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Hi all,
In my 55G Rainbowfish tank I have an Iryan Jaya Red Rainbow that is hanging out at the surface, tail down slightly, right pectoral fin not used at all, and occasionally twitches. No visible problems or parasites. All of the other Red Rainbows, Bosies, Turquoise and cories are doing fine.
Parameters are normal.
Not sure where to go on this one.
Dan

55G -5x Bosemani, 3x Emerald Cory,3x Red Rainbow, 3x Turquoise Rainbow. 20G-Empty. 10G -4x Danio 3x Cory Fry 1 Gold Mystery Snail. 10G- 1x CAE, 2x Tetra 1x ADF

Could be a long term digestive issue, glossos need their dietary fibre, much more so than many other rainbows, and as a species id rate them a little more likely to run into actual real swimbladder failure, and some slight overeating tendancies especially on a high protien diet. I balance this out with blanched romaine lettuce, peas have never proved too popular with my rainbows. Even now , most of my species ignore lettuce, but the glossolepis love the stuff, enjoying the exclusive feeding time the others cant be bothered with.

Other thing to consider is that this is a lake margin and lake tributary species that would normally experience high 02 saturation of water, so if you havent already got some, add some serious water disturbance and a serious aerator like a hydor ario. A fish with low blood oxygen is far more likely to get metabolic, and consequently digestive issues.

Good site generally for rainbowfish..

http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Incisus.htm


Like I say I keep them myself, and while it sounds like the usual lame-o advice about fibre thrown at betta keepers all the time, it can apply equally to a few species of rainbow. I really did find that over 3 years old these guys really did need a higher veg and fibre component to the diet than most other rainbows, I should also metioned I dropped the amount of midge larvae they were getting and used a more veg orientated cichlid pellet (hikari excel)for feeding rather than flake or prima. Most rainbows are generally considered almost omnivorous with heavy leanings to insectivorous, but I now consider the glosso's an exception to the rule. The females especially used to show some algae browsing tendancies and occassionally ignore regular foods ,and I really should have picked up on the cue earlier.

Often , just as they start looking their best its time to diet them off and use more fibre in this particular species, this guy ran into a whole host of swimbladder and gastrointestinal problems not long after this picture was taken, but now well over a year later with dietary adjustments, hes doing rather better and on his way to heading for the usual rainbow longevity of 5-7 years with grace.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/longhairedgit/IMG_6440.jpg

You dont have to be fat to suffer from hepatic lipidosis, and constipation, just be on the wrong diet, and that as it turned out , was the problem for my glossos. Its hard to know if things are retreivable at this point, but a starve period of several days, and then inclusion of dietary fibre and cutting back on protein might do the trick. Mine went through the same symptoms as yours, weakness, lethargy, floating until I noticed that the time they spent not eating actually helped them to turn around, and since the environment was good with no sign of disease, the pattern had to be dietary. Recently had a convo with a kid who was giving glosso's too much sugary fruit and it was causing haemorrhage and bacterial bloating, so keep fibre veg related not fruit related. They cant take the fructose.

Theyve not had a sick day since I figured it out.

Its probably paranoia , but I should check the tank for any present nitrite, a fish that has such a need for high blood oxygen levels like this will wane under nitrite toxicity. These guys just arent as tough as boesmanni's and kutubu's, despite often being a bit bigger.

Good luck with him.