A couple weeks ago my favorite girl got sick, she lost her appetite, her fins clamped up a little she became lethargic, started just hanging around at the surface with rapid breathing. (In that order) Finally, she started to dart around insanely in like 2 minute spasms, and then fall to the bottom looking completely unconscious. She would then have another spasm. It looked kind of like she was having a seizure. I treated her with antibacterial meds but I started the treatment only about an hour before the spasms started and she died quickly afterward, so if it was an appropriate treatment I think it was too late. This all happened over the course of about 24 hours.
Then my plakat boy displayed the same symptoms. I treated him with Maracyn 1 & 2. He quickly got better. A few days later he showed the same symptoms again. This time I tried treating him for internal parasites because I'd read about fish getting better after treating with antibiotics then getting worse again and it turning out to have been parasites. Used jungle parasite clear. About 30 hours later he started spazzing just like the girl, froze and dropped dead.
When I say they're having seizures I mean it looks completely involuntary, they're body looks like its being pulled in every direction rapidly. And then they freeze, paralyzed and fall to the bottom. They crash violently into things when they're thrashing about. It's so awful to watch.
The water is clean. Today there was a nitrite spike in the plakats tank but I got it back down to 0 and I think the meds must have killed off the bacteria that turns nitrite to nitrate and left the ammonia -> nitrite bacteria intact.
Shared Symptoms:
Lethargy, rapid breathing, anorexia, listlessness (don't respond to any stimuli), seizures, death.
Girl only: Red, inflamed gills, gill plates not closing. Hung near surface. I think he gills have always been open though, but not that inflamed.
Boy only: Poop brown with one little segment of clear, don't know if this is normal or a sign of disease. I usually only see the poop on the bottom and it looks all brown, I don't know if a segment (maybe an eighth of the poo) being clear is bad. Had some rips in his fins that weren't there before he got sick. I don't know if this is from the seizures and caught it on things or from the nitrite spike or what.
Please help me I'm very distressed!
Edit:
Both tanks were 5.5 gallon, 80 degrees, filtered, cycled, ph:9, both fish had the whole tank to themselves. All of my bettas are in the same tanks. I got them each their own bucket and siphon this week so I won't spread disease in the future, but for now I have to assume the other fish could still catch this, only the bettas though. The community tank is downstairs and there's no chance of cross contamination.
Also: I had two other fish (platies) die with similar symptoms about 6 months ago. Is there anything that could be killing them off so slowly.
Then my plakat boy displayed the same symptoms. I treated him with Maracyn 1 & 2. He quickly got better. A few days later he showed the same symptoms again. This time I tried treating him for internal parasites because I'd read about fish getting better after treating with antibiotics then getting worse again and it turning out to have been parasites. Used jungle parasite clear. About 30 hours later he started spazzing just like the girl, froze and dropped dead.
When I say they're having seizures I mean it looks completely involuntary, they're body looks like its being pulled in every direction rapidly. And then they freeze, paralyzed and fall to the bottom. They crash violently into things when they're thrashing about. It's so awful to watch.
The water is clean. Today there was a nitrite spike in the plakats tank but I got it back down to 0 and I think the meds must have killed off the bacteria that turns nitrite to nitrate and left the ammonia -> nitrite bacteria intact.
Shared Symptoms:
Lethargy, rapid breathing, anorexia, listlessness (don't respond to any stimuli), seizures, death.
Girl only: Red, inflamed gills, gill plates not closing. Hung near surface. I think he gills have always been open though, but not that inflamed.
Boy only: Poop brown with one little segment of clear, don't know if this is normal or a sign of disease. I usually only see the poop on the bottom and it looks all brown, I don't know if a segment (maybe an eighth of the poo) being clear is bad. Had some rips in his fins that weren't there before he got sick. I don't know if this is from the seizures and caught it on things or from the nitrite spike or what.
Please help me I'm very distressed!
Edit:
Both tanks were 5.5 gallon, 80 degrees, filtered, cycled, ph:9, both fish had the whole tank to themselves. All of my bettas are in the same tanks. I got them each their own bucket and siphon this week so I won't spread disease in the future, but for now I have to assume the other fish could still catch this, only the bettas though. The community tank is downstairs and there's no chance of cross contamination.
Also: I had two other fish (platies) die with similar symptoms about 6 months ago. Is there anything that could be killing them off so slowly.
/www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Lawler_some_signs_of_sick_fish.html
