Epileptic fish?

I love fish. I have them in the living room, in the garden and in the freezer.

Over the past couple of months we've been watching a gourami, a golden something, that we've had for about 6 or 7 years now. It's mate died some time ago and we've been waiting for this one to give up the ghost for a while too.

Anyway, it started having fits or seizures every week or so. It would swim eratically in circles almost uncontrollably for maybe 4 or 5 minutes and then regain conciousness and sit at the bottom of the tank for a few more minutes.

Afterwards it would behave quite normally. Of course, we didn't watch it 24/7 so have no idea just how many seizures it was having.

In the last few days they got so regular and finally it got so bad it could no longer swim in an upright situation as you would expect. So I took it out, put it in a polythene bag and put it in the freezer, the kindest way of despatching them.

The reason for me mentioning this is that despite all the stuff I've read about how simple a structure a fish's brain is and how they're not supposed to have emotions and not feel pain as we know it, and I've written enoughon this myself, it surprises me that they can still suffer from some form of epilepsy.

There is still much that we don't understand about a fish's nervous system and it's brain and I doubt we ever will. Just how many epileptic fish could be in our rivers and lakes that we are unaware of?

Just took up tropical fish keeping again after about 20 years and find the whole subject of fish keeping fascinating - and tips?

Woody, in my view you should have called in Doctor Tench, for a second opinion.

Then got yourself certified!!!/forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

We have a couple of tanks in the house. By far the mosy intelligent fish we have, and a really good laugh are the Clown Loaches.

One of our tanks sits against the wall next to the wifes computer chair. If they want feeding they come up to where she is sitting and start making extremely loud clicking sounds. Talking fish! /forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

As any aquarist knows, whitespot is deadly to clown loaches as they have no scales. Our oldest fish once had a bout of whitespot so bad that it looked as though it had been rolling in salt. With careful administration of various water treatments it eventually made a full recovery and is now the most vocal of the four Clowns in the tank.

Oh yes, our Pakistani Loach loves the Clown Loach and chases it around for hours kissing the side of its face /forum/smilies/big_smile_smiley.gif

Fascinating stuff.

Are you sure your goldfish hasn't been watching John Wilson videos Woody? Enough to make any fish go into fits of laughter I reckon.

Serious discussion this, Fred! More so than close season threads.

Tell you what Grumpy, (no, not Fred) our clown loach has to be 19 years old this year. We've been expecing him to pop his clogs for donkey's years now, but he keeps tramping on. Spends a lot of his time sleeping on his side to which visitors often say "Oh, you have a dead fish." Then he surprises them and wakes up.

Woody

It sounds like your fish had 'Whirling Disease'

If it was -- It's caused by a parasite and isn't curable ,You did the right thing euthanising it --It IS contagious and the parasite is very hardy

So if you are thinking of getting any more fish make sure you clean your tank out properly

Clown loach are noted for sleeping on their sides and 'playing dead'

I used to have a large tank full of tropicals ---

I bred a load of Convict Cichlids at one time --They used to scoop the young up in their mouths and 'spit' them back behind the rock where they'd set uptheir nest.....

my cold water tank started leaking ,its amazing the amount of water a 10mm drop in level puts into the carpet.

Dead Clowns! That's always a good one for any visitor /forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif. 19 is a bloody good run Woody, it must be enormous by comparison with the little ones in the shops. Our oldest is 4 and is around 4". The three others are all about a 18 months and already 3".


Same as when a pump hose develops a leak Slimey, and not only is there loads of it but it usually stinks after a day or two /forum/smilies/sick_smiley.gif no matter how well you mop up.

He is around the 4" mark.

A friend gave us his tank and the loach (plus others) in 1990 and he'd had the loach around 1 year then. All the others dies yonks ago along with more bought since and gon, but this old loach keeps on going. And, he's as fit as anything.

Back to epilelpsy though. It might have been "whirling disease" (didn't the Dervishes suffer from that?) but none of the other had it. Are they the same symptoms, Ed - happens infrequently at first and builds up over time?

I thought if it was epilepsy perhaps we might have to be careful in future photographing barbel at night because you know that flash photography can set off a seizure.

/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif Yes, that last one was a bit of a joke.

Whirling disease is progressive, untreatable, spreads very easily and quickly too so you best hope it isn't that Woody