Red Tail Shark - White Sides And Puffy

[Raydawn]

Tank size: 20 gallons
pH: 7.6
ammonia: 0.1
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 150 ppm (i know... i did a 25% water change immediately)
kH: 4
gH: 9
tank temp: 78 degrees Fahrenheit

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): Whitish scales and bloating around mid-section. I noticed this just now. He finally came out after hiding in his tree all day, and this was the first time I saw him today. He was not around for feeding this morning. He's lethargic and vertical in the corner, facing the bottom of the tank.

Volume and Frequency of water changes: Haven't done one in a while Maybe 3 weeks?

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: None

Tank inhabitants: 1 molly, 1 red tail shark, 3 zebra danios, 1 algae eater, 1 sword. The sword is also acting lethargic and is hiding. He may have white gills. I can't see him very well right now.

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): None

Exposure to chemicals: None

Digital photo (include if possible):

 

[Ruskull]

Dude, I'm not a expert but that tank needs multiple, huge water changes. 150 ppm for nitrates is ridiculously high.

You should do no less than (2) 50% water changes, back to back, and (3) would be better.

 

[Raydawn]

I know... I feel terrible. I got complacent with my tank and I'm paying the price... I want to do whatever I can to save them

 

[Ruskull]

No worries, you can make up for it by doing the right thing. My son has a 20 gallon & I change 50% of his water every 2 weeks. He has 26 fish in it! You just have to monitor it to make sure it doesn't get too high. At 2 weeks, his tank shows about 40-60 ppm at worst. If it shows less I'll do a 25%change instead. I've let his go 3 weeks without any water change when the numbers aren't high. A lot depends on how much & how often you feed them.

 

[Hermithall]

He's a red rainbow shark, very similar to rtbs! Rusk has nailed it about the urgent need for water changes, since your test results indicate nitrate poisoning as the obvious culprit - nitrate levels above 30 to 40ppm for any extended length of time should be avoided. Ammonia should read zero too - any ammonia at all is bad. Big water changes, and re-test - best of luck

 

[Raydawn]

Thanks, I have done a few large water changes and will re-test. Should I add any salt? Feed as normal? I guess all I can do is wait and see at this point? EDIT: Should I adjust the temperature at all?

 

[Ruskull]

I don't know if conditioning salt would help, or hurt depending on your stock. I'm sure another poster here will know more than me about that. Clean water & maybe less feedings.

How long has the tank been established? Are you certain it's cycled?

 

[Blubble37]

do what you can mate but I have a feeling that you may end up loosing him... sorry

 

[Raydawn]

I did two 50% water changes shortly after Ruskull's post (that was after a 25% change when I noticed the problem) and the water is much better.

pH: 7.4
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 10 ppm

I was not home Saturday and the shark spent all of Sunday in his tree. Still alive, but swimming in place vertically, facing the bottom of the tank. I could see him occasionally and thought I saw reduced bloat and a slight return of color. This morning he was out (I don't think he likes the light - never really did) and swimming in place horizontally, which I would like to take as a sign of improvement. He has slight red marks on his one side, but the white coloration and bloat is almost completely gone on that side. His other side is still a little bloated and still has a white spot. I am hoping that he is getting better.

I also noticed yesterday that all the fish in the tank seem to have dark red in their gills, which seems to be a sign of nitrate poisoning. Hopefully everyone in the tank will start improving shortly. My poor fish, I feel so bad that I did this to them. I don't know what I was thinking. I know the nitrogen cycle, so obviously leaving things alone would cause nitrate to eventually build. I'm never doing that again.

I'll probably do another 25% water change tonight and continue to monitor the situation.

 

[Blubble37]

I'm glad he's recovering mate! veritcal to horizontal makes all the difference as far as I'm concerned!

 

[Raydawn]

His swimming seems to have more direction today. The slight redness on one side is gone, but the white patch remains on the other. His front fins are no longer red - they almost look clear, so that has me a bit worried. When he come out of his tree today, the molly and algae eater nipped at him a couple of times and his reactions were okay but his movement was still hampered a bit. They eventually scared him back into his tree. Hope he takes it easy and gets better soon!

 

[creeker]

Now that you know the importance of weekly water changes, keep it up. This post is a good reminder for all of us to not get complacent.

 

[ShinySideUp]

His swimming seems to have more direction today. The slight redness on one side is gone, but the white patch remains on the other. His front fins are no longer red - they almost look clear, so that has me a bit worried. When he come out of his tree today, the molly and algae eater nipped at him a couple of times and his reactions were okay but his movement was still hampered a bit. They eventually scared him back into his tree. Hope he takes it easy and gets better soon!

It is possible that the white patch is a fungal infection as it is similar in appearance what I had on my BN catfish. He was treated and recovered fine. Hopefully it is not and will clear up soon though.

 

[Raydawn]

I'm still not sure how he's doing. We've seen a lot of changes in the last few days. Sometimes he seems to be swimming fine for short periods of time, but most of the time he just swims in place in different corners at the top of the tank. Sometimes he's horizontal, but other times he's sideways or nearly upside down. His tail sometimes looks crooked, but other times when he's swimming it seems fine. One morning he was very pale, but lately his black color has been returning. His white patch is still there, but sometimes it looks worse than others.

A few minutes ago we thought he was dead He was up at the surface behind the spray-bar, sideways and barely moving. I turned the lights off and he swam around. He returned to the spray bar, but now he's swimming upright and in place.

Just very strange.

Whatever his problem is he seems weak. I don't know if I should treat for something or just let nature run its course. I've been doing about a 25% water change every other day. Water parameters are fine.

 

[Raydawn]

I posted a video of my shark on YouTube.

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGw73E_quP0&context=C393ffbeADOEgsToPDskIi2uCOuuEp4zmHoqapHhza

You can see his spot on the left side and that his tail looks crooked. I don't know why he would want to be directly in the path of the spray bar, but that's his latest hangout. He seems to just choose a spot for a day and then move. I hope he's getting better. Please let me know if you think I should treat for anything.