# Zebra danio swimming upside down and spinning



## FeelTheBern

What the title says. What's the cause of this behaviour, and can it be stopped?


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## Lurcherlad

Is it Swim Bladder disease?

It can be treated (although it’s not actually a disease) but to do with taking in air when feeding.

This from Practicalfishkeeping.co.uk

“The real remedy is not to feed for 24 hours. As a result of the many times we’ve experienced this you’ll find that when it isn’t fed, the fish doesn’t float. After that only offer sinking foods like Tetra Gold Japan, Hikari Lionhead and Saki Hikari, and lots of frozen foods like bloodworm, Daphnia and brineshrimp. Problem solved!”


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## NaomiM

Is it swimming like that all the time, or having occasional episodes in between periods of swimming normally?

How long have you had the fish in question? Do you have other danios, and/or other fish, and are any of them showing any symptoms? Is it in a fully cycled tank? Have you tested the water for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and ideally pH as well?

Does the fish appear fat/bloated?

As @Lurcherlad says, it could be swim bladder issues, but if it's just occasional episodes rather than all the time, then there could be another cause such as pH shock - though I'd expect this to affect more than just the one fish.


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## FeelTheBern

NaomiM said:


> Is it swimming like that all the time, or having occasional episodes in between periods of swimming normally?
> 
> How long have you had the fish in question? Do you have other danios, and/or other fish, and are any of them showing any symptoms? Is it in a fully cycled tank? Have you tested the water for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and ideally pH as well?
> 
> Does the fish appear fat/bloated?
> 
> As @Lurcherlad says, it could be swim bladder issues, but if it's just occasional episodes rather than all the time, then there could be another cause such as pH shock - though I'd expect this to affect more than just the one fish.


I've had the fish since December, and the tank had been fully cycled. The fish did not appear bloated and none of its tankmates appear to be showing any symptoms. I first noticed the condition a couple of nights ago, but the fish seems to have vanished now. I haven't seen it since yesterday.


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## Guest

Sounds like swimbladder to me. One of my old goldfish Luna had, mum thought she was doing it for attention so I said I don’t think so mum, we tried everything including the feeding peas trick. Then she and the others in the tank got white spot in one go in the night and died in one go.


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## FeelTheBern

I eventually found the fish; it was dead. I am thinking of adding some fish to the tank, should I wait a while before doing so?


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## NaomiM

Sorry o hear that. I'd do a water change (always a good idea after finding a dead fish) and test all the levels over a couple of days to make sure there's no underlying problem with water quality before adding anything else.


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## FeelTheBern

NaomiM said:


> Sorry o hear that. I'd do a water change (always a good idea after finding a dead fish) and test all the levels over a couple of days to make sure there's no underlying problem with water quality before adding anything else.


I took a reading a few hours ago and the nitrate concentration is sky high. This is a problem in my other tank as well.


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## NaomiM

What is the nitrate level in your tap water? What's your water change regime? Are you adding any ferts?


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