About a month ago I noticed that my sucker fish started floating upside down a lot. I almost thought he was dead but when I tapped the tank he moved. He has been doing this amost all of the time lately. He is about 5 1/2 - 6 years old. Is it just that he is getting older or is there something wrong? That might be a stupid question, but I really want to help him if I can :) Thanks!

I had plecostamos fish before and they didn't do this. Being that old and doing that he is probably not long for this world. Any fish that floats upside down... not good. When you have an aquarium you must be careful to keep water temp constant.

In the wild in the Amazon River where they are originally from they grow to 5' and can weigh up to 100 lbs! I saw pictures of these fish that big. WOW! Mine would get to be at least 16" and I thought that was big.

It kind of sounds like swim bladder disease, however this is rare among sucker fish.
This is not normal though. It would be in the best interest of the fish to treat with medication - one for swim bladder disease.
I like Jungle brand fizz tabs.
Another thing you could try is frozen peas.
Thaw a few frozen peas, then remove the outer skin, break the pea into several small pieces and add it to the tank.
If the fish is constipated and gassy, eating the peas will help unclog it's system.
Also algae wafers may help in unclogging the system (which he will most likely enjoy better than the peas).

This happened to one of our outdoor goldfish. My husband held it in his hand squeezed every so lightly. It worked and the fish swam away normally. He learned this from his father and his father is a fish expert.

Ex Con - mouth to mouth on a plecostamous? Hilarous! Can I sell tickets?

I don't think whenever a fish floats upside down is NOT a good sign. His life probably won't last much longer(sorry!) He is probably just old. IM SO SORRY..!.

I have a sucker fish and he swims upside down all the time. He is healthy as can be and months ago he discovered that if he floats upside down he can suck the food from the surface. Smart ah? He eats like a vacuum from the surface, he stills sucks the glass, stones, etc. But as soon as I throw the food, he turns upside down, swims and seems pretty happy doing it. Check out if he your fish does it to feed, but I wouldn't worry unless he's not eating.

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Originally Posted by negui

I have a sucker fish and he swims upside down all the time. He is healthy as can be and months ago he discovered that if he floats upside down he can suck the food from the surface. smart ah? he eats like a vacuum from the surface, he stills sucks the glass, stones, etc. But as soon as I throw the food, he turns upside down, swims and seems pretty happy doing it. Check out if he your fish does it to feed, but I wouldn't worry unless he's not eating.

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Very interesting! I believe you 100%! This is not a typical behavior for these fish (well the ones I've owned).
Your post is very helpful because it shares a different experience with the
Same fish and proves that fish have different personalities and discover
Different ways of providing for themselves in captivity.
Thanks for sharing your fish story!!

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Originally Posted by Rockmelon

This happened to one of our outdoor goldfish. My husband held it in his hand squeezed every so lightly. It worked and the fish swam away normally. He learned this from his father and his father is a fish expert.

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Looking after my young grandchildrens fish and this happened, think I over-fed them. The best advice given on this site is to defrost garden peas, remove the shell and break the peas up into small pieces, the fish ate them and within an hour the effected fish was back to normal {to my great relief} shall be giving them peas once a week now + soak their flakes in some of their water in order that it sinks. Good Luck.

I have 2 sucker fish in a 55 gallonn tank. They are both around 15'' long. And they have been floating upside down for about 2 years. They are 9 years old. I don't think they are sick. What I gather from it is they like their mouths out of the water. They always do it. They like to eat my tropical fishes food upside down as well.

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