thread starter vancat
- Start date
Neil
New Member
- Messages
- 1,583
- Location
- Sacramento, Ca.
vancat,
No problem. I guarantee others that may read this won't know either. This is why we are discussing stuff in this format.
Belly crawling is a malady that occurs (many times in wild fish after shipping) to individual fish and apparently is not contagious. A fish will stay on the ground and kind of bounce around to get from place to place. They usually eat OK and they usually are capable of quick short bursts of swimming, but the "belly crawling" is their main form of movement. I don't know what causes it, but it is something that is many times permanent. However, it doesn't mean that they have a short time to live. Just that they are less likely to escape aggression and acquire food efficiently. i have had fish like this around in tanks for a long time before.
Neil
No problem. I guarantee others that may read this won't know either. This is why we are discussing stuff in this format.
Belly crawling is a malady that occurs (many times in wild fish after shipping) to individual fish and apparently is not contagious. A fish will stay on the ground and kind of bounce around to get from place to place. They usually eat OK and they usually are capable of quick short bursts of swimming, but the "belly crawling" is their main form of movement. I don't know what causes it, but it is something that is many times permanent. However, it doesn't mean that they have a short time to live. Just that they are less likely to escape aggression and acquire food efficiently. i have had fish like this around in tanks for a long time before.
Neil
- Messages
- 2,822
- Location
- Stoughton, WI
I have only seen belly crawling a couple times. It is very similar to what marine hawkfish do normally. The reason teh hawkfish swim that way is because they have very, very small swim bladders.
I wonder if belly crawling is associated with a swim bladder problem?
- Messages
- 26
- Location
- Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Hello,
It once happened here while I was changing some apistos from one tank to another. There was a driftwood on the tank that I removed to make it easier to capture the fishes. I didn't notice but there was a fish hidden in a hole, and it stayed out of water for around 10 minutes. After counting the fishes I notice there was one missing and found him there. When I returned him to the tank, he was belly crawling. It was 2 months ago, a now he is swimming normally again.
It once happened here while I was changing some apistos from one tank to another. There was a driftwood on the tank that I removed to make it easier to capture the fishes. I didn't notice but there was a fish hidden in a hole, and it stayed out of water for around 10 minutes. After counting the fishes I notice there was one missing and found him there. When I returned him to the tank, he was belly crawling. It was 2 months ago, a now he is swimming normally again.
- Messages
- 27
- Location
- Ipoh, Malaysia...Sunderland, UK
Will this condition affect spawning very much? such as in Pelvicachromis species?
- Messages
- 62
- Location
- Cork, Ireland
Don't think you will get them to spawn if they are belly crawling. Generally only healthy fish will spawn. Belly crawling fish will not be able to defend or lead their brood so there is no point in spawning. Furthermore it wastes vital resources.
In breeding apistos, if one adopts the artificial hatching techniques and the parent fish are close relatives, the chance of having belly-crawling offsprings increases.
In the past, when A. Elizabethae was a rare fish in the local market in Hong Kong, hobbyists usually got pairs of Eliza where were actually brothers/sisters (for many generations)... so, the offspring of these F4, F5... will have a high percentage of belly crawling fry. If we let the parent fish look after the fry, those belly crawling fry will usually be eaten by the parent fish... However, if we raise them up ourselves, then we would get quite a lot of these fish...
In the past, when A. Elizabethae was a rare fish in the local market in Hong Kong, hobbyists usually got pairs of Eliza where were actually brothers/sisters (for many generations)... so, the offspring of these F4, F5... will have a high percentage of belly crawling fry. If we let the parent fish look after the fry, those belly crawling fry will usually be eaten by the parent fish... However, if we raise them up ourselves, then we would get quite a lot of these fish...
Sal
New Member
- Messages
- 11
- Location
- Poona, Maharashtra, India
Marcelo, how did your fish recover from belly crawling?? Please help me out with the info, I am trying to cure my apisto currently..thanks!
- Messages
- 11,222
- Location
- Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Belly crawling fry have malformed swim bladders from the start. There is no cure as far as I know. Are your apistos fry or adults?
- Messages
- 1,491
- Location
- Wake Forest NC, USA
Welcome Sal -- Marcelo might not reply, since his post was 11 years ago. But anyway, belly-crawling (loss of ability to regulate the gas in the swim bladder) can be a genetic defect, a non-genetic growth "glitch" during egg/larva development, or can happen later in life due to injury, infection, malnutrition, ... many possible causes. So there's not any one "cure" for it. Provide a good varied diet & appropriate water quality, and the fish might recover. Even if it's permanent, it may still be able to breed OK and produce healthy normal offspring. BTW there's a group of "belly-crawler pike cichlid" species that are naturally this way.
Sal
New Member
- Messages
- 11
- Location
- Poona, Maharashtra, India
Thanks Mike and Gerald..!
Sorry took me a bit late to reply, got busy with the college work.
My apisto(probably a male), when I got from a LFS, was normal, it swim normally like other of its mates. But after a week or so, I saw it rested itself on one of the plants leaf. Observing for 2-3 days I realised it faced some problem, so I removed and placed it a quarantine tank. I treat it with Epsom Salt long baths, also tried various methods of normal salt bath+raised temperature and once by adding metronidazole powder.
As of now I am just giving it a low diet, like once in two days, and changing water every 2 days. the heater is kept at 29 degree centigrade.
The fish looks healthy, but now I await to see it back freely swimming.
The thaw pea is left to fed.. will try that soon..
Sorry took me a bit late to reply, got busy with the college work.
My apisto(probably a male), when I got from a LFS, was normal, it swim normally like other of its mates. But after a week or so, I saw it rested itself on one of the plants leaf. Observing for 2-3 days I realised it faced some problem, so I removed and placed it a quarantine tank. I treat it with Epsom Salt long baths, also tried various methods of normal salt bath+raised temperature and once by adding metronidazole powder.
As of now I am just giving it a low diet, like once in two days, and changing water every 2 days. the heater is kept at 29 degree centigrade.
The fish looks healthy, but now I await to see it back freely swimming.
The thaw pea is left to fed.. will try that soon..
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