Help Needed

[BarristanGTA]

Good Morning/Afternoon,

Since April 2021 I've had a 110L tank with 12 cherry barbs, one yellow rabbit snail, and several Corydoras. I woke a couple of days ago to find the Cherry barbs pretty much constantly swimming at the top of the tank with their mouth's out of the water struggling to breathe. I've tried changing the temperature, increasing the airflow, and oxygenating the tank but with no look. I've since looked at the tank yesterday and I seem to have some sort of parasite around the edges of the top of the tank. I've never seen this before, but from what I've read online when a snail has passed away it can release parasites. I've looked all around the tank unable to find the snail so I suspect he may have passed away. I could rummage about the plants at the bottom of the tank to look for it but I don't want to put the rest of the fish through any more stress until I know what's going on. I've done a water test and everything is normal with regard to Nitrate, Free Chlorine, Ph, Nitrite, Hardness, and Carbonate Root. The only medication I've tried up to this point is methylene blue, but I've got no idea what I'm dealing with here. I'll attach a photo I've taken of the suspected parasite below. The tank is blue from the methylene blue treatment earlier on.

I really appreciate any help/advice you can provide. I'm at my witts end and haven't got a clue where to go from here.

Thanks again.

Tristan

 

[connorlindeman]

First thing I would do it a large water change and check the ammonia. Difficulty breathing and staying near the top of the tank seems to point to high ammonia.

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF.

I am going to offer s few suggestions in general. There are members here with considerably more direct experience with disease issues who will undoubtedly be able to assist you more, but there are some basic tenants that are worth following in all such cases of "trouble."

The first one is, when posting for help always give us the number of any tests you can do. It may be that your idea of what's "OK" is different from ours. Nitrates and pH are two that can be very suggestive especially if in the case of pH there is any fluctuation/variation from day to day or week to week.

Second, at the first sign of what you observed, do a major water change using only a conditioner. I would do a 70-75% change if I observed fish at the surface (unnaturally) or gasping. There is almost crtainly something wrong with the water, and getting it changed ASAP rarely does any harm.

Third...diagnosing fish problems is anything but straight-forward, and most of us are not biologists or microbiologists. Unless you are very reasonably certain of the actual problem, do not consider any medications, additives, etc. These do stress fish, so adding more stress without actually dealing with the issue will only make things worse,. Example, I cannot see how methylene blue cold do anything positive from what you describe.

Fourth, always give us data on the tank. You mention it has been running since 2021 so we are obviously not dealing with a new setup. You've listed the fish, do you have live plants? When was the last water change and what volume, and how frequently are W/Cs normally done?

What is the water temperature? What you describe could ocur from the heater malfunctioning and the temperature rising too far. I had this once, lost all the fish overnight.

Members may ask for more info, but the above will help. I will tag a couple members who will likely be more helpful than I can be here. @Colin_T @GaryE

 

[FranciscoB]

Most freshwater snails can pass parasites to fish (and to other vertebrates, including humans). They are intermediate hosts for a wide array of parasites, in various invertebrate groups. The snail does NOT need to die to release colonizing bodies of the parasites.
I do not know what animal is shown in the picture, or wether it may have come from the snails. However, it looks pretty nasty.

 

[BarristanGTA]

Hi everyone,

Really appreciate the advice so far.

First thing I would do it a large water change and check the ammonia. Difficulty breathing and staying near the top of the tank seems to point to high ammonia.

I've ordered an ammonia remover and ammonia test kit that I'm going to go and collect now.

Welcome to TFF.

I am going to offer s few suggestions in general. There are members here with considerably more direct experience with disease issues who will undoubtedly be able to assist you more, but there are some basic tenants that are worth following in all such cases of "trouble."

The first one is, when posting for help always give us the number of any tests you can do. It may be that your idea of what's "OK" is different from ours. Nitrates and pH are two that can be very suggestive especially if in the case of pH there is any fluctuation/variation from day to day or week to week.

Second, at the first sign of what you observed, do a major water change using only a conditioner. I would do a 70-75% change if I observed fish at the surface (unnaturally) or gasping. There is almost crtainly something wrong with the water, and getting it changed ASAP rarely does any harm.

Third...diagnosing fish problems is anything but straight-forward, and most of us are not biologists or microbiologists. Unless you are very reasonably certain of the actual problem, do not consider any medications, additives, etc. These do stress fish, so adding more stress without actually dealing with the issue will only make things worse,. Example, I cannot see how methylene blue cold do anything positive from what you describe.

Fourth, always give us data on the tank. You mention it has been running since 2021 so we are obviously not dealing with a new setup. You've listed the fish, do you have live plants? When was the last water change and what volume, and how frequently are W/Cs normally done?

What is the water temperature? What you describe could ocur from the heater malfunctioning and the temperature rising too far. I had this once, lost all the fish overnight.

Members may ask for more info, but the above will help. I will tag a couple members who will likely be more helpful than I can be here. @Colin_T @GaryE

I've got a 6 in 1 test that covers everything I mentioned in the first post, I'm about to leave and collect an ammonia test kit.

Once I've used the ammonia test I'll do a large water change like you've suggested.

I suppose it was just a nervous impulse, I'll make sure not to do it again if I face any more issues like this in the future.

I do have live plants, the last water change was 5 days ago and was around 30L of the 110L. I tend to do a 30-40L water change each week.

The water temperature is currently 25c, I keep checking periodically.

 

[connorlindeman]

I've ordered an ammonia remover and ammonia test kit that I'm going to go and collect now.

Do not use an ammonia remover. The best and only ammonia remover you need is a large water change.

 

[Byron]

First thing, immediately, is a major water change. You can test for ammonia later, but delaying the W/C might further harm/kill the fish.

Can you post a photo of the tank so we can see the plants?

 

[Colin_T]

The clump of lines in the picture is a group of detritus worms that are trying to get out of the tank because the water is bad. A big water change and gravel cleaning the substrate every day for a week should fix the worms and the fish gasping.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Snails can be intermediate hosts to parasitic intestinal worms. however, the fish needs to eat the snail to become infected.

Snails have nothing to do with this issue. This issue is a dirty tank and or poor water quality. Do big (75%) water changes and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week.

 

[BarristanGTA]

Hello, again folks. Just did a big water change (80%) as several of you recommended. I sat down and watched as, after about 5 minutes, the fish slowly stopped gasping for air and returned underwater one by one. I'll keep doing what you've said for the next week and keep you posted on how things are going.

I seriously can't thank you all enough for the help, it means a lot.

Tristan

 

[connorlindeman]

Hello, again folks. Just did a big water change (80%) as several of you recommended. I sat down and watched as, after about 5 minutes, the fish slowly stopped gasping for air and returned underwater one by one. I'll keep doing what you've said for the next week and keep you posted on how things are going.

I seriously can't thank you all enough for the help, it means a lot.

Tristan

Glad it's helping!

 

[Byron]

Hello, again folks. Just did a big water change (80%) as several of you recommended. I sat down and watched as, after about 5 minutes, the fish slowly stopped gasping for air and returned underwater one by one. I'll keep doing what you've said for the next week and keep you posted on how things are going.

I seriously can't thank you all enough for the help, it means a lot.

Tristan

You're welcome. Keep an eye on the fish, as whatever is/was in the water was significant, and my build up again. I had this back in the 1990's with a toxic substance (unknown what) that slowly leeched out from a very large chunk of wood. There is no detriment to water changes, provided the parameters--being GH, pH and temperature--are the same. Follow Colin's suggestions above.