Help! Albino Tiger Barb In Distress

[mancin]

I guess this was to be expected with me being naive about getting fish before the tank was cycled... my little albino tiger barb doesn't seem to be doing too well. The rest of the fish are thriving and extremely active (3 tiger barbs, 2 tinfoil barbs, 2 red wag platys). The albino has been pretty quiet and laid back since I got him and I thought perhaps that's just how he was, even though my gut has been telling me something is not quite right with him. The first day he hid in the corner, but then the next day he seemed to open up and was swimming around fine and interacting with the other fish. He was eating fine. I fed a little bit today and all of the fish ate except for him.

I have been testing the water levels 2 times a day and so far I'm not picking up any ammonia or any nitrites. I'm using an API Test Kit.

pH: 7.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
Water Temp: 78 F

It is a 29 gallon tank with both an underground filter and a filter that attaches on top and re-deposits water bank into the tank.

I came home after work and he was laying on his side, but visibly in distress. His eyes were moving and he was flapping around, but he couldn't swim away. He was right next to a plant. I checked on him again a few minutes later and he got up and began swimming around, but he was swimming a bit backwards and sideways. Then he was back to swimming normal. I wasn't sure if he was stuck on the plant?? Right now he is hanging out at the bottom of the tank (in the other corner) and acting like he was when I first got him - pretty normal, just isn't interacting with anybody else.

At this point I do NOT have another tank to put him in. Suggestions??? I feel really bad. Since the other fish are fine, is it possible he was already sick when I got him?

 

[mancin]

Oops I just realized I didn't use the correct form to post in this section.... but I think all necessary information has been provided. Sorry about that - was in a panic!

 

[mancin]

Update: I keep checking on him and he is swimming around, but is resting against some of the plants. Another barb is now nipping at him -- they were getting along fine before. Is it possible that he knows he's sick or is it possible he's injured him? Coloring seems normal. I don't see any visible lacerations... all of the fins are there. The albino is opening and closing his mouth quite a bit though. I'm going to call a friend of mine to see if she can let me borrow her "fish prison" as she calls it (I think it's a breeding tank that sits inside of a larger tank, but I haven't seen it) to get him away from the other fish.

 

[JustKia]

If your tank is uncycled (and it would certainly seem to be that way) and you have fish in there you will have at least an ammonia reading. Is your test kit liquid based or strips - strips are notorious for being inaccurate. If it's liquid double check the instructions to be sure you added the right number of drops or the right liquid (believe me it's easy to make a mistake when you're thinking about 50 other things).

Can you get any mature media from someone? Is there any chance you can take some (all) fish back to the shop? I believe tin foil barbs can get pretty big - 12-13 inches and needs at least a 75G tank! They should also be in groups of 5 or more. Tiger barbs will typically terrorise other tank inhabitants unless they are in a group of 4-5 or more - in larger groups they just tend to keep the squabbles to themselves.

For now the only thing you can really do (time of day and time of year) is do a big water change - 50% or so, make sure to temp match the water and dechlor to make sure the water quality is as good as you can get it.
Have you added an chemicals to the tank - besides dechlor?

 

[mancin]

If your tank is uncycled (and it would certainly seem to be that way) and you have fish in there you will have at least an ammonia reading. Is your test kit liquid based or strips - strips are notorious for being inaccurate. If it's liquid double check the instructions to be sure you added the right number of drops or the right liquid (believe me it's easy to make a mistake when you're thinking about 50 other things).

Can you get any mature media from someone? Is there any chance you can take some (all) fish back to the shop? I believe tin foil barbs can get pretty big - 12-13 inches and needs at least a 75G tank! They should also be in groups of 5 or more. Tiger barbs will typically terrorise other tank inhabitants unless they are in a group of 4-5 or more - in larger groups they just tend to keep the squabbles to themselves.

For now the only thing you can really do (time of day and time of year) is do a big water change - 50% or so, make sure to temp match the water and dechlor to make sure the water quality is as good as you can get it.
Have you added an chemicals to the tank - besides dechlor?

Yes it is uncycled. I have a liquid based kit. I thought it was strange too that I'm not getting an ammonia reading, yet. I asked a co-worker about it because he has some fish experience, and he thought possibly I'm not getting a reading yet because it's only been a few days since I've had the fish and they are all pretty small at this point (around an inch or two each). I have a couple other previous posts and I attempted to return all of the fish to the shop and they won't accept them. The tinfoils I can re-home to a co-worker (same co-worker) once they are too large for the tank -- the LFS recommended them to me and I took their word for it (stupid, I know). He has an enormous tank -- it's at least 125 gallons.

I have not added any chemicals to the tank other than the de-chlorinator.

I have a friend of a friend who may be willing to donate media, but so far I haven't heard back from him. For now, I have quarantined the albino in a breeder tank to keep him separate from the other fish.

 

[mancin]

In case anyone is reading this now, I lost the albino this morning.

 

[JustKia]

I'm sorry hun =(
Poor advice from the LFS kinda threw you in at the deep end and now you're the one struggling for it.
Don't give up, you've got a lot of work ahead to get to a point where you can really enjoy your tank, but it isn't out of reach.