Another Dead Fish Yesterday

[Priscilla]

I've lost 2 more rosie barbs since tearing down my lower tank after most of the fish in it died suddenly. One that died had been put in a 10 gal tank with some fry...the other, a female, was from my upper tank.

I'm home from work because of a car problem...I noticed a male hiding in the corner of the lower tank this afternoon.
I tested the water, while nitrites are fine the nitrate is somewhere between 0 & 5.0. I've been doing bi-weekly water changes of about 2.5 gals in this 20 gal tank.

By accident I had 2 filters going...I'd started up another filter because the other has a rattling impeller... I mistakenly unplugged the light instead of the older filter...took me a few days to realize this...I'd thought when the rattling continued it was coming from the filter in the upper tank! Duh!

I also notice there's no fry in the lower tank which seems unusual....the rosies have always been consistant breeders.
I think I may move the remaining female back to the upper tank before something happens to her too. She seems to be about the only fish in that tank who is almost always looking for food when she sees me nearby. With falling barometric pressure, I'd expect them all to be looking for food...the ones in the upper tank are.

Any ideas on what else (if anything) I can do besides water changes at this point?
Also, will running 2 filters for a few days cause problems?
Thanks. Priscilla

 

[WILDER]

Anys signs of illness like laboured breathing, flicking and rubbing against objects, looking bloated, pale or being darker in colour, what does it look like when the fish goes to the toilet, anything for something to go on, why did you strip the tank down, did they go through the cycle again, or did you use sponges from another tank to set it off again.

 

[Priscilla]

I guess I spoke too soon...there's another in the bottom tank dying.
Priscilla

 

[WILDER]

If they are layed on the bottom of the tank, or being near the surface not good news, but it can be an indication of a bacterial infection.

 

[Priscilla]

Anys signs of illness like laboured breathing, flicking and rubbing against objects, looking bloated, pale or being darker in colour, what does it look like when the fish goes to the toilet, anything for something to go on, why did you strip the tank down, did they go through the cycle again, or did you use sponges from another tank to set it off again.

There's no physical signs of disease or anything wrong with the fish at this point other than hiding at the bottom of the tank.
The female that died had whitish excrement & her belly looked squarish...like a guppy about to give birth. I didn't notice this with the other fish....he just sat on the bottom & then died.
One more is on the bottom, another appears to be swimming back & forth at one end of the tank & I've pulled out the one that's dying.

The reason I'd stripped the tank down was because I had lost almost all the fish in this tank suddenly including my 2 tiger barbs.
I'm thinking at this point that I may have accidently overfed them....long story short...I didn't want to wake my husband by turning on a light. He was sleeping on the couch after his 10hr shift & it's very dark in the living room. I'm really not sure what happened though.

Both tanks are 20 gallons, set up identically with external "Whisper" filters & had not been taken down since early 2001 before I had neck surgery.
When I took them down in 2001 I suffered no fish loss in either tank.
While I have lost a few fish here & there over the years I've not had anything like this ever happen.

I just siphoned off another 2 or 3 gallons but I don't have any more water up to room temp right now.
Priscilla

 

[WILDER]

The white stuff on the belly did it look fluffy, or slimey milk colour.

Sorry thought you meant white on the belly, if they had long stringy white poo and look bloated, could be a bacterial infection, can they maintain there balance in the water, are scales sticking out like a pinecone, i would feed some shelled peas to clear them through, also just check the anus to see if its enlarged and red and inflamed.

 

[Priscilla]

If they are layed on the bottom of the tank, or being near the surface not good news, but it can be an indication of a bacterial infection.

