Nelson Figgs
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- Dec 14, 2019
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Hello every one, first time posting on these forums but I've frequently visited these forums for the available information. Any help will be greatly appreciated, I feel i'm way out of my depth and don't want to lose a fish.
So a while back a friend of mine brought a fish tank, after highly under estimating the amount of time it required he offered for me to take it which I accepted. He had no testing kit, was using a cheap water conditioner and only feeding a tropical flake food.
When I got the tank they had already had 2 fish die, and the water quality wasn't great (I didn't test but could see the colour was off and there was a lot of waste on the tank floor) so did a 30% water change and gravel vac. I noticed that one of the Tiger barbs was bloated with bulging eyes, was hiding away in the corner of the tank and was refusing food. I soon discovered this was Dropsy and a little time later he began to pinecone and eventually die. I then noticed 2 other tiger barbs that were bloated with one having a gill plate that was stuck open. I began doing 40-50% water changes every 2 days over the following 2 weeks and i noticed i good improvement in the behaviour of the fish, but the 2 tiger barbs were still bloated. After doing some research I switched to Prime as a water conditioner, brought the freshwater master test kit and increased the variety of their diet to include Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms, Sinkable pellets, Peas, Mosquito Lavae, and occasionally a big of veg. After testing the water quality I got 0, 0, 15 for the parameters, and PH was 7.2, which I thought was a good sign because I know the tank was a in terrible state when I got it.
Over the next week i monitored the fish and noticed usual behaviour including erratic movements, rapid gill movement, slime over the gills and flicking/rubbing on things in the tank. I didn't have a microscope to test for parasites, but ultimately decided I would treat for gill flukes as they were most likely the cause. I ordered "Fluke-Solve" as many other treatments are simply unavailable in the UK, and began treating. After a week the flicking/rubbing had completely stopped, The fish seemed to be returning to normal behaviour but still the 2 tigers remained bloated.
More recently I noticed these 2 bloated tigers sometimes looking down at the ground for extended periods of time, at a 45 degree incline. Then other times they are completely normal.
I have noticed white poop stuck to the anus of many of the fish, not stringy or long but just a small amount permanently stuck there. 1 of the Tiger barbs has developed a red blotchy rash around his left pectoral fin and is starting to isolate himself from the group. From what I've researched it looks like a bacterial infection of some kind, but I honestly don't know enough to be sure.
I could be missing information so please ask me anything and I will tell you whatever it is you need to know.
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 100 litre tank (about 90 litres of water)
How long has the tank been running? Around 8 months
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? Water temp set to 27c
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
6 Rosy Barbs
6 Tiger Barbs
3 Pictus Catfish
Around 10-15 small snails
Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Once every 2 days at the start of the problems, and now the water quality is good every 4-5 days
How much of the water do you change? 50%
What do you use to treat your water? Seachem Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? I only vac
*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes (from what the original owner told me)
What do you use to test the water? Freshwater Master
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
pH: 7.2
Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Once every 1-2 days
How much do you feed your fish? If one day since last feed I will give 1 frozen cube or a small-moderate sized sprinkle of flakes
What brand of food do you feed your fish? I feed tropical flakes, brine shrimp, blood worms, mosquito lavae, deshelled peas, catfish pellets, assorted veg occasionally
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? Frozen
Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 3 weeks (original owner had for 7 months)
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? When I first got them
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
Tiger Barb 1: Bloated, Gill cover stuck open on left side, possible constipation or small white poop
Tiger Barb 2: Bloated, red blotchy rash around left pectoral fin, possible constipation or small white poop
Have you started any treatment for the illness? On the 3rd week of treatment for gill flukes using "Fluke-Solve", in which Praziquantel is a ingredient
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? Tiger Barb 1 had a deep cut under his mouth on the right side which starts 1.5cm down from his mouth and is about 2cm in length. All fish were rubbing, swimming erratically and had rapid gill movement
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Only Tiger barb 2 has strange behaviour, he isolates himself. All barbs have small amount of white poop stuck to them
f
Explain your emergency situation in detail.
At top of page but medications are really limited here in the UK, so can't get most common treatments.
