Black Ruby Barbs swimming at surface

[DeanoL83]

Hi,

I bought ten black Ruby Barbs today. Acclimated for over an hour and they looked ok when they were released.

Now the majority are fairly stationary right at the surface.

This is the second batch of black rubies this has happened to. Purchased from different stores and bought months apart.

I tested the water today. 0 ammonia and nitrite. 10 nitrates. I am on rainwater so it's very soft water.

Four foot tank with cories, rummynose and cardinal tetra, hengeli rasbora and gouramies.

Purchased emperor tetras last week which are all swimming happily around so I'm guessing everything in the tank is ok.

Temperature hovers around 25-26 Celcius.

Any ideas? I really like the ruby Barbs but there's obviously something in my tank they don't like and I just don't know what.

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[1L19]

I ran Black Ruby Barbs for 2 years in a 29g and the never sat at the surface and were always extremely active. The only thing I can think is they are gulping oxygen as it seems like your other tank parameters are in range but I'm no expert. How is your surface water movement/agitation? As a note in your picture those seem to be females and I ran all males though I'm not sure that would make a difference. Maybe they are hungry? I feed mine tubiflex worms and brine shrimp. The wouldn't touch flakes or pellets at all. Good luck they are an enjoyable fish!

 

[mbsqw1d]

Could be an issue with GH depending on the GH of the water at the place where you got them from, if your water is very soft. How long did you acclimate them for? Was it drip acclimation? I've had the same issue before. I rescued some fish who were already in high ammonia water. I rushed getting them into mine and they effectively suffered from OTS, a drastic change in GH and PH. I think I lost one but thr rest pulled through, fingers crossed yours do too. Try adding an air stone and drop the temp by half a degree to promote o2

 

[Byron]

I cannot see anything amiss from the info in post #1, and given that you have quite sensitive species that are OK, it would suggest poor stock of the barbs. You are in Australia, and Colin has more than once mentioned extremely poor quality fish from SE Asia in Australian stores. This may be the issue.

 

[DeanoL83]

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately none of them survived over night. I still am really perplexed by it.

I did think maybe it was GH shock cause my water was soft but it was a slow acclimation over almost two hours and the emperor tetras had the same acclimation.

I have a sponge filter to provide additional surface agitation as well as the canister I run.

Poor stock is possible but this exact thing happened with black rubies I bought from a different store months ago which makes me think maybe they are just super super sensitive to changes in water and I need to acclimate over a ridiculously long time.

Maybe I need to try drip acclimation next time? Never done that before so wouldn't know how to go about it. But willing to try and if that doesn't work I'll just need to give up on my dream of having black rubies

Thanks again for the replies I appreciate it

 

[Byron]

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately none of them survived over night. I still am really perplexed by it.

I did think maybe it was GH shock cause my water was soft but it was a slow acclimation over almost two hours and the emperor tetras had the same acclimation.

I have a sponge filter to provide additional surface agitation as well as the canister I run.

Poor stock is possible but this exact thing happened with black rubies I bought from a different store months ago which makes me think maybe they are just super super sensitive to changes in water and I need to acclimate over a ridiculously long time.

Maybe I need to try drip acclimation next time? Never done that before so wouldn't know how to go about it. But willing to try and if that doesn't work I'll just need to give up on my dream of having black rubies

Thanks again for the replies I appreciate it

A couple issues to comment on, starting with acclimation. Fish cannot acclimate to signficiant water parameter differences in hours, or days, it takes weeks and in some species it is not even realistic. You will find many experienced aquarists have given up drip acclimation and just equate temperate then release the fish into the tank (the fish, never the bag water). Many don't even test anything, just temperature by hand.

Second, the quality of the fish. For years now we have known that many fish from SE Asia farms are weak if not outright diseased. Another point, is that many different fish stores may be using supplier "x" for years. Without knowing the source of the shipment, it is difficult to assess things.

 

[Colin_T]

If fish are gasping at the surface, it's either lack of oxygen, poor water quality, or something poisoning the fish. The first thing to do if you see this is a huge water change and increase aeration/ surface turbulence.

If you have done a water change using tap water that contains chlorine/ chloramine, then make sure you use a dechlorinator before adding the new water to the tank. The OP is using rain water so it should not contain chlorine or chloramine unless they had water delivered to the property to fill the rainwater tanks.

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I would contact the shop and find out what the pH, GH and KH of their tank water is. Ask them when the fish came in, compared to when you bought them. Find out when they do/ did water changes.

If the shop has fish in harder water, or water with a significantly different pH, that could be an issue.

If the fish only arrived at the shop on the day or within a few days of you getting them, that could be an issue. Try to buy fish a week or more after they have arrived at the shop.

If the shop did a water change on the day you got them, that could be an issue. Try to buy fish the day before they do water changes, or at least a couple of days (preferably a week) after they have done a water change.

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How long are the fish in the bag for when you buy them and take them home?
If it's a long trip and the weather is warm, the fish could be running out of oxygen in the bag.

If you have to buy fish on hot days, or transport them long distances, tell the shop it's going to be a few hours before you get them home and ask if they can put oxygen in the bags. If they don't have oxygen, ask them to put the fish into a couple of bigger bags so there are fewer fish in each bag. Then put the bags in an esky to stop the water warming up too much.

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Ruby barbs are normally good fish but can be sensitive to chemicals and heavy metals. Increasing the mineral content in the tank might help with this, or perhaps add some carbon. There shouldn't be anything in rainwater but it depends on where you live. If you are in a rural area, there might be chemical contamination from nearby farms spraying crops. If you are near an industrial area, there can be contamination from fumes and other nasty substances in the air.