Emergency: Danio Down!

chimera_786

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i had recently purchased a long finned blue danios and have had it for a few days. Today, i woke up and found it very lethargic, lying on the bottom floor with labored breathing. Its not moving, even if i tap on the glass. Something is not right. All the other fish seem fine (2 zebra danios and 3 rasboras herlequins).
Please do repsond
 
Unfortunately, this is one of those "have to be seen" to draw any conclusion situations.... Impossible to guess...
 
some description might help:

It cant mantain its balance in the water. It swims to the surface and falls backs down to the gravel.
Its not paying attention to its surroundings or to the tank residents
Its rapidly breathing.

I cant really make out if theres excessive slim coating on the body. Whats the appearance of ths slime coat? This my first fish thats about to die so dont really know what to do exactly. I will be taking it back to the LFS and get it exchanged. I bought like 4 days ago. Even when i put it in the tank for the first time (after acclimating it to the tank) it was very slow. Wouldnt swim around much. Kind of like just chilling in the water, whereas the rest of the residents would be up and about..doing their thing.

All input is appreciated.
 
Sounds like it could be ph shock.
How long did you climatise the fish for, what was the ph of the lfs to your tank.

pH Shock

As its name suggests this condition occurs when a fish is introduced to quickly into a new environment which has a very different pH from the one it came from, when the pH is adjusted to quickly and the fish have little or no time to adjust themselves, or when the pH is to far outside the fishes normal range.

It is very important that any change in water chemistry is made slowly and fish should never be exposed to changes of pH greater than 0.5 of one unit on the pH scale in either direction.

Avoidance is by far the best solution because in most cases the symptoms don't appear until the second or third day by which time the damage has been done and the fish will probably die.

A fish suffering from this condition will show all the typical signs of shock -

Lying on the bottom and paying little or no attention to its surroundings and ignoring potential threats.
It may even lay on its side or go upside down completely.
There could be other signs to, related to Acidosis and Alkalosis
Excessive mucus production.
Rapid breathing.
Swollen abdomen. (Alkalosis only).
If the condition is allowed to go on for one or two days then the chances of a successful remedy are greatly reduced because a lot of damage will have taken place. If the symptoms are spotted early enough there are a couple of things that will help.

Begin to return the pH to the original pH in steps of 0.4 of one unit on the pH scale and allow 3 hrs in between the adjustments. Make these adjustments until the pH is returned to a safe and satisfactory level.
Treat the tank with a broad spectrum anti-Bacteria/Fungus compound to prevent secondary infections of the Skin and Gills.
Prevention is easy. A successful treatment isn't!
 

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