Crazy Goldbarb Behaviour

[AdrianB]

I just feed my fish some flake food they all eat fine. I turned round and one of my gold barbs was spinning round and round whilst swimming all over the tank really fast. She is now on her side at the top of the tank breathing quickly and every few seconds straitening up! Any advise on what to do or what caused this?

 

[WILDER]

Need more info i'm afraid.
Size of tank in gallons or litres.
Water stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.
How long has the tank been set up.
How many fish and which type.
Any fish flicking and rubbing on objects.

 

[AdrianB]

Need more info i'm afraid.
Size of tank in gallons or litres.
Water stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.
How long has the tank been set up.
How many fish and which type.
Any fish flicking and rubbing on objects.

Thanks for the reply.

Its a 20 gallon tank, I only have two test kits:

Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Temp 26.5c
Its been set up for 15 months.
I have 4 goldbarbs, the first five fish I got for this tank. (The fifth died about 2 months ago. Feed fine about 7pm noticed at 11pm she was dead.)
4 Silver Mollies
1 male platty

I do very rarely notice a gold barb rub on the gravel! But not the others.

I have had a bit of an algae problem and yesterday got a scraper and cleared all the algae of the back of the tank and did a 50% water change. Also binned some of the plants worst covered in algae and tried to clean the algae of the rocks whilst they were out of the tank.

 

[WILDER]

It sounds like a parasite, check the gills to see if there pale with excess mucas on them, or red and inflamed.
Your stats havent altered with the 50% water change have they.
Darting around can be parasites to bad water quality.

 

[WILDER]

Just read this to see if some of the symtoms match up.
http/article.dphnet.com/cat-02/flukes1.shtml

 

[AdrianB]

It sounds like a parasite, check the gills to see if there pale with excess mucas on them, or red and inflamed.
Your stats havent altered with the 50% water change have they.
Darting around can be parasites to bad water quality.

My stats are always 0 and 0 for the 2 kits I have so dont think the water change would have affected. This fish died by the way just a strange way to go and like the other one that died. One side of the dead fishes gills did look a bit red with muscus on it I think, the others look fine from what I can see. I'll have a better look when the lights come on tomorrow.

Anything I should treat the tank with do you think? Maybe 50% change was a bit much, I did fill it a bit quicker than normal too.

 

[WILDER]

R.I.P.
Pointing towards gill flukes, need a med waterlife not bad in there not infested with them, will get you a link.

Look under gill flukes.
http/www.fish-disease.net/diseases.htm

http/www.waterlife.co.uk/waterlife/sterazin.htm

 

[AdrianB]

Just read this to see if some of the symtoms match up.
http/article.dphnet.com/cat-02/flukes1.shtml

Just read this link, I posted before seeing it. Apart from the fish looking miserable, they all seem 100% fine I think its flukes. Such a shame.

Is three gold barbs enough do you know? The ones in the shops are so tiny compared to these full size fish not sure how well they would mix.

R.I.P.
Pointing towards gill flukes, need a med waterlife not bad in there not infested with them, will get you a link.



http/www.waterlife.co.uk/waterlife/sterazin.htm

Thanks for your help! I'll get some of this tomorrow.

 

[WILDER]

I would buy any more for a while till you have got rid of the flukes anyway.