Recently, my fish has become sickeningly depressed and will only stay in the corner of the fish tank. Is there a reason

Question: Recently, my fish has become sickeningly depressed and will only stay in the corner of the fish tank. Is there a reason for this and is there any way in which Sputnik and Fred can recover? Sputnik is my fish and Fred is my sister's, just so you know!
- Keywords:
  emotion,
  fish
Asked by michelletherezien to Jo, Kevin on 22 Jun 2012.
- Kevin Mahon answered on 22 Jun 2012:
  
  It’s hard for us to speculate on fish depression – it’s not something we have any solid evidence for/against currently to the best of my knowledge.
  
  What is more likely is that your fish are reacting to their environment, what you;re describing commonly occurs in fish whose water is unclean or not treated correctly. It could also by down to the food you;re giving them and even things like moving their tank/bowl or putting something new/taking something away from it.
- Joanna Cruden answered on 22 Jun 2012:
  
  Oh dear that is sad to hear, I am not a vet and I would always recommend you seek vet advice but I have a few suggestions for you, depressed looking fish may indicate it is sick or the tank water quality is not at the correct Ph, some fish cope with poor quality water than others,
  
  The first thing I would always do if I found a depressed looking fish and I recommend is that you carry out a Ph test on the water using the kits sold in pet shops. It is unlikely to be psychological but changing the tank environment may help. you could also try buying some live water fleas to feed to your fish as giving this to fish regularly can help keep them healthy.
  
  If your fish have grown alot since you got the tank it may be the tank is now too small. Do you know what breed of fish they are?
  
  Does the fish look healthy otherwise? There are some fish tank tonics available and also make sure the filter and water pump are working properly and don’t need to be changed or cleaned as this may cause the fish to seem depressed. Air being pumped round the tank is important but also it should not be so flowing that the fish have nowhere in a tank to get away from the flow.

Question: Recently, my fish has become sickeningly depressed and will only stay in the corner of the fish tank. Is there a reason for this and is there any way in which Sputnik and Fred can recover? Sputnik is my fish and Fred is my sister's, just so you know!

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