Mysterious Death And Injury

[rachh004]

I have a 55 gallon tank with 2 pleco, 1 zebra loach, 2 black skirt tetra, 2 zebra danios, 1 fancy guppy, 1 sunset platy, and 4 rasboras. when i came back from a three day weekend last week, 1 zebra loach and 1 danio died, and one danio has a broken fin. two weeks ago a fancy guppy died and a danio died. I thought it might be the water because the nitrate was a little high. so i fixed it. but today when i looked one of the danios has cut marks on both sides of him. they are red like they were bleeding and the scales are missing. Is another fish hurting them do you think? Becaus when i took the dead loach out it seems to have similar marks like the danio. and i never took out the dead danios because i couldnt find them, they were just not there. what do you think?

 

[WILDER]

What are your water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
I would do a good water change.
A rotting fish can cause desease.
Any signs of flicking and rubbing.
Do you have any sharp objects in the tank.

 

[rachh004]

the ammonia is 0, ph is 7.5, nitrite is .5, and nitrate is high with 80 ppm. i just did a 50% water change yesterday. there is nothing sharp in the tank. but the danio with the broken fin also has some scales missing on his broken side. it looks like his spine is curving but i thinks thats from him swimming weird from the fin, he is also really skinny compared to the other one. but its hard to get a good look at the spot. it looks like there might be something growing on it but it could just be the scales. my other fish seem to be fine, there just arent swimming around happily like they usually do. but i think its because since many of them died, they aren't in schools anymore

 

[kribensis12]

It might be fish Tb or Coulumnarious. I'd wait for Wilders Expert oppinion but that's what i'd think. I'd do a 50% w/c and then do another tommorow until you can control the nitrite and nitrate.

 

[rachh004]

i spent a while looking at the fish. i think the one danio might have dropsy. im not sure though. Because the scales seems to be sticking out. but while i was observing the fish, they all seemed to stay in the back right corners. It seems like they are scared. the 2 plecos and laoch hang out in a cave on the left. do you think they are scared of the plecos or loach? When i got the loach, i was told it was a catfish and later realized the loach is semi aggresive. So i don't know if he is terrorizing the other fish--or maybe killing my other danios....but like i said earlier, I found one loach dead the other day. and when i was cleaning the tank, i saw the other one in the cave. but since then he hasn't come out and i haven't seen him. usually he comes out when i feed them. so i don't even know if hes still alive.

 

[WILDER]

You could be dealing with fish tb you have some signs.
Being skinnny, bent spines, scales falliing off, red sores,
Take a look here to rule it out.
<a href="http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html" target="_blank">http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html</a>
How old are the danio as there spine can bend with old age.
I would do a water change you have a nitrite reading.
How often do you maintain the tank.
How long has it been set up the tank as the nitrate reading is high.

TB symtoms.

Symptoms can include:

Loss of appetite
Progressive thinness
Sluggish movement
Folded fins
Eye protrusion
Dark coloration and granular appearance of the cornea (this is the first sign in Angelfish).
Skeletal deformity
Hanging at the surface
Skin defects, including blood spots and open wounds that may ulcerate
Black spots, or overall dark coloration (in Cichlids particularly).
Fin rot, characterised by the outer rays falling out.
Scales loosening and falling out
General swelling and scale protrusion (as in Dropsy)

How are fish infected?

 

[rachh004]

The danios cuts/scores are getting worse. the one with the broken fin is now just kinda floating around. I thought he might have TB but where its bending is right where the cut is. So that might be why its bending. but it is definately worse this morning than it was last night. The other danio cut has grown but he is still swimming fine. Im not sure if it has dropsy because its bloated. But usually the females are bigger. My other fish are not affected so thats why im wondering if its not a disease or parasite.

 

[WILDER]

Sounds like fish tb there showing quite alot of the tb symtoms.
Have you read that link I left.

 

[rachh004]

yes i looked at the link. he does seem to have tb. my other fish do not show any signs other than the other danio. I thought the one danion was dead when i came home so i went to scoop him out but noticed he is still slightly breathing. I feel so bad for him. He's definately going to die within the day.

 

[rachh004]

This is recent pictures of the fish. The one that look like he is dead is actually still allive.

 

[WILDER]

Antibiotic minocycline treats fish tb, but not once they show the symtoms of bent spince.
Maracyn–Two
Manufacturer: Mardel
A broad-spectrum antibiotic for internal or external gram negative bacterial infections which can even be absorbed through the skin. Effective treatment of fin and tail rot, popeye, gill disease, dropsy (swollen body, protruding scales), septicemia (bleeding or red streaks on the body), secondary and internal infections. Effective even when fish won't eat.
Active ingredient: Mincycline hydrochlor.
http/www.aquarticles.com/articles/manage...fer_FishTB.html