Barbs poorly 😪

AquaBarb

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Hi folks,

Noticed in the last few days some of my Denison barbs have gone a little patchy.

When i checked on them this morning before work they looked worse for wear.

I checked water params and they look good, i do 50% water changes every weekend with another 20% spot clean in mid week so id be shocked if its a water issue.


Any ideas guys and hows best to treat?
 
got any plain boring pictures of them?

it looks like excess mucous that could be from something in the water irritating them.

check the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

do a big water change and gravel clean the substrate.

clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks.

if there's no improvement after that, it might be an external protozoan infection.
have you added anything to the tank in the last 2 weeks?
 
20220120_073853.jpg

Best i took before i left the house this morning

I added a king tiger pleco 3 weeks ago and 3 or 4 more crypts
 

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It's excess mucous.

If the water is good and the filter and gravel have been cleaned, then the pleco or plants introduced something (external protozoan parasites).

You can try salt. If there's no improvement after a few days of salt, get a broad spectrum medication that treats external protozoan infections.

--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
 
It's excess mucous.

If the water is good and the filter and gravel have been cleaned, then the pleco or plants introduced something (external protozoan parasites).

You can try salt. If there's no improvement after a few days of salt, get a broad spectrum medication that treats external protozoan infections.

--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Thanks Colin,

Without jinxing things the barbs looked better when i got home from work.

Checked water again and nitrates was a tad high. I think this was due to me missing a clean one of my cainsters filter. It was pretty mucky compared to my other one i cleaned on the weekend.

I did a 75% water change and cleaned the sand and the big filter last night. Ill keep an eye on them over the next few days and do another big w/c.

Ill try salt if things dont improve but fingers crossed i wont need to

Thanks for you advice Colin
 
Done another 50% water change today for a piece of mind but they are looking much better

Just out of curiosity could higher nitrates cause excess mucous @Colin_T ? Find it strange how only the Denisons had the issue
 
I've never had any issues with mine, but the last time I bought some Denisoni's my LFS asked about my tank before selling them to me. They also told me not to float the bag for very long but release them as soon as possible because they are particularly sensitive to water conditions. They said that these are pretty much the only fish they give that advice for. I've not noticed a particular sensitivity myself, but perhaps there's something in it.
 
I've never had any issues with mine, but the last time I bought some Denisoni's my LFS asked about my tank before selling them to me. They also told me not to float the bag for very long but release them as soon as possible because they are particularly sensitive to water conditions. They said that these are pretty much the only fish they give that advice for. I've not noticed a particular sensitivity myself, but perhaps there's something in it.
Ive not noticed any sensitivity myself till this issue. Ive had them a year now and they have been growing lovely.

Im normally on the ball with my filter maintance tho and i somehow missed a turn on my big cainster. Think they must be more sensitive to higher nitrates than other barbs
 
Nitrates don't normally cause excess mucous on fish. Even fish in water with nitrates over 100ppm don't normally produce excess mucous.

Ammonia definitely will, and nitrite can if it's high (above 2-3ppm).

The fish are a little skittish/ nervous in the video. They might need a few more water changes to remove whatever is stressing them. Just do one a day or one every second day for a couple of weeks.
 
I suppose they do look abit skittish in the video. They do that every water change, they love to go left to right and bomb through the middle where the flow of the waters coming in from above. The Rosy barbs are normal there too.
20220123_200816.jpg


They arent skittish lol This is me tonight trying to get a good photo of my pleco. They just kept photo bombing my shots.

Ill keep up the water changes like youve suggested:thanks:
 
So, your pH is perfect. The next issue, do you think you have enough plant. These fish love densely planted tanks, like more than 50% of the volume
Ive had to compromise a little with plants because ive got cichlids but its still quite well planted
20220113_195122.jpg
 

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