Zebra Danio - Drooping Tail

[squishty.wibble]

Hi everyone, I'm very new to this forum, and to keep fish (about 7 months experience). I'm not sure if this counts as an 'emergency' so apologise if I've posted it in the wrong place.

I've got a Scenic 80 tank (http/www.miaudogs.com/loja/cayman-scenic-black-pi-262289.html?image=0) which has a number of small community fish in it. I've got 2 zebra danios, 1 spotted danio, 1 bronze corydora, 5 neon tetras, 3 blue rainbow, 2 clown loach, 1 guppy and an ursery net containing 7 baby guppies (about 8 weeks old) and 10 shrimp. We suffered some unrelated losses about 2 months ago which explains the unusual numbers (i.e. danios prefer groups larger than 3) and havent restocked due to the baby guppies. All water levels are showing as normal.

Anyway, the reason for this post is that I noticed about 10 days ago that one of my zebra danios was dropping a lot at the tail and wasnt swimming normally. It looks a bit bloated, but could be bearing eggs. There are no spots/marks on the skin, and in fact the fish looks very healthy aside from that. It is eating normally and is quite agile when chased etc. I separated the danio into a separate small quarantine tank for a while and gave it a small dose of aquarium salt and a swimbladder treatment (I had to try something) as per the instructions for the tank size of 1 pipette per day for 4 days and then leaving alone for 4 days - I did this through one 8-day cycle.

It hasnt really made any difference, and given the time frame and the lack of skin problems I've assumed that the fish is ok to go back in the main tank. In my experience fish go from ill to dead very quickly, and this one hasnt.

Can anyone advise me on whether I've done the right thing, or whether I'm missing something?

Thanks for your time, sorry to write so much!!
Andrew G.

 

[Spooky76]

Hey - I wouldnt add salt to be honest. I dont think its swim bladder either by the sounds of it. 2 of my danios are bent slightly also, and im none the wiser how its happend. I think TB can cause bending of the spine, but ive never had that.

If its eating normally and swimming around, I wouldnt concern yourself too much. Maybe Wilder has a better suggestion..;.sorry cant be of more help

 

[squishty.wibble]

Thanks for the reply. I added the salt as most of the medications say a little aquarium salt aids the healing - not sure how true this is, but as I already had the salt I figured a smal dosage wouldnt hurt (expect I barely raised the PPT).

I didnt think it sounded like swimbladder, but didnt know what else it could be. The fish appears to be eating normally, swimming normally-ish and is still alive 10 days after I noticed hte problem. Swim bladder problems tend to cause the fish to sink/float and/or bob from side to side or swim in circles doesnt it? I've not noticed that behaviour, so used the treatment as a preventative/desperate measure.

I'm not sure if theres anything else I could or should do - any advice is gratefully received. I'm new to this lark, but think I'm picking it up quite quickly through sheer enthusiasm.

Thanks for your reply,
Andrew G.

PS Was I ok to post it under 'emergency'?

 

[WILDER]

How many gallons is the tank.
Sounds like swim bladder to me if the fish is slightly bloated and the tails looks like it weighing him down in the water.
Have you try some frozen peas.
Cook peas for a few minutes, let cool down, pop out of shell, mush between fingers, add to the tank.

Read an article on zebra danio that the spine can bend due to old age.

 

[squishty.wibble]

Thanks for your reply Wilder. The tank is 150 litres which equates to roughly 33 UK gallons or 40 US gallons.

The Danio does not seem to have any problem maintaining balance, but the tail droops and it seems to sink slightly quicker than expected.

I tried some frozen peas earlier today for the first time which the Danio seemed particularly interested in - I'm hoping it may just be constipation through over-feeding. Is this likely? I didnt cook the peas at all (not fed them peas before) I took some tank water and left the peas in that to defrost (I assume they dont have to be fresh peas), then I shelled them and broke them up between my fingers, then poured the tank water with the broken up peas into the tank.

Could you point me in the direction of that article about the spine bending please? I bought the Danios about 6 months ago but I dont know what the lifespan is for fish.

Thanks again for your help,
Andrew G.

How many gallons is the tank.
Sounds like swim bladder to me if the fish is slightly bloated and the tails looks like it weighing him down in the water.
Have you try some frozen peas.
Cook peas for a few minutes, let cool down, pop out of shell, mush between fingers, add to the tank.

Read an article on zebra danio that the spine can bend due to old age.

 

[WILDER]

Do a search zebra danio are quite know for fish tb but its very hard to say fish tb without test.
Bent spines can mean old age, fish tb to internal parasites, fish can be born with bent spines like livebearers.

Swim bladder - fish can look like the tail weighing them down in the water.
Dropsy the fish tail can bend, also sometimes have a red inflamed swollen anus.

If the tail is bent dosn't mean fish tb its the bloating that causes it.

<a href="http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html" target="_blank">http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html</a>

<a href="http/www.aquarticles.com/articles/breedi...bra_Danios.html" target="_blank">http/www.aquarticles.com/articles/breedi...bra_Danios.html</a>




Taken from the link above.
When a zebra danio is nearing the end of its typically two year lifespan, there will be a moderate to severe curvature of the spine. This is occasionally confused with fish tuberculosis, a disease that can be passed on to humans. If your fish are young and exhibit this particular trait, then you should take the highest precaution in diagnosing the cause.


I wouldn't panic about what he has said that it can pass on to humans, you need to be exposed to tb a very long time, if you have cuts and wounds wear gloves.
Tb the immune system has to be weak.

 

[BrittanyA]

I've had my danio for roughly three weeks and noticed a drooping tail also. Strange.

 

[Colin_T]

This thread is from 2008.

Your Danio is skinny and probably has intestinal worms and gill flukes.

You can use Praziquantel to treat tapeworm and gill flukes. And Levamisole to treat thread/ round worms.

Remove carbon from filters before treatment and increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.

You treat the fish once a week for 3-4 weeks. The first treatment will kill any worms in the fish. The second and third treatments kill any baby worms that hatch from eggs inside the fish's digestive tract.

You do a 75% water change and complete gravel clean 24-48 hours after treatment.

Treat every fish tank in the house at the same time.

Do not use the 2 medications together. If you want to treat both medications in a short space of time, use Praziquantel on day one. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate on day 2 & 3. Treat the tank with Levamisole on day 4 and do a 75% water change and gravel clean on day 5, 6 & 7 and then start with Praziquantel again on day 8.

 

[BrittanyA]

He is a lot skinnier than the rest. Do you think the others are all affected. Maybe I should take this one back to the place I got him and let them deal with that? Or is it too late and everyone needs to be treated?

 

[BrittanyA]

Also, I realize the thread is old, but it's still relevant to my issue. Should I not comment on old threads?

 

[Colin_T]

You can comment on old threads but it's easier to start a new thread when dealing with your own issue or the thread is really old.

If the fish is in your tank, then any diseases it has are also in your tank.

If you take the fish back to the pet shop they will probably euthanize it. If you only got the fish recently (last couple of days), you could return it and ask for a replacement. But if you have had it for more than a week, I would just keep it and treat all your fish for worms and gill flukes.