White Cloud Minnow Issue

[tashaj137]

We got my sisters friend (who lives with us) some fish for her birthday, not a lot as the tank is only small but all but one of them died, we have a filter and clean often as far as I know, but I just noticed that the white cloud that's left looks bloated, severely. I'm taking an animal management course at college and just at a glance I knew it wasn't right. Basically, the belly of the fish is pretty transparent, and there seems to be a tube of some sort in the middle of it, I don't know if that's a normal thing and it can be seen due to the swelling or not but, it's swelling is kind of bumpy and not a complete roundness. I'm not sure how long it's been like this since I don't see it much, but was just wondering if anyone could shed some light on the situation. My friend is worried that her fish will die like the others. Any info would be appreciated. I'll post some pictures but sorry about the quality, it's difficult to take a picture of a fish that won't stay still.

[I just asked my friend and she said he/she's been like that for weeks, and it's swimming fine, nothing looks wrong except for this bulging]

http/i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff389/tasha171994/Photo0919.jpg
http/i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff389/tasha171994/Photo0917.jpg
http/i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff389/tasha171994/Photo0916.jpg
http/i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff389/tasha171994/Photo0914.jpg
http/i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff389/tasha171994/IMG-20111002-00754.jpg

 

[Caprichoso]

First off, welcome to the forum

Second, how long has this tank been running for? It is likely "uncycled" which means that the fish are pooping and there isn't sufficient beneficial bacterial colonies present in the filter to convert the ammonia in the fish poop so that it becomes harmless. I would suggest reading up in the beginners section of the forum about cycling a tank, there is a wealth of info to help you there. Un-cycled tanks have ammonia spikes which are toxic to fish, making them weak and prone to illness and death. Also, mountain minnows don't prefer a warm tank so that could also be an issue.

You can get your friend to purchase a water testing kit, that is very important because it will let you know if there is a water quality issue. A good test kit is SALIFERTS or RED SEA. The kit is used to test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, general harness, etc. Knowing if you have high ammonia or nitrite quickly can be the difference between life and death.

If you can't test the water asap, do a 75% water change with de-clorinated water, making sure the new water is roughly the same temperature as the tank water. Tomorrow, do another 75% water change but I must stress the importance of getting a test kit so that you can monitor the water on a daily basis for the next couple of weeks or so...especially if the tank is un-cycled. Once you test the water you want it to show 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite. If it doesn't, you need to do the above mentioned water changes.

Post your results of the test kit on here, plus ALL other info about the tank and we can help you more from there.

Best of luck