Tiger Barb 1 - Symptoms: Bloated, gill cover stuck open, small white poop stuck to his anus
Tiger Barb 2 - Symptoms: Bloated, red blotchy patch around his left pectoral fin, looks at the ground at a 45 degree angle for extended periods of time, small white poop stuck to him
Pictures of Tiger Barb 2 hiding away from the group, looking at the ground
So a while back a friend of mine brought a fish tank, after highly under estimating the amount of time it required he offered for me to take it which I accepted. He had no testing kit, was using a cheap water conditioner and only feeding a tropical flake food.
When I got the tank they had already had 2 fish die, and the water quality wasn't great (I didn't test but could see the colour was off and there was a lot of waste on the tank floor) so did a 30% water change and gravel vac. I noticed that one of the Tiger barbs was bloated with bulging eyes, was hiding away in the corner of the tank and was refusing food. I soon discovered this was Dropsy and a little time later he began to pinecone and eventually die. I then noticed 2 other tiger barbs that were bloated with one having a gill plate that was stuck open. I began doing 40-50% water changes every 2 days over the following 2 weeks and i noticed i good improvement in the behaviour of the fish, but the 2 tiger barbs were still bloated. After doing some research I switched to Prime as a water conditioner, brought the freshwater master test kit and increased the variety of their diet to include Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms, Sinkable pellets, Peas, Mosquito Lavae, and occasionally a big of veg. After testing the water quality I got 0, 0, 15 for the parameters, and PH was 7.2, which I thought was a good sign because I know the tank was a in terrible state when I got it.
Over the next week i monitored the fish and noticed usual behaviour including erratic movements, rapid gill movement, slime over the gills and flicking/rubbing on things in the tank. I didn't have a microscope to test for parasites, but ultimately decided I would treat for gill flukes as they were most likely the cause. I ordered "Fluke-Solve" as many other treatments are simply unavailable in the UK, and began treating. After a week the flicking/rubbing had completely stopped, The fish seemed to be returning to normal behaviour but still the 2 tigers remained bloated.
More recently I noticed these 2 bloated tigers sometimes looking down at the ground for extended periods of time, at a 45 degree incline. Then other times they are completely normal.
I have noticed white poop stuck to the anus of many of the fish, not stringy or long but just a small amount permanently stuck there. 1 of the Tiger barbs has developed a red blotchy rash around his left pectoral fin and is starting to isolate himself from the group. From what I've researched it looks like a bacterial infection of some kind, but I honestly don't know enough to be sure.
I could be missing information so please ask me anything and I will tell you whatever it is you need to know.
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 100 litre tank (about 90 litres of water)
How long has the tank been running? Around 8 months
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? Water temp set to 27c
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
6 Rosy Barbs
6 Tiger Barbs
3 Pictus Catfish
Around 10-15 small snails
Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Once every 2 days at the start of the problems, and now the water quality is good every 4-5 days
How much of the water do you change? 50%
What do you use to treat your water? Seachem Prime
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? I only vac
*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes (from what the original owner told me)
What do you use to test the water? Freshwater Master
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
pH: 7.2
Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Once every 1-2 days
How much do you feed your fish? If one day since last feed I will give 1 frozen cube or a small-moderate sized sprinkle of flakes
What brand of food do you feed your fish? I feed tropical flakes, brine shrimp, blood worms, mosquito lavae, deshelled peas, catfish pellets, assorted veg occasionally
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? Frozen
Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 3 weeks (original owner had for 7 months)
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? When I first got them
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
Tiger Barb 1: Bloated, Gill cover stuck open on left side, possible constipation or small white poop
Tiger Barb 2: Bloated, red blotchy rash around left pectoral fin, possible constipation or small white poop
Have you started any treatment for the illness? On the 3rd week of treatment for gill flukes using "Fluke-Solve", in which Praziquantel is a ingredient
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? Tiger Barb 1 had a deep cut under his mouth on the right side which starts 1.5cm down from his mouth and is about 2cm in length. All fish were rubbing, swimming erratically and had rapid gill movement
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? Only Tiger barb 2 has strange behaviour, he isolates himself. All barbs have small amount of white poop stuck to them
f
Explain your emergency situation in detail.
At top of page but medications are really limited here in the UK, so can't get most common treatments.
Tiger Barb 1 - Symptoms: Bloated, gill cover stuck open, small white poop stuck to his anus
Tiger Barb 2 - Symptoms: Bloated, red blotchy patch around his left pectoral fin, looks at the ground at a 45 degree angle for extended periods of time, small white poop stuck to him
Pictures of Tiger Barb 2 hiding away from the group, looking at the ground