God Awful Day...

[thefaxmachine]

Hi guys... had an awful day today with my fish.

One of my albino corys has died along with one of my glow-light tetras. I have also found another glow-light tetra on its side struggling to swim so I've moved him to the hospital tank.

My tank is a 100L with the following:
8 x red eye tetra
8 x glow-light tetra
2 x albino cory
2 x red comet platy
5 x guppy

I've checked the bodies of the two dead fish and the current ill one and I can see no issues (ich etc) on their flesh. And the flesh of all my other fish appears fine.

PH = 7.5
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 5
Temp = 24c

(Used the API Master Test Kit)

And now, literally just half hour ago I see one of my guppy fish on the bottom of the tank totally lifeless. I watched him for a good five minutes and he didn't move, no gills/fins/mouth showing any sign of movement. So I delve in with my net and scoop him out. Once out the water the git seemed to spring back to life so I popped him back in the tank and now its like nothing happened. Swimming around and fully alert/active.
I've now done a 50% water change (above results were before water change!) and even now my glow-light tetras just seem a little more lethargic than normal compared to my other fish and are hovering at the very bottom of the tank.


THEY'VE STRESSED ME OUT AND WORRIED I'LL WAKE UP TO A TANK FULL OF DEAD FISH!!! Any ideas what might be happening??

 

[LauraFrog]

This is really odd... was there any sign of bloating or pineconing (sticking out scales) on the fish that died? Finrot? ANYTHING odd on the bodies at all?

Are there any fish in the tank that are too thin or losing weight?

The glowlight you isolated, is he still alive and still having problems? A photo might help us because this is puzzling, the water stats are perfect. How long have you had the fish for, is it possible that they were just old?

 

[thefaxmachine]

No signs of any bloating at all! My fish seem to have no weight issues either!

Apart from the dead-uns and the lethargic glow-lights, the other fish are fine (or at least appear to be).
I've had the glow-lights for two months now and added them to my tank about six weeks ago after two weeks of being in the quarantine tank. My guppys are about ten months old and the albino cory had been in the tank for about 6 months.

The ill glow-light is still very much alive but is either on his sides/back. His fins are still flapping away like there's no tomorrow! Hate to see fish in this state, it is upsetting.

If the little rascal is still alive in the morning I will get a picture.

GUTTED! GUTTED! GUTTED!

 

[thefaxmachine]

Well, I woke up this morning and my ill glow-light is still alive but swimming upside down! I don't have the bottle to euthanise him... :'(

My remaining glow-lights in the main tank are a touch more active this morning but still not as the levels they have been in the past.

The guppy, platy, redeye tetra and cory seem to be ok.

When I get home from work I'll do another water test and get a pic of my ill tetra.
Any ideas what to do about him? He's still eating and pooing - just upside down and to the sides.

 

[thefaxmachine]

Well, I woke up this morning and my ill glow-light is still alive but swimming upside down! I don't have the bottle to euthanise him... :'(

My remaining glow-lights in the main tank are a touch more active this morning but still not as the levels they have been in the past.

The guppy, platy, redeye tetra and cory seem to be ok.

When I get home from work I'll do another water test and get a pic of my ill tetra.
Any ideas what to do about him? He's still eating and pooing - just upside down and to the sides.

OMG! Just returned home and in my other tank, Pol Pot, my betta, had jumped out of the water and managed to trap himself between the heater wire - the only possible trap hazard... its really really tiny gap too. He was fine at 7 this morning when I left for work. And came back at 12 noon to see him trapped and not sure how long he's been there. I thought he was dead and started to fill up but he moved when I went to pull him out. I've managed to get him in the water but he looks really awful - like he doesn't know what to do. Poor mite. I've had him for 18months and he is a right character. I'd hate to lose him.

My fish must hate me, they all seem to wanna die!

 

[WILDER]

Sounds like a bacterial infections but still need to rule other things out.

Used any chemicals near the tank.
Any signs of flicking and rubbing, excess mucas, laboured breathing, gasping at surface, darting, erratic swimming.
What does it look like when the fish go to the toilet.
Do any fish look thin or skinny.


The third type of infection produced by Aeromonas is by no means the least. This form is often the most virulent (potent) and can be rapidly fatal. This insidious form does not produce any noticeable external ulcers. The most notable feature is a behavioral change in which the infected fish generally become listless and lethargic. Some fish may lose color or appear darker. The fish do not feed, frequently seem off balance and may sink to the bottom laying on their sides. The course of the disease is rapid, and by the time the behavioral changes are noticed, the entire population of a tank may succumb, sometimes in a day or so. This is an internal infection, with the bacteria being found in the kidneys and blood of these fish. The bacteria produce potent toxins that account for the severity of the disease.

 

[thefaxmachine]

Wilder, thanks so much for that info... you've gave me knowledge of some things I didn't even know about.

Update:
My 100L tank which has
8 x red eye tetra
8 x glow-light tetra (now 7 due to one having "issues")
2 x albino cory (now 1 due to the death of another)
2 x red comet platy
5 x guppy

All fish in the above tank seem fine - no flicking/bloating/lethargy. Did a waterchange yesterday and tested the water this afternoon...
PH 7.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Temp 24c

In my hospital/emergency tank where I have housed the ill glow-light tetra since Friday, there as been no change at all. He is still very much breathing! He still eats and ATTEMPTS to swim albeit unsuccessfully. He is rapidly loop-the-looping and can't control where he goes in the water. He lands on the gravel face first, smashes into the filter etc etc.

I'm reading the FISH EUTHANASIA topics on the forum and its breaking my heart. As my sis put it, "its only a small bloody fish" but to me, they are more than that. I've just got to find the bottle to put this little mite out of his misery... I know I couldn't knock out and decapitate him so looks like the clove oil and similar routes may need to be explored.
Is there anything else I could possible do for him to aid recovery or is this it?

THIS IS CERTAINLY THE WORST PART OF FISH KEEPING. ((*GUTTED*))

 

[WILDER]

If he doing loop the loop he's dying i'm afraid.
I think I would put him out of his misery.

Get a jug of cold water and add ice cubes till the water freezing cold. If no ice cubes place the jug in the freezer till a thin sheet of ice appears.
Place the fish in the freezing water. It dosn't take long for the fish to pass away. leave the fish awhile to make sure its passed away.
Make sure gills are not moving.

 

[thefaxmachine]

If he doing loop the loop he's dying i'm afraid.
I think I would put him out of his misery.

Get a jug of cold water and add ice cubes till the water freezing cold. If no ice cubes place the jug in the freezer till a thin sheet of ice appears.
Place the fish in the freezing water. It dosn't take long for the fish to pass away. leave the fish awhile to make sure its passed away.
Make sure gills are not moving.

Well I have put him out of his misery using the ice method you suggested. Thank you. Looks like he died with a second or two of being put into the cold water.


BTW, the Betta did eventually die after jumping out the tank. I knew he wouldn't make it and I woke up Monday morning to find him dead.

I'm hoping this will be the end of my fishy woes for a short while at least.

Thanks Wilder and everyone else for your help!

 

[rabbut]

Using quarantine needs to be done for at least 4 weeks, and preferable 8-12 if you don't trust the source. 2 weeks will only catch mild infections like finrot, Whitespot and more sever bacterial infections will take longer to show.

It sounds to me like a bacterial infection may have been at work. Do all the fish look OK and behaving normally again now?

All the best
Rabbut

 

[WILDER]

Bless Him. R.I.P.