Tiger Barbs Dying

[Joshwainwright]

So maybe the spike wasn't the main problem?

 

[This Old Spouse]

Well, if it wasn't then I'm really lost. I'm confused about the excessive bloating in two of them, and the sunken chins on two others. 

 

[Lunar Jetman]

I don't know if it's worth noting that all affected fish were not true tigers; the last batch I got were some kind of hybrid, the ones with extra black between their stripes. Interesting.

 
Do they have any greenish tinges to them? Could be a Green Tiger Barb? The ones I had were quite green when I first had them but are fairly black now.
 

 

[This Old Spouse]

No, these are still mostly tiger barbs, but have some extra black on them. I read somewhere that they're hybrids.
 
Here's the behavior ...
 

 
Here's the difference in the two batches. Red circles are the pure tigers, blue are the crosses, and yellow is the photo bomb.
 

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Lets start with this- at a pH of 7.0, for there to be enough toxic NH3 form ammonia in the tank, your reading would have had to be in the 4ppm or above range. For 4 ppm of mostly NH4 to cause real harm would take a bit of time. If you did have that much ammonia in a tank, it should be affecting everything, not just a few of the barbs.
 
Moreover, ammonia spikes are followed by nitrite spikes, so watch for that.
 
Salt wont help with ammonia, it will help with nitrite.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Thank you. All that was confusing me as well. 
 
It's as if those 4 tigers ate something that turned out to be poisonous. Can't imagine what that could be. 
 
 
I'd like to thank everyone for their help. Just keep your fingers crossed ... I'm hoping the rest will be better in the morning.

 

[TallTree01]

Can I please uncross my fingers? It's getting hard to type.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Not yet! They're not out of the woods! 

 

[Joshwainwright]

Keep us updated! 

 

[This Old Spouse]

Just euthanized another one, the smallest. Still struggling for breath but otherwise unresponsive. Have another upside down at the top behind the filter flow. None look particularly bloated this morning, but they haven't really been fed for a couple of days. I did give them some dried bloodworm last night, just a tiny pinch. It all hinges now on the last one at the top. Tough couple of days.

 

[JenJ]

Just euthanized another one, the smallest. Still struggling for breath but otherwise unresponsive. Have another upside down at the top behind the filter flow. None look particularly bloated this morning, but they haven't really been fed for a couple of days. I did give them some dried bloodworm last night, just a tiny pinch. It all hinges now on the last one at the top. Tough couple of days.

Sorry to read this

 

[Joshwainwright]

Horrid news

 

[frapadoodle]

Is it still just the hybrids?

 

[This Old Spouse]

Yes. There's only one affected one left. Still trying to swim around upright but not doing very well at it. There's also the one with the "sunken chin" that is the smallest of all of them. Still don't know what that's about. I've been trying to get a photo but they're so quic it's really difficult.

 

[frapadoodle]

Curiouser and curioser, said Alice.
Must be something affecting what they were hybridized with if the true tigers are fine. Well I am hoping they stay fine.