Sos Or Smf!........4/12 Danios Left :( Help Needed Please!

[plecostomus-mad]

i have 4 danios out of 12!i dont know whats going on in my tank but im getting very worried that what ever it is, it may get passed on to my plecos and that would suck big time.they are darting around like CRAZY. i mean they are not resting or anything this morning, as soon as the light went on its been constant chasing one another. the danios scales are protruding too, which has got me worried. i cannot see any signs of ick, white spot , parasites etc, they look fine apart from the scales and chasing each other like freekin mad. one danio, which is much larger than the rest looks like its got a bent spine? i understand that certain diseases cause this but also genetic deformations too.

water stats are perfect, temp is a steady 78f, tank size and tank mates in my sig.

the only thing thats changed in my tank are the plants. i bought some off ebay and most were crap and nearly dead. i picked the best ones out and rinsed them off in De-chlorinated water etc.

none of my plecos or my corys have anything odd happening, no change in temperament, all acting normal,no signs of any ill health.

mark

 

[WILDER]

Do any of the fish look bloated or skinny.
Get a magifying glass and take a closer look to see if you can see anything beneath the scaless, like parasites, or lumps.
What does it look like when the fish go to the toilet.
Is the anus enlarged or red and inflamed.
Do any of the danio swim on there sides.
Do any of the danio have a sunken in belly.
Any signs of darting or erratic swimming.
Any excess mucas on the body.
Any red pin prick marks on the body.
How do the fish gills look.
Do the fish swim in a jerky movement.
Any black patches on the fish body, check the eyes for blackness.
Could any chemicals gotten into the tank.
Any signs of laboured breathing, or gasping at surface of the tank.
Do you use any plug in air freshners near the tank.

Also need to look at your water stats.

 

[plecostomus-mad]

Do any of the fish look bloated or skinny.
Get a magifying glass and take a closer look to see if you can see anything beneath the scaless, like parasites, or lumps.
What does it look like when the fish go to the toilet.normal, dark.
Is the anus enlarged or red and inflamed.no
Do any of the danio swim on there sides.no
Do any of the danio have a sunken in belly.no
Any signs of darting or erratic swimming.yes
Any excess mucas on the body.no
Any red pin prick marks on the body.no
How do the fish gills look.normal
Do the fish swim in a jerky movement.kinda.
Any black patches on the fish body, check the eyes for blackness.no patches, eyes are clear.
Could any chemicals gotten into the tank.only the dechlore, BUT i had a bottle of tetra easy balance free with my new filter, added 1 dose to the new water when changed.
Any signs of laboured breathing, or gasping at surface of the tank.no and kinda, i know when they are about to go because they stay at the surface, i dont think there taking in air, they just stay at the top.
Do you use any plug in air freshners near the tank.no

Also need to look at your water stats.stats are fine, ive done 4 tests through out today and nothing at all showing up. just incase, ive done an early water change at 40%, thats 15% more than normal.

 

[WILDER]

How long has the tank been set up.

The fish with the bent spine is it suffering.

Parasites can raise the scales.
Just want to look into flukes.

Signs of fluke are.
Opaque body with excess slime.
Red inflamed gills, or pale gills with excess slime.
Swiiming in a jerky movement.
Spitting food out.
Flicking and rubbing.
Darting, or erratic swimming.
Red pin prick marks or sores on the fish body.
Weightloss sometimes,
Laboured breathing, or gasping at surface of tank.


Any signs of flicking and rubbing with the erratic swimming.
Are the danio scraping off objects in the tank which could of raised the scales.

Bent spine and lifting scales can also be symtoms of fish tb.
Are any scales also falling off the fish.

 

[plecostomus-mad]

because my water stats are ok ive put it down to 3 things, the sand i used, the plants from ebay or the tetra easy balance.


today i have removed all the plants, and ive been taking out the sand over the last 3 weeks, bit by bit at water change time.i know a LITTLE bit of bacteria lives in the sand, and with that in mind, thats why its taken 4-6 weeks.lol, i thought it would be best to take out about 2-3 kg at a time to let the bacteria in my filter/s adjust.

im going to do 2 x 50% water changes by sunday and just hope for the best.

thank you wilder for taking the time to reply. some very good questions in there


mark

 

[WILDER]

If you didn't steralise the plants they could of fetched a parasite into the tank.
Do you steralise the sand with boiling water.

Keep a look out for signs of flicking and rubbing, scraping off objects.
Need to rule out external parasites.Red pin prick marks or sores.
Also fish can flick and rub with internal parasites.

 

[plecostomus-mad]

How long has the tank been set up.

The fish with the bent spine is it suffering.

Parasites can raise the scales.
Just want to look into flukes.

Signs of fluke are.
Opaque body with excess slime.
Red inflamed gills, or pale gills with excess slime.
Swiiming in a jerky movement.
Spitting food out.
Flicking and rubbing.
Darting, or erratic swimming.
Red pin prick marks or sores on the fish body.
Weightloss sometimes,
Laboured breathing, or gasping at surface of tank.


Any signs of flicking and rubbing with the erratic swimming.
Are the danio scraping off objects in the tank which could of raised the scales.

Bent spine and lifting scales can also be symtoms of fish tb.
Are any scales also falling off the fish.

occasional rubbing, not very often. the fish with the bent spine does not look like its in trouble, swims normally and they are all eating like usual.no scales missing or hanging off. they are well fed tbf, maybe a little too much.....they dont look bloated, just fat. could over eating be a concern here?i only ask because i havent fed any of them today, one danio looks like he's gone back to normal ie: no raised scales!?

If you didn't steralise the plants they could of fetched a parasite into the tank.
Do you steralise the sand with boiling water.how do you sterilize plants? i put the tap on and rinsed them off alot, then filled a 30ltr bucket up with dechlore and popped my heater in and let them sit for a while. no, i didnt boil the sand because it was that argos play sand and thought it was ok? sh*t i shouldn't bloody assume when it comes to fish! grrr.

Keep a look out for signs of flicking and rubbing, scraping off objects.
Need to rule out external parasites.Red pin prick marks or sores.
Also fish can flick and rub with internal parasites.

 

[WILDER]

Don't over feed it's not worth it.
See if the scales go down with not feeding as much.
Also feed some shelled peas.

The darting still a concern, so keep a close eye on the fish.

 

[plecostomus-mad]

the scales have lowered alot since yesterday, they are still chasing eachover, ALL the time.its like they are playing but they dont let up.could the chasing be from being in a small shoal?if it is there out of luck because im staying away from buying the little buggers if they are going to die for some unknown reason.

mark

 

[WILDER]

Never kept danio's but know they are active fish.

Something dosn't sound right to me.

I wouldn\t make the shoal any bigger for a least 6 weeks. To make sure there nothing wrong.

Keep a look out for all the signs I have mentioned in the previous posts.

 

[plecostomus-mad]

just looked in on them now and they have gone back to normal. this is the second day with no food. all scales are back to normal.for the last few weeks ive been taking the sand out. the last was out yesterday and this morning i put in the gravel i used in my 2ft tank, washed and boiled repeatedly. they are not chasing eachother as much now and look much better.

can over feeding kill the fish? i mean will / can they eat themselves to death?

mark

 

[WILDER]

Over feeding can cause alot of problems like, bad water quality, bloating, constipation, bursting of the intestines.
It's not worth over feeding as it causes health problems.

The stomachs are very small. A pinch of food is enough three times aday.
Fish don't eat everyday in the wild.