Under Weather Barbs

[Death Penguin]

Yo guys,

Hope there is fish god out there...I have had alook around on the searches for my particular problem, but nothing seems to fit with my situation.

The basic's of it is that two of my green Tiger barbs have been off colour for week or so now. By off colour in mean, they just sit near the bottom of the tank and hover, only moving to let other fish past. I cannot see any sign of illness on their scales, fins, mouth or gills, they look quite healthy apart from not eating/moving. Then i noticed my other barbs swimming oddly for a second and then rubbing against rocks/plants. They to look fine, no obvious signs of illness? Just the odd bit of rubbing.

At first i thought it might be ich, but i cannot see any discolouration. Then i ran through just about everyother disease there was in the book. It cannot be all of them???

The two that are causing me the most alarm, possibly have clamped (Anal?)fins, they seem to hold them in, unlike the rest of the barbs. And i'm not sure if the gills are sticking slightly when beathing???

As for the water parameters, they are about as good as they get for hard water, zeroish ammonia, zeroish nitrates, zeroish nitrites, pH 8.2, water temp 24DEG C. The tank has been setup for 3 months or so. I have had no new arrivals for some time (a good three weeks now), so i don't even know how a pest could get in there?

Any ideas on actions/treatments most appreciated.


later dudes

 

[platypus]

Hi,

Have you done a water change recently? If you haven't done one since you noticed the problem, try doing an immediate 25% change and seeing if that perks them up - that would imply that it's a problem with the water conditions rather than a disease in the tank. Do you happen to know the exact levels of ammonia and nitrite?

Also rubbing/scratching can often be a sign of ich in its early stages - so keep your eyes peeled for any signs of those white spots so you can treat asap in case it does appear!

 

[Death Penguin]

When i did them last night they all at zero. Or thats what the results from the test kit show. near perfect in terms of levels.

Its a 4'x12"x18" around 35 gallonish give or take. so i think it should be well under stocked at the minute.

I haven't done a water change for while. Probably a good idea, as test kits won't show other contaminants (hormones and other stuff). Worth a try. The reason i havent done one for a while is because the tank is not quite full and i have been adding new water but not taking any out. I can now see how the other contaminents could build up.

Well thats one job for tonight. Cheers

 

[Death Penguin]

Well did the water change the other day. I thought i might see an almost instant improvement in the Barbs behavour. They are slightly more social now, but still not fully interacting with group.

The other barbs i nthe tank are still rubbing the plant pot. Will it take a few days possibly weeks to recover fully?

 

[gadazobe]

If there is still no sign of ich (white spots) then it might be gill flukes which is a parasite.

 

[Death Penguin]

Do gill flukes make a fish standup vertical (looking down). i have one barb which will swim round without a care in world, then it stops and stands still vertically look at the floor. Then swims off after couple of minutes?

Are there any visable signs of gill fluke. I have just read today that they can be transferred by snails. and it just so happens i have been feeding/sacrificing snails over the last couple for my loaches. But usually the barbs find them first.

I have noticed a slight fading of colour, and from some angles i'm sure the under side appears green (although its on a green Barb). The other two barbs were very shy (although that has not always been the case) but seem to becoming a little more social now

I'm really starting to get worried now. I was hoping they would sort themselves out.

 

[Alien Anna]

Head-standing is a worrying sign in many fish but in barbs it can be normal - my cherrys do it all the time. Used to really freak me out.

The rubbing and flicking you've observed does sound like parasites but all you can really do is wait and see. If you haven't got loaches, corys or plecos in the tank you could try adding a little salt and raising the temperature a little.

 

[Death Penguin]

Unfortunatly AA, I have two ickle Clownies. I will just have to keep monitoring the greenies behaviour.

Funny you should mention raising the tank temp. When i was tinkering last night, i thought the tank temp was a bit low (i need to get a better thermometer), so i tweaked it up a bit, and a few hours later they all seemed a little happier?

But fish a fickle things. So today who knows???

 

[Teresa]

Strangely enough my tiger barbs are showing exactly the same behaviour, in fact one of them is so off colour that I am contemplating moving him to a hospital tank but I am frightened of how stressed he might be on his own Should I move all 5 to the hospital tank?

Any advice gratefully received.

 

[Kossy]

You said the fins were clamped and there rubbing on rocks and no sign of ich right...it certainly sounds like gill flukes (see my sig for diseases)

 

[Death Penguin]

Last night when i was observing them for a bit. The illest greenie would stand on his head and sort of shiver, whilst another of my other small greenies then would come up to the other and kiss. Weird??? then it looks like they were nudging each other. Very strange it wasnt aggressive at all, almost caring .

I have read your sig before when i was trying to self diagnose the problem, no luck then either. I cannot see any sign of any white spot or any other external colouring, they have gone pale if anything. Not sure if the fins were clamped or not, it only affected the two fins near its ass (sorry don't know technical term). All other fins were unaffected. are all fins affected normally???