Do fish play dead?

[ER_Doc]

I put a royal gramma in my new QT after acclimation and he was doing well. swimming all around. didn't ever find the need to hide in the PVC elbow. I went to work last night (at about 24 hours of the fish in the QT) and when I came back at 2am from my shift I checked on the fish and it was "dead". It was upside down stuck behind the filter intake of HOB filter. I thought maybe its sleeping so I nudged it free and it floated backwards to the other side of the tank and bumped off the glass (much like debris floating in outer space). I sadly went to sleep expecting to clean up a mess tomorrow and a failed quarantine for the 3rd time.

This morning I woke up and my Royal Gramma is swimming around the tank happy as can be and ALIVE! I am so confused what happened with this fish. Happy it's alive but do fish "play dead?" Ammonia level is somewhere between 0 and 0.25 with my API kit. Nitrate 0-5.

Whats up with that?

 

[Blown 346]

There are several people that have had the gramma play dead and do similar things I do believe that they do.

 

[MrTuskfish]

FWIW: A mature tank shouldn't have any ammonia, I'd track down that problem. Could just be the test kit.

 

[Deinonych]

FWIW: A mature tank shouldn't have any ammonia, I'd track down that problem. Could just be the test kit.

+1

Pick up some Bio-Spira and filter media (I use Seachem Matrix) for your HOB filter so you don't harm your fish.

My RG has exhibited behavior like this in the past. They are pretty shy at first. Mine hung out behind the filter for the first couple weeks in QT, then adopted a small PVC elbow as his "home." When I moved him to the DT, he lay in a corner by the overflow for a full day before eventually finding a cave in the rockwork. Now he's out front and center all the time. We call him the purple clownfish since he hangs out with my pair of Ocellaris clowns.

 

[ER_Doc]

It's been a week now. RG is doing well. eating well. Ammonia is close to zero on it's own. I notice that this fish apparently likes to be upside down sometimes. no worries. Seems that is his norm. Otherwise very active guy.

 

[Irishdolphin]

Just to confirm - upside down swimming is very normal for RG

 

[Dmorty217]

Just to confirm - upside down swimming is very normal for RG

No upside down swimming would indicate a swim bladder problem and is NOT normal. Ammonia in the tank is what is causing the stress to the fish

 

[rjallen]

I guess you have never seen gramas in the wild. They inhabit walls & ledges in deeper parts of the reef structure....hanging out in crevices & caves. They spend much of the time in those holes UPSIDE DOWN. T hey like to have strata near their belly. If that strata happens to be the ceiling that's OK with them.

 

[jaa1456]

RG do spend time upside down and in all other types of directions.

 

[Deinonych]

I guess you have never seen gramas in the wild. They inhabit walls & ledges in deeper parts of the reef structure....hanging out in crevices & caves. They spend much of the time in those holes UPSIDE DOWN. T hey like to have strata near their belly. If that strata happens to be the ceiling that's OK with them.

+1

I have a ton of video from diving in Cayman that shows Royal Grammas doing exactly that.