Worried About Fish

[Deleted member 55926]

A couple of my fish are acting strange lately. The problem is I'm having a real hard time pinning down the cause(s).

Symptoms

• I have 2 dwarf gouramis which had half the tank each as their territory. One was more dominant than the other, but he's started hiding at the back of the tank under the filter for days now, with his tentacles premanently outstretched. He sometimes stays at the surface of the tank too. He doesn't seem to be eating as far as I can tell, and now the other gourami has overtaken the entire tank and bullies the sick one when he sees him. What is the significance of having his tentacles out in front of him all the time? He never relaxes them by his sides now. Nothing physically wrong with him that I can see.
  
• I had one zebra danio hanging around the surface for a couple of days. He seems to be getting better and is swimming around a little now.
  
• My female german blue ram has started rubbing against things occasionally. I have noticed twice in the last day or so. Her markings all became extremely weak and faded. I have checked her thoroughly and there are absolutely no white spots, visible parasites, sores or patches of anything on her. She looks fine except for the weak markings.

Background & Possible Causes

• I got a random spike of about 0.15 nitrite the last couple of days, which has gone today. I have no idea what it was, but suspected it might have been due to me moving the filter media just slightly out of the main flow path in the filter when I cleaned it. I moved it back and increased flow and it seems to have cleared the nitrite now. Is a fluctation of nitrite like this very bad, even if it's just a trace amount? Will this be enough to weaken their immune system and make them stressed?
  
• Two of my zebra danios had mouth rot about 3 weeks ago. I dosed medicine; one's mouth rot cleared up but left him disfigured and he died. The other has always had a tiny white blob on his lip, but now into a second course of treatment and it has never got better or worse. The medicine advises to maximise aeration. I have the air flow valve on my filter fully opened so that it produces lots of bubbles, but maybe this is why the other danio was hanging around the surface? He might be OK now that the medicine is at the end of its one-week term.
  
• Ammonia is always 0, nitrates 5-10.

Tank

• 110L / 29 gal
  
• 2 dwarf gouramis, 2 german blue rams, 3 otocinclus, 4 zebra danios, 11 neon tetras.

 

[WILDER]

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
What the make of the test kit you are using.

You might of over cleaned your filter sponges.
Only rinse them slightly in old tank water, I only touch one at a time, unless there really mucked up.

The faded area does it look like bleaching beneath the skin.
Check for excess mucas on the fish, darting, erratic swimming, laboured breathing.
What do the fish gills look like. Do they look pale with excess slime, or red and inflamed.
Do any fish look pale or darker in colour.
Are the fish acting listless and lethagic.


Issolate the sick fish, as fish will pick of weak sick fish.

What meds are you using for columnaris.

 

[Deleted member 55926]

I'm using the API master test kit.

I don't know the brand of medicine that I'm using for the columnaris in the danio. I should clarify actually: there is one danio who has been hanging around the surface, doing nothing - this is NOT the same danio that has a white blob on his bottom lip. That one seems fine and happy swimming around as usual, and has had the blob for 3 weeks now, and it hasn't gone away or got any bigger, even with 2 separate weeks of medicine (with a week in between).

There is no single faded area on the ram. It's just her markings are not bright and vividly coloured anymore. Her markings have faded like this before when she was stressed during breeding, but they came back. I will check her gills again, but as far as I remember this morning they were normal-looking. Not red or inflamed.

The gourami is acting listless and lethargic, yes. He just sits there hiding at the back of the tank all day, where he used to swim around a lot and defend his territory. He refuses to put down his tentacles, which are outstretched in front.

 

[WILDER]

What's the med called. As some meds are better than others.

What's your location?

 

[Deleted member 55926]

Here is the med:

Interpet Anti Fungus and Fin Rot

Located in London, UK.

 

[WILDER]

The interpet anti fungus and finrot med not very good on columaris. Also the been know to cause side affects.

Best meds for columnaris in the uk are myxazin by waterlife and pimafix.

 

[Deleted member 55926]

Really? What is your source on that? Would this really be the cause of my gourami and danio dying?

I'm really worried about the gourami. Been over a week now I think. There is physically nothing on him; nothing wrong with his gills. He looks exactly the same except he just stares into space all day with his arms out.

I don't know how else to describe this, but it's as if he's blind almost... I can drop food literally on his head, which will sink all around him and it's like he doesn't even see it. He doesn't seem to be visually aware of anything, like he's in his own little world. I'm worried he'll die of starvation if nothing else.

 

[WILDER]

Quite a few members have lost fish due to using anti finrot and fungus med.
Did the fish act odd when you added the med to the tank.

The illness could of finished the fish off, so i'm not prepared at this stage to say it was the med.
The fish that not noticing it's surroundings sounds in a bad way.
Can you issolate him.

Has ph altered.

If the meds still in the tank I would remove it with a water change, and run some fresh black carbon.

 

[Deleted member 55926]

Yeah they possibly started acting weird when the meds went in but I can't say for sure. At the moment it's just this gourami and one danio, the other fish seem fine except for one of my rams who was rubbing a bit the other day (seems fine now).

I'll do a water change and get the carbon in tonight as I'm not at home for a couple of days.

 

[WILDER]

If fish are weak due to illness the med can finish them off.

I would dilute the med down abit, to see if they pick up.

Keep a close eye on the flicking and rubbing.
Fish can rub with columnaris, but need to rule out parasites.