Tigerbarb Death ?

[JohnBull]

One of my female Tigerbarbs died last night. She was heavily pregnant but up till last night showed no signs of distress. She was the only female in a group of 5 Tigerbarbs and was around 8 months old but the rest of the fish seem fine ?

Todays water tests gave:

AMM 0
PH 6.5 NORMAL
NITRITE 0
NITRATE 40-60ppm ( its normally this high )

thoughts ?

 

[garethp]

You say she was heavily pregnant. Tiger barbs do not give birth - they lay eggs so she could have been eggbound.

Were any of her scales sticking out, like a pinecone? If so, it could have been dropsy.

 

[JohnBull]

You say she was heavily pregnant. Tiger barbs do not give birth - they lay eggs so she could have been egg bound.

Were any of her scales sticking out, like a pinecone? If so, it could have been dropsy.




No,she looked ok, but very swollen around the abdomen like she was ready to drop a shedful. I did introduce some live plants some three weeks ago. She was the only female amongst the group of 5 fish,should I replace her ?

Will keep a close eye on the remaining fish.

 

[garethp]

not quite sure with tiger barbs, but I believe the general consensus with other fish if mixing sex is to have at least two females per male.

Depending on what other fish you have and tank size it may be worth adding several more females, but I would hold off for now and monitor your others for any signs of problems.

 

[Questions?]

it is the nitrate, even it is usually that high that is too high