'exhausted' oranda question :)

[Bits]

To cut a long story short, i noticed my oranda had fish lice 2 days ago. I think he got them from the new plant i put in the aqaurium.Anyway,i've got treatment for the tank & it seems to be working.The oranda (Luigi) was the only fish who had the lice on him (he lives with a goldfish,shubunkin & a small oranda) i managed to pick one of the lice off his tail fin (i read that you should remove all the lice but i didn't want to stress him out) so anyway, i've done a 30% water change & added stress coat but poor Luigi is just sitting at the bottom of the tank looking very sad :( i read online that he may be exhausted.

Crashed on the Bottom. When fish crash on the bottom and do not swim, it is usually a sign that they are exhausted. There are many reasons a fish can become exhausted, but quite often they have been sick, before they became tired and crashed on the bottom.
is this true? i guess it would make sense seeing as he's had a stressful time these last 2 days.He perks up when i feed him but sits back down again after he's eaten.I'm worried about the poor fella.
Well this has turned into quite a rambling, i do apologise :)

Anyway, i was just wondering if any of you with some extra fish knowledge could reassure me/set the record straight.
thank you :)

[Brandon]

I have goldfish, including a blue-scale oranda, but I'm afraid that I don't have any experience with either fish lice or having them be exhausted. I would imagine that if your fish is indeed very tired from the lice or something that allowing him to rest as peacefully as you can would probably be the best plan of action. As for the lice, it's probably best if you do everything you can to get them completely out of your tank so that your other fish don't contract them. If you are suspicious of the new plant, I'd say yank it outta there and see if it helps.

I'm sorry I am not very helpful here, just wanted to give a bit of sympathy to a fellow oranda owner. Hope Luigi recovers fully- and SOON!

[Bits]

Ahh thanks Brandon - i was hoping you'd reply seeing as you seem to know alot about fish! :)
I have taken the plant out & all the actual lice seem to be gone. Luigi seems a little perkier this morning & is still eating, so i'm hoping that's a good sign. Thanks again :)

[Brandon]

Yeah, a fish eating is always a good sign. It's when they stop that you know something's up.
Glad to hear that the lice seem to have gone, must have been that plant, eh?
I've never had live plants just for that reason- you never know what (or who) else is coming to live in your tank along with that plant!
My sister once had a legendary snail infestation that all started from an innocuous looking little plant....:worried:

Glad things look better for Luigi. :up: