My fish are swimming sideways

[iceveins]

I have two good sized angel fish which I have had for about over a year now. I notice that sometimes they swim sideways, it appears maybe their equilibrium is off. They dont always swim that way, just every so often during the day i notice them floating lopsided or swimming sideways.

Can anyone advise at to what may be the cause of this? And if it is a problem, how can I cure it? thanks.

 

[OrionGirl]

Can you give us a bit more info? Tank size, maintenance? Tankmates? Tank parameters?

 

[iceveins]

Sure...

Tank size is 30 gallons...I only had the 2 angel fish by themselves for almost a year now...there were 2 other ones but they died a while back...I just added 2 tetras and a pleco on monday, so basically the 2 angel fish were living by themselves in the tank for almost a eyar...

They have been occasionally swimming sideways for some time now...

I maintain the tank well...I recently changed the carbon, and the sponge filter in my Fluval 304 filter...I change the water every so often, the temperature is around 78 degrees....PH balance is good, no ammonia or nitrates....have an air stone in the tank...

 

[OrionGirl]

Hmmm...Have you noticed a correlation between their behavior changes and water changes? How often is 'every so often', and how big are these changes?

 

[iceveins]

I cant say for sure, but at random times i look in the tank and I will see the angel fish swimming lopsided or sideways...Then other times they will be swimming straight.

 

[OrionGirl]

Could they be hunting something? I know several of my fish will go kind of flip-sided when they are hunting a snail or something else small...If the fish are still eating normally, and in good shape, it could just be a weird habit. Been a while since I had angels, so I don't really recall if mine did that or not.

 

[victimizati0n]

Are the lights off when they do this?

When angels sleep, they go lop sided.

Also, ammonia can make fish do this too.

 

[QCppg]

I've had this happen too. For a while I had been forced to side-light my 18-high (which is right next to the 20L, both are normally lit with a shoplight) so the shoplite wouldn't neutralize the ich medacine I was using in the 20. When I got home from work I saw the Angels swimming with a 45-degree list. When I turned on the top light they righted themselves instantly.