Galaxy Rasboras Dying...

[gabriel.mihu]

20g tank, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10-20ppm, ph 7.8, hob + internal filter, air stone 24/7
 
I had 11 rasboras in the tank last week, and I cant convince them to eat anything. I don't know what's going on, nor what to do at this point. They are not eating and they are not active. Some of them stay at the surface all the time, others at the bottom. At the beginning they were active and moving around a bit, but still not eating. I tried three types of dry foods (two type of flakes, 1 type of granules - crushed. I also tried blood worms, chopped into very small pieces. They see the food, they run a little bit after it, but they don't bite, they don't eat anything.
 
And yes... they are dying. This morning I saw 2 more laying on the bottom. Last night I had 6 alive in the tank, now 3 are laying dead on the bottom. They hold their fins next close to the body, not wide open like a healthy fish. I just have no idea what to do. The only thing I tried is Melafix (that natural thing...) but it did not do any good.
 
I love these fish, but I don't know what to do anymore.
 
Please help!

 

[Lunar Jetman]

Do you have a heater on this tank and what temperature is the water?

 

[gabriel.mihu]

No heater, temperature 74-75F, very low fluctuations. I spoke to the LFS guy and we came to the conclusion it might be "sunken belly" thing... I did not feed the fish (as recommended by THE INTERNET) for a couple of days, but they must have already been starving. I was advised for the future to try to feed them a few times a day after purchase, to get them started eating again. After I see them eating, get back to regular feeding schedule.
 
I am so sorry for them, as, besides being expensive fish, I hate losing them to some stupid idiotic mistake. I loved the way they were swimming around the tank before they got hungry.
 
I never read anything about any sunken belly disease, after a year of researching and fighting all kinds of stuff, this is the first time I find about it. I was told that because the fish has not eaten, its belly starts digesting itself...
 
I guess I'll read more about it... on THE INTERNET, of course...

 

[gabriel.mihu]

KH 4
GH 6
Will post images/video later.

 

[Mamashack]

Are their spines misshapen if you look at them from the top?
A visibly sunken belly could be internal parasites (which the LFS should know about). 
If that's what it is you'll need to treat the parasite itself and also treat for bacterial infection too as they tend to go hand in hand.
Fish TB is another possibility but I don't have any experience with that - hopefully someone else will.

 

[star4]

Try soaking the food in a drop of garlic juice. Get a small container add approx 20ml tank water add the food and a drop of garlic juice and leave for an hour or so, give an gentle stir. Garlic should help stimulate their appetite, they may not eat it first go, but you can try again the following day.
 
Once you get them eating if they still have sunken bellies you will need to treat for internal parasites.

 

[gabriel.mihu]

Here's a movie link:
 
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6wWxcex6RM&feature=youtu.be
 
...and here some photos:
 

 

[Mamashack]

Difficult to say for sure - could be either or neither of the suggested problems. Medicating is always tricky when unsure so try the feeding solution first soaking their food with liquid garlic prep (think Seachem make one if you can get hold of it) If that doesn't work might then it be worth treating for parasites and opportunist bacterial infection that often happens with internal parasites. 
I had a platy with internal parasite and it's belly became parallel to it's spine at the end and it didn't survive. Yours don't look as bad, but don't delay too long.

http/www.seachem.com/Products/Appetite.html
http/www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/ParaGuard.html
Personally I have never used them,  but have seen other members suggesting them.

 

[gabriel.mihu]

I want to get a new batch of rasboras. What should I do before putting them in the tank? Should I move the existing occupants (4 zebras, 1 galaxy, 2 RCS) out? Should I let the tank only with the plants in for disinfection? Should I use any treatments?
 
I don't want to infect the new fish (if they are not infected yet).

 

[star4]

Do they perk up at all after a water change?  The first picture I am concerned about the black area by the anus, it could be camalanus worms, these you normally see as red threads hanging from the fish. I just seems odd to have that dark area when the fish are so skinny. Fish that are not eating would normally pass stringy faeces.
 
The gills also look inflamed to me, try increasing the amount of air going into the tank and do a water change see if they perk up any. Have you had any luck using garlic juice to entice them to eat?

 

[gabriel.mihu]

I have only one left, together with the danios (I introduced them to keep the tank up and running until I get more CPDs). I tried the garlic juice a couple of times, yesterday, the CPD seems more active, maybe he's just taking after the zebras. The zebras are eating and playing just fine. I don't know if the CPD is eating anything or not, but he does not seem as bad as a few days ago. If I stay and try to watch him eat, he won't. He's pretty shy and hides behind the wood/plants until I go away.
 
I feed them hikari micro pellets, frozen blood worms and some other type of pellets, crushed, 3-4 times per day just to start him eating something. The food is pretty "fresh", I just opened the containers about a week ago, so it should not be oxidized or anything. The fish in my big tank eat this food like sharks at the taste of blood. 
 
The fish that you see in the first two photos is the one still alive and it still has that black spot. I got air running 24/7 through a fine bubbles air stone (not air mist, but not big bubbles, somewhere in between). I'll try adding some salt to the tank to help them breathe.
 
I haven't seen any of them passing any type of feces.
 
edit later: I saw some photos of the worm you mentioned. It does not look at all like being one (camalanus).

 

[star4]

That is good its not camalanus, I just was not 100% sure from the picture, it looks suspicious so glad you checked Keep trying with the garlic food, if you can get some try frozen daphnia, just add the garlic as its defrosting, this might entice him to eat. Garlic has antibacterial properties, so while it also encourages him to eat it will also help boost his immune system.

 

[Lillefishy]

Try them with some cyclops, they're smaller than daphnia so little mouths can manage them, my Cpd's loved them.
Sadly I lost some in a similar way to yours soon after I got them, but then most were wild caught, I don't know if that's still the case.

 

[gabriel.mihu]

I will look for frozen daphnia and cyclops with garlic. I am not sure about them being wild caught. I got them from three different stores and I did not ask where they're coming from. Anyways, I just someone in MASS breeding and selling them, and they look great, happy and eating... they look much better than the ones I got. I will try to get the next batch from him.
 
As for the one in the tank: I just saw him pooping . About 3 mm long, grey-ish... so no strings or weird colors. That should mean he eats something.

 

[gabriel.mihu]

Well, although alone until I find him some partners, my CPD is doing allot better now, moving around the tank and rounding his belly. I've been feeding hikari fry pellets, some shaved frozen food and crushed tetra pellets. I got some tetras with him in the tank and some zebras for now, to keep the tank going until I get some more CPD's.
 
Thank you for the garlic advice: I don't know if it's because of that, but he seems to be feeling fine. I will remember this advice if I have feeding issues in the future.