Swordtail fish is one of the most popular pet fish because they are so small and beautiful. They might be effortless to maintain, but it doesn’t come without flaws. Swordtail fish are easy to maintain, but they are sensitive to drastic changes around their habitat. As a result, you will sometimes notice your fish shaking abnormally in the tank. So, why is your swordtail fish shaking?
There are many reasons why a swordtail fish would shake abnormally in the water. However, it doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. For example, swordtail fish might be shaking its body in an attempt to breed with another swordtail in the tank. If not that, then the reasons could be more serious.
Shimmying could be another reason your swordtail fish is shaking. It is a symptom that makes fish rock from side to side in an unnatural way, led by issues like stress, lousy water chemistry stress, and such. Some fish may even twitch or shake their body when in aggression.
It would help if you were careful enough to identify the valid reason your swordtail fish is shaking, and this article will help you with that.
Why Do Swordtail Fish Shake?
If you find your swordtail fish shaking from side to side, or vibrating, or twitching, you should immediately see the reason behind it and work toward solving it.
If the shaking has occurred due to aggression or as a breeding ritual, then there could be less worry at your hands. Swordtail fish that shake or vibrate because of aggression or when trying to mate will not continually do so.
Hence, if the shaking is continuous, you might want to check for more severe reasons like stress, diseases, water chemistry problems, and more. Let’s look at the possible reasons below:
Wrong Water Temperatures
Wrong water temperature is one of the primary reasons why your fish may exhibit abnormal swimming behaviors. Swordtail fish are tropical creatures, so they fit in warmer temperatures (65 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit). So, if you keep your fish in colder waters, shimmying is a symptom that they will show.
Similarly, equipment mishaps will also lead your swordtail fish to shake. For instance, if your heater or filter stops working, it will compromise the water temperature, and the swordtails will shake.
Bad Water Chemistry
Swordtail fish are hardy fish and can tolerate a wide range of water parameters. However, they are sensitive to drastic changes in water hardness and pH levels. Swordtails might be able to fit in for a while, but too much exposure to imbalanced chemistry will make swordtail fish shake or vibrate.
Ammonia And Other Toxins
Increased toxins should always be under the radar. When organic matters like debris, food residue, dead plants, and fish rot, ammonia forms. When swordtail fish are introduced to high ammonia levels, it affects the fish’s health (gills, skin). Moreover, shimmying occurs as a significant symptom of illness.
Other toxins include nitrites, aerosols, detergents, chlorine, etc., that forms when the tank is not washed correctly after cleaning. The residue of these toxins will poison your swordtails.
Stress
A swordtail fish can get stressed for various reasons. For example, aggression, temperature and ph fluctuation, small space, inadequate diet, etc., can all stress your fish.
Shimmying is a sign that tells you your swordtails fish is stressed. Stressed fish usually are inactive, stay in one corner of the tank, swim erratically, and bump into tank decor.
The presence of these symptoms and unusual twitching or shaking is a sign of stress in swordtail fish.
Diseases
Infections and diseases can cause stress leading to shimmies in swordtail fish. In addition, some conditions will make your swordtail fish itchy and uncomfortable, so they rub themselves or try to shake it off.
Is Shimmying A Livebearer Disease?
Shimmies or shimmying are symptoms, not sickness, that affect most livebearer fish, such as swordtails, platies, mollies, and others. As a result, it may appear alongside other stress-related symptoms and water chemistry issues. You can use the irregular movement of swordtail fish to identify it.
Shimmying causes affected fish to exhibit behavioral abnormalities such as irregular and spiral swimming. Shimmies are a sign that your fish’s nerves and muscles are no longer under control.
Cause
The most common cause of this symptom in swordtail fish is poor water quality. Although livebearers like swordtails, guppies, and mollies are known to survive a wide range of water conditions, they are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures and soft acidic water.
