Sitemaps

Is this normal for a bottom feeder2007-11-24 23:37:52

Last year I got an bottom feeder and he's been awesome. He cleans all the leftover food and I would recomend them to anyone. But, now he doesn't do very much but once in a while he will shoot to the top of the tank and the he swims to the middle, and then to the bottom again. He's never done this before. Is he just getting old or is it something else?

Answers:

"shooting to the top of the tank" is completely normal and its been doing it its whloe life you just haven't seen it until tecently. Activity wise, who knows. if there is nothing visually wrong with it, your water quality's fine, there is plenty of air in the water, and temp is right there is nothing you can do.

---

What kind of bottom feeder is it? Depending on the type, they can outgrow their desire to only eat bottom food. For example, plecos are great algae eaters/bottom feeders until they get about 6 inches long. Then they can get a little aggressive and want to eat things that are more substantial. However, if it's something like a cory cat, it may just be old. Some species of cory cats only live 2 years (others can live longer). It really could be any number of things. I would have your water checked, just in case, to make sure your ammonia levels aren't too high (this can cause them to continuously go for the surface because the ammonia is concentrated towards the bottom of the tank).

---

What kind of bottom feeeder do you have? A Pleco, Corycat. You said your feeder never done this odd behavior before. My cory cats always displayed that behavior, swimming up to the top and then darting back down to the bottom.

---

I think he is "out growing" your tank. I bet you have maybe a twenty to thirty gallon at the most. You should take him to the pet store and offer him up for trade. They should give you one of the same kind (but smaller) and a little store credit, because he is bigger and they can sell him for more money.