I have some medicine here...not sure what but I have no car to go get anything at this point...gonna go look & see what I have.
The only things I found are Mar Oxy & a couple of packages of Maracyn two, one of which I can see expired in 2002...not sure about the other...there's no date on the package.
priscilla

 

[WILDER]

Read this to see if it fits, not the writer of this information.
Swim Bladder Disorder



The Swim bladder is a gas-filled sac located inside the fish’s body cavity just above most of the other internal organs. This sac is what gives the fish buoyancy and controls equilibrium. The amount of gas in this sac changes as the fish rises and sinks in the water, enabling it to swim, hover and move in the water. Without the use of the Swim-bladder organ a fish is unable to control it's own movements.



Symptoms:

Fish with a swim bladder disorder appear to have an abnormal swimming pattern, usually with their tail end up. They also appear to have difficulty maintaining equilibrium. They may even float upside down or appear to be stuck at the surface of the water, being unable to swim down, or they may lie on the bottom, unable to rise. Fish with a swim bladder disorder will continue to try and feed, showing a normal appetite.



Cause:

The most common cause of swim bladder disorders is improper diet. An improper diet can lead to intestinal gas or intestinal blockages. Intestinal blockages can irritate the bowel, giving bacteria or other parasites an entry point where they can then cause damage to the swim bladder. Swim bladder disorders are most common in the larger, deep-bodied varieties of Goldfish. Fish also fed a lot of dried foods, especially pellets, are most susceptible. This condition is frequently observed in the later stages of Malawi Bloat, which is primarily due to an improper diet as well and intestinal irritation.



Treatment:

Because this disorder is due principally to an improper diet, a change in their feeding needs to be made. Dried foods with lots of protein should be kept to a minimum. Pellets and other dense foods should be soaked prior to feeding or completely eliminated from their diet. Foods with lots of fiber should be introduced, such as zucchini, squash, spinach, romaine lettuce, peas, and grated carrots. If you suspect that the fish is victim to a bacterial infection, treat the fish with a medicated food.

 

[Priscilla]

There does not appear to be anything wrong with the fish I pulled from the tank other than he's sitting on the bottom (of a cup now).
Both fish in trouble are able to swim normally if I upset them with a net...just real lethargic. Scales are normal as is color. They don't fit the description of swim bladder problems.
There may be 2 or 3 still eating..not sure....shouldn't be too hard to count less than 6 make that 4 left in this tank....
It's got to be the nitrates but why? I tested both tanks about a week ago... nitrate was at 0 as was nitrite.
Priscilla

 

[Priscilla]

I noticed something else...the fish in the bottom tank are breathing faster than those in the top tank.
Priscilla

 

[Priscilla]

If they are layed on the bottom of the tank, or being near the surface not good news, but it can be an indication of a bacterial infection.

One of the 2 fish in distress died. The other I put in the top tank but don't have much hope at this point that any of the fish in that tank will survive other than maybe the female I moved yesterday.
I don't have much in the way of veggies in the house...Hubby does have some makings for salad ...I scraped a piece of shredded carrot in this mix...some in both tanks ate it.
I also have some frozen cubed fish food ...one of these has spinach in it along with krill,romaine,plankton, spirulina & other things that I can't even pronounce!...it's San Francisco Bay Brand if that sounds familiar.

I checked the nitrate & nitrite again...nitrate is still high. I siphoned off about 2 gals of water again. I can take some more as soon as the bucket of water comes up to room temp.


Another thing I've noticed over the past few weeks or so...some of the fish don't like it when I turn the tank lights on & hide under the plastic plants.
Is this indicitive of something wrong?

I only have them on while siphoning the tank or feeding in the evening. They don't even like it when I turn on either of my table lamps....Hubby changed them from incandescant to save money on the electric bill. I taped a black plastic bag to the side of the top tank as it gets the most light from the lamps....looks ugly but I didn't know what else to do.
Priscilla

 

[WILDER]

Sorry for your losses, R.I.P. if you are losing alot of fish you could try a bacterial med, as if there no signs of flicking and rubbing against objects i don't think it's a parasite at this moment, maybe the fish are not used to tank lights, just keep them on for half and hour and build it up over time so they get used to them, as if they were wild caught fish they won't be used to tank lights.