Help!

[DiscusKeeper403]

I suggest you get some kind of internal bacterial medication, Primafix and Malafix are good ones. For tonight if you can, feed him a de-shelled cooked pea and if it is constipation that will start his bowel movements up agian. If he can keep up right and isn't having a hard time swimming then I wouldn't bother with the medications. But, keep an eye out as swimbladder and constipation come hand-in-hand. If he didn't react too bad to the bath then give him another one in the next 8 hours. Use the chart Wilder gave you and double check on that and next dosage.

 

[MtbGirl]

The light in the tank is off now (it's on a timer) so the fish are going into sleep mode. When the light was on she wasn't darting the way the other fish were, but she was swimming all around the tank... near the bottom, near the top, in the middle... always upright, never on her side. She sometimes points her face up, but I've seen all of the fish do that from time to time. She didn't seem to be swimming weird, maybe just a little slower than the others. Now she just seems to be going into normal sleep mode.

 

[starrynightxxi]

swelling with scales sticking out is dropsy. This can be cause by a bacterial infection, constipation, or poor water quality. Not knowing your water stats but only the number of fish, I would be inclined to say that it is probably poor water quality. The scales sticking out is caused by retention of water due to organ failure. Sometimes they can come back from it, but often they don't. An epsom salt bath and clean, clean water are the only ways to treat dropsy this far advanced that have had consistent results but even that is no sure thing. fish with dropsy often die.

If it is constipation she will need to be fasted, feeding pea can help.

An internal bacterial infection can be hard to treat. not sure what meds will treat this but they do make medicated foods which may help if she is eating.

A bowl is a bad place for this fish. Bowls are in general bad places for fish, but your tetra is going to need superclean water, meaning filtration and water changes, and a heater to have a chance. Do a large water change in the tank for now, and when you go to the LFS next you need to buy a water test kit (that includes PH, ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte tests, get a liquid kit with chemicals and vials rather than test strips) and also look at larger tanks. I don't know about the CAE, but the tetras would appreciate a longer tank (say, 20 long) for swimming as they are active fish that prefer to have horizontal space for swimming. Also, larger tanks are much easier to maintain in terms of water quality than smaller tanks, so a little more expensive but very much worth it.

 

[MtbGirl]

Thanks... I don't think it's water quality, we change our water frequently (once a week) because of the number of fish we have. We didn't test the water because we had already changed it by the time we noticed how poorly she was doing.

This morning she doesn't look well at all, she is propped up in the plants and still breathing hard. I'm going out in a bit to buy a little tank for her, we think it's too late but at least if she does pass the other fish won't start picking at her. Besides, it can't hurt to have a hospital tank in the future.

Considering the amount of fish we have in the tank we're surprised they've all lived this long. The other fish all appear to be fine and healthy, when they saw us at the tank this morning they became excited. We knew they wanted breakfast.

As for the bigger tank, we plan on moving to a bigger home next year and have considered getting a bigger tank then. Unfortunately we were not given good advice when we bought these fish, we were told they would be fine. Luckily we have found a local pet shop who seem very friendly and knowledgeable, they told us we were on the edge of overstocking where the other pet shop did not. They even offered to take our CAE when he becomes too big or too aggressive. So when the time comes to upgrade we will be going there.

Thanks for your help, everyone.

 

[MtbGirl]

She's gone. We gave her another salt bath, tried to get her to eat a cooked, shelled pea... she wasn't interested. She swam about her little tank for a bit, then about 15 minutes ago she floated to the bottom and stopped breathing.

 

[WILDER]

Sorry R.I.P. once they labour breath not good news bless her.

 

[MtbGirl]

Yeah... my son took it better than I thought he would, we buried her outside and he put a little "gravestone" out. I was trying to take pics before I posted so I could show what she looked like, but it's hard to tell. So at least we have one last picture of her.

 

[WILDER]

Can see abit of white in the red area as well.
R.I.P.

 

[MtbGirl]

Now another one is going!!! This one is a black neon, he's not swollen but when I looked in the tank this morning he was stuck on the filter, as if he'd gotten sucked there and couldn't swim away.

He's not swimming, but he is breathing... at the moment I can't remember if he's breathing rapidly or not. When I tried to scoop him up his fins flailed wildly, he was trying so hard to get away but he couldn't swim. I put him in the hospital tank, he's just laying on the bottom. He tries to swim now and then but is really having a lot of trouble. His fins seem fine, nothing damaged.

I don't think it's water quality, we change the water every week. I do have a sample of it in my car, however, during lunch I will bring it to the local pet store and ask them to test it.

I really don't know what to do.

 

[starrynightxxi]

although you change it every week, the problem isn't being solved. Because you have too many fish in such a small tank, they are creating more waste than the tank can handle, even with weekly water changes. If you get rid of the CAE, you will still need a twenty gallon (long would be best, but a high will do) to house the tetras that you have, and you will also be able to stock them in appropriate numbers (6 in each shoal).

Without a test kit you can't know whether or not it's your water quality, but it is the most likely reason at this point in time. You should probably be doing small water changes every other day to maintain the water quality in that tank.

 

[MtbGirl]

I had the water tested during lunch, it's fine. The fish guy thinks the one that died may have had an internal infection. If the second fish that's sick now ate the dead one's droppings, it too would be infected. He suggested siphoning "the heck out of" the tank to eliminate any possible contamination.

Right now I have the sick fish separated, he's still breathing but just laying on the bottom of the tank.

We're not in the market right now to upgrade our tank, unfortunately we were given bad advice when we bought these fish and didn't realize we were overstocking. That's why we've been doing frequent water changes. Our plan is to get a bigger tank next year... we can't do it now. We're just going to keep doing the best we can with what we have.

 

[starrynightxxi]

did you get the numbers by any chance? it's easier when we know what they were.

definately take the CAE back as just by himself he is overstocking your tank. Also he may become a danger to your fish.

I understand that you were given bad advice as this happens very frequently. What you are responsible for is taking care of things once you know. If you can't get a new tank right now, tank the CAE back (also consider taking some of the tetras back), and perform more frequent water changes.

bacterial infections can be hard to figure out. It IS possible it is an internal bacterial infection, in which case you will need to purchase medication and make extra sure that your water is pristne.

You really need to purchase your own test kit though because unfortunately many LFS will say anything to sell you something. also emergencies often happen when no pet shops are open to test water, but if you have the test kit, it won't matter. 25-30 dollars isn't much to pay when it comes to peace of mind.

 

[MtbGirl]

25-30 dollars isn't much to pay when it comes to peace of mind.

I agree, which is why we bought the little hospital tank.

I didn't get the numbers, but I trust this shop. The also said bacterial infections are hard to figure out. This second sick fish is not bloated, so could it possibly be a coincidence or is it really possible the other fish got him sick??

Also, I was just wondering if we should do a complete water change and change the gravel, just toss it and put new gravel in. Would that help??

We've had these fish since July and thought we were doing very well taking care of them, considering we had too many in the tank. I can probably convince my son to bring back the CAE, but bringing back any of the tetras could be tough. At this point I'm wondering if the shop would take the tetras anyway, knowing two have been sick and/or died.

Should we try medicating the tank anyway?? Or the food, at least??

 

[WILDER]

That white patch on the cardinal pointed towards bacterial to parasite.
Any fish showing signs of flicking and rubbing on objects.
If not you do have a bacterial infection in your tank.

 

[starrynightxxi]

not sure what medicines are good for internal stuff as i've never had to treat for it, but i know that they do make medicated foods that you may be able to use.

Tearing your tank apart won't make a huge difference, just up the amount of water changes a week.