Symptom
Shimmying is itself a symptom and not a particular disease. Shimmying can be identified as follows:
- Behavioral changes like rocking from side to side; swimming erratically; or in circles
- Some may twitch, vibrate, or shake their bodies and heads violently
- Labored breathing
- Production of mucus on the body
- Clamped fins
- Sitting inactively in the corner, etc.
Treatment
Shimmying cannot be treated until the source of the problem is identified and maintained. Shimmying is induced by poor water conditions such as low temperature, pH, or alkalinity. Therefore, the first step in treating swordtail fish is to analyze the aquarium’s water chemistry comprehensively.
You can then proceed to correct the problem, beginning with changing the water. But, again, make modest modifications and maintain a steady temperature of 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you can’t get the fever to go down, you can try adding livebearer salts or antibiotic injections.
Prevention
Maintaining the tank environment for your swordtail fish is the most excellent approach to avoid any fish disease. Shimmying is caused by poor water conditions, therefore change and check your water regularly.
The best technique to maintain the water conditioned and the fish healthy is to perform a 25% water change every two weeks. This will assist you in removing the impurities that have accumulated in the tank. If it doesn’t, you can use antibacterial drugs to treat your water.
How Can You Prevent Your Swordtail Fish From Shaking?
Here are some solutions to the abnormal shaking behavior of swordtail fish:
Maintain Water Parameters
To keep any fish happy and thriving in your tank, you should maintain proper water parameters. For example, swordtail fish stay happy at 65 to 80 degrees F, a Ph of 7.2 to 8.4, and hardness from 12 to 30 DGH.
Along with that, you should keep swordtail fish in larger tanks because the water parameters constantly fluctuate in smaller tanks. You should check the water parameters from time to time so that your swordtails do not suffer from any ailment.
It is also essential to keep the tank environment as stable as possible. Swordtail fish can survive in a wide range of temperatures, hardness, and pH. But constant change even within that range can also be fatal.
Regular Water Changes
Clean and fresh water will keep your fish healthier. But water changes can be problematic. Water changes when your swordtail fish is already stressed, and shaking can make things worse. It would help if you were careful while changing water as new water will affect the water chemistry.
New water chemistry makes it difficult for swordtails to adjust to, and they may be more stressed. So, a regular water change (25 percent every two weeks) is ideal for keeping swordtails stress-free.
Tank Maintenance
It would help if you always kept your tank clean and free of harmful toxins. Install a filter to keep the pollutants away, and vacuum your substrate to collect leftover food and other decayed matters.
Keeping the water and substrate clean will prevent ammonia spikes.
Reduce Stress
Stress is a significant reason for shimmies. However, if you keep your swordtail stress-free, you will reduce 90percent chances of diseases and infections.
You can combat stress in swordtails by maintaining water parameters, installing proper heating and filtration system, providing sufficient nutrition, peaceful tank mates, adding plants and hiding places, etc.
Add Salt When Needed
A salt bath is a homemade remedy for any issues that fish face in the tank. For example, if you find your swordtail fish shaking continuously, give them a salt bath. It will calm them down, remove any infections, and cure them.
However, too much salt can be dangerous, so using one tablespoon of Epsom Salt for every 5-gallon water is ideal.
FAQs
Why Do Swordtail Fish Swim Erratically?
Any abnormal swimming behavior of swordtail fish is related to stress and an uncertain tank environment. If the water parameters are not ideal, and you will constantly stress your fish, they will start swimming erratically.
Does A New Tank Cause Shimmy?
A new tank means a unique environment to adjust to. Until your fish is completely acclimated to the new tank, they may show signs of twitching or vibrating. That’s why you should make sure to quarantine your fish to pristine tank waters to help them adjust to it quickly.
Conclusion
If your swordtail fish are shaking, you should check your water temperatures immediately. In addition, you should perform regular tests to ensure the parameters are always ideal and there aren’t any toxins elevations.
Shimming or shaking is not a disease but a symptom that makes you aware of tank maintenance. Regular tank maintenance will prevent all abnormal swimming patterns of your fish, and they can thrive to the fullest.
