emaciated rainbow tetra swimming weirdly

[Tacocat]

What’s with this fish? He’s been like this for a week and he got better so we didn’t think much until today, where all of a sudden he’s much worse. I’ve been trying to feed him but he’s not eating at all. I suspect worms so I dosed the tank with 1 tbsp of aquarium salt per 5 gals. Any advice?

 

[connorlindeman]

I think you are right in your diagnosis. Worms seem to be the most likely cause.

 

[Colin_T]

need a video of the fish swimming

section 3 of the following link tells you how to treat intestinal worms in fish.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Tacocat]

need a video of the fish swimming

section 3 of the following link tells you how to treat intestinal worms in fish.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

The condition of the fish has improved a bit since I added the salt, but I'll update in the morning.

The swimming looked very tiring for the fish, as in stead of simply hovering, it was actively swimming diagonally, hence the awkward angle. It pumps its tail every couple seconds to keep its position.

 

[Colin_T]

The fish probably has intestinal worms and or gill flukes. Section 3 of the link below can tell you how to treat that.

It could also have a swim bladder problem and there is no cure for that. If the fish sinks when it stops swimming, that is swim bladder problem. A short video would confirm it.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net