Itchie "Rombo" barbs

[FishNiX]

Hi all-
The "rhombo" barbs in my tank have been displaying an itching habit mainly against plants, but ive also seen them try to do it against other fish...

None of the other fish seem effected and I dont see any other symptons as of yet...also, I havent noticed any fungus or anything of that sort...

Ive been doing 1/6 water changes everyday for the past week or so and there has been no change.

Any ideas? Could this be strange behavior or do you suspect something more sinister?

Thanks!

My Tank:
29 gallon planted tank
2 angel fish
5 rombo barbs
1 something spinosa cichlid
1 dwarf gourami
2 red minor tetras
1 black molly

 

[bgraber]

Sounds like a case of ICH coming on.. If you can, you may want to treat with a bit of salt.. do a search to see how to administer.. Make sure all your fish are salt tolerant first.. Watch for small white bumps on the fish.. Do some research on ICH.

 

[Lateral Line]

Barbs are generally susceptible to poor water - you are changing it, but what are your readings? Before disease - always consider water.

Next - are they new additions or are any of the others new?

Ich is almost always present in a tank - it is reduced immune response that triggers an uncontrolled outbreak. If the water tests okay, has the tank had a chill? Are there any new stress factors?

I am not a fan of indiscriminant salt use - "in case". If they are not used to it - adding it can become a stress sourcem and if you are already on the edge - it may be enough to push the tank over it!

 

[FishNiX]

Hey- thanks for the replies.... there are new additions to the tank (1 angel and 3 of the Rombo's) but I did notice this behavior with the original rombos, not the new ones...). Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), I am fairly experienced with ICH, but I have not noticed any of the other warning signs...

I checked the PH, which seems a little high (7.8) - I'm trying to bring it down with water changes, as out water tends to be on the low side of 7.6/7.5. The apartment is rather drafty, but I have the heater and fairly good circulation in the tank to keep things even.

I havent noticed any white spots either, even on the new angel, which I think is the most stressed fish in the tank (as it is being harrassed by the original)

As a side note...any ideas what would raise the PH? This is a planted tank and I add liquid carbon and iron suppliments, but no fertilizer as of yet.

 

[FishNiX]

sorry.... i meant 7.8

 

[Lateral Line]

Okay - so you've actually increased your tank's inmates by 1/2 from 8 to 12. Your filter bacteria has capacity for 8 fish, now there is suddenly more - that could have actually spiked your tank somewhat - it will equalise quickly, but you should be aware that whenever you add fish without removing any - you can start a mini cycle. That could cause fish to flash. Have you any tests for ammonia or nitrite?

As for pH, do you have any calcareous material in the tank? Shells, coral, coral sand, limestone/chalk stones - anything that fizzes when you drop vinegar on it? That will raise pH - although the rise you are seeing is not huge - I used to live in a dreadful hard alkali area myself, (chalk borehole water supply), tapwater was 8.4-8.5.

As a total aside - are your "Rhombo" barbs Barbus fasciatus? I ask because AquaNut saw some "Rambo" barbs which turned out to be fasciatus - I can't see where the name is coming from.

 

[FishNiX]

Thanks everyone for your replies!!

Nitrite: 0ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm (is this one ppm? i always forget)

So things seem to be fine there...

I have a black crushed stone on top of a layer of gravel and I'm beginning to wonder if it may be slightly alkaline...

Here are three of them together with my red tailed shark in the forground...sorry its so blurry, they move a lot

 

[Lateral Line]

The picture is good enough! The fish, (the sharpest one at least), is Barbus pentazona partipentazona - one of the four subspecies of B. pentazona. Another sub-species is B. pentazona rhombocellatus - sadly very rarely seen.

All of the B. pentazona sub-species are highly desirable fish - and very sensitive to water conditions.

With the crushed stone, take a bit out and drop some vinegar on it. Calcareous rocks react with acids like vinegar. Somehow I doubt it, calcareous minerals are normally light coloured or white - but worth a try. Easy enough to do - and a cheap test - unlike so many others!!!

 

[FishNiX]

thanks! i'll give that a try with the stone...

if anyone is curious, so far i would *highly* recommend these fish, very cool and great personality

i want to add more and i already have 5!

does anyone know how big they should get?

 

[FishNiX]

and the winner is.... ICH

yeah, i noticed yesterday evening that two of my "Rombo" barbs have little white spots...damnit!

i've slowly been raising the temperature, its at about 82 now and i just cranked the heater a little more...

i also did a 30% water change last night and i'll do another 10% today... no salt or medication added as of yet, all the other fish seem ok.

any other suggestions?

thanks all!!

 

[FishNiX]

well... the temp doesnt seem to be rising very much (which i suppose is a good thing!)

i've added 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt and will add another this evening unless you all think its a bad idea?

thanks!

 

[Lateral Line]

Get the proper White Spot medication. I can't see your location so don't know what to reommmend.

Salt is not a very good answer unless you can isolate the affected fish - dosing up your whole tank with enough to make any difference will take ages to get out again with water changes, will also upset your plants.

Raising the temperature does not kill white spot - it simply makes it run it's life cycle faster - taking the temperature up to high reduces the Oxygen content in the water, and B. pentazona is a little sensitive to that - I wouldn't screw it up further then say 85F.

Bad luck - but B. pentazona is very susceptible to Ich. They are a real cracker of a fish though - much more docile then B. tetrazona, (Tiger), quite harmless. Grow to the same size, 3" would be a big one.

 

[FishNiX]

oh... sorry everyone... im in Chicago, Illinois... USA

thanks for any recommendations !!

 

[FishNiX]

ok -- so i called up my LFS, which has been really helpful in the past and have amazing fish, so i do trust their judgement, and originally they suggested Quick Cure, but after going in to pick some up, I was talking to my usual point of contact there and he said that would harm my plants.

he recommended Aquatronics SUPER ICH PLUS, looks like a Malachite Green/Quinine Hydrochloride mix... he also gave me Aquari-Sol, which is supposedly a good thing to use before the outbreak occurs when you notice some itching or minor spotting.

the directions on the medication dont say to do water changes, and they say to medicate every OTHER day, three times... does this seem right?

also, the other guy there (i went back, so my usual POC had moved onto someone else) said that activated carbon is only "active" for ~7-10 days, so i dont need to remove the carbon from my filter pad (my aquarium has been going for several months).. is this true as well?

i was hoping this wouldnt turn my aquarium blue...but it did

thanks everyone!!!

 

[Lateral Line]

Never seen those products - may well be US side only. As for Carbon - it is certainly only active for a while, but I would generally expect it's effect to fall off with time over a few weeks before it was inert. I think I would remove it if was easy to do.