Golden White Cloud

Question
Hi Richard,

I have a 28 gallon freshwater tank.  I have 4 tiger barbs, a gold gourami, 2 harlequin rasboras, 2 red eye tetras, a juli catfish a plecostamus cat, and a golden white cloud.  They've all been fine for the past 18 months; yesterday, I noticed the golden white cloud hovering near the top, then he seemed fine.  When I got home from work today, he was at the bottom of the tank.  I thought he was dead, but then he was hanging out at the top of the tank by the heater.  Now he's at the bottom again kind of sitting there, the way my juli catfish does, but I know that's not "normal" for his species.  Is there anything I can do to help him, or do I need to put him out of his misery?  I don't want him to suffer.

Thanks....

Answer
Hi Susan

Gold White Clouds live 3-5 years. The ones you buy at fish stores are usually less than a year old. So if you've had him for 18 months, he probably still has some life left in him.

The first thing I would do is make sure no one else in the tank is bothering him. Both Tiger Barbs and Gouramis can be aggressive, especially toward smaller, weaker fish. He may simply be afraid. Another thing to point out is that White Clouds are schoolers and do best in groups of at least 4, preferably 6 or more. Schools of fish are less likely to be harassed by larger tankmates than single fish are.

If you don't think anyone else in the tank is the problem, I certainly agree with not wanting him to suffer, so that decision is really up to you. But before taking that step, I would move him to a quarantine tank like a 10 gallon and treat him with Pimafix. If he has no physical signs of disease, other than being lethargic, he could have an internal bacterial infection. Pimafix works great on both internal and external bacterial infections.

Recently, I had a Blood Parrot that I've had for a few years. One day, I noticed him nose down in one of my plants, another time laying on his side on the bottom of the tank. I thought for sure he was a goner. I treated him with Pimafix for the recommended 7 days and he has been going strong ever since, you'd never know he had anything wrong with him. So I would at least give the Pimafix a try. Pimafix is also safe and natural, so you could actually treat your tank without causing the other fish any harm.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Richard