Dying Tiger Barbs

[plmnwater]

I posted last wednesday http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39147
about my barbs who were hiding, and starting to look sick. Now I have lost two of them. I still can't figure out what's wrong with them. The water still seems to be fine (at least what I can test for) but they are all completely stressed, hiding, and nothing I've done seems to be making a difference. Thanks for any help anyone might have.

[NowherMan6]

hey, sorry about your tigers.

have you gotten a chance to take a look at the fish's droppings? if they're clear or white, they could have some sort of parasite that's weakening them.

[plmnwater]

Same color as usual, kind of a brownish/red.

[plmnwater]

I now have only three barbs left. One by one they've stopped eating, and shortly after they will either sit on the bottom of the tank, or just let the current carry them, whether it be sideways, upside down, all the way around. Because of his light coloration, I could see that the albino that died had very red gills. Otherwise I haven't really seen any overt symptoms that tell me what the problem could be. Does anyone have any ideas? I'd rather not lose the last three, and I'm hesitant to try again if I never find out what the problem was. Thanks for your help.

[Blinky]

The water still seems to be fine (at least what I can test for)

I didn't see NH3, NO2 or NO3 levels posted here or in the other thread - can you post them, along with your maintenance routine? I'm wondering if it's something related to the nitrogen cycle, and not a disease.
IMO the only acceptable levels of NH3 and NO2 are 0, but many test kits list low levels as 'within acceptable range', which leads the hobbyist to believe everything is fine when in fact they need to get those levels down before they increase and the fish are poisoned.

[snakeskinner]

also, did you ever add melafix? I had a similar problem and was able to nurse one of my barbs back to health with melafix. never sure of a problem but same symptoms.

[plmnwater]

From the other thread:

"Ammonia and Nitrite are both staying steady at zero. Nitrate is well within acceptable range, and I change the water before it gets to be a problem."

The Melafix hasn't seemed to have helped, but I'm still treating just in case it starts to.

I change the water every 1.5-2 weeks.

[Blinky]

Ah, sorry about that - I scanned through quickly looking for numbers.
One thing that I've done in the past with recently purchased sick fish is phone the store where I bought them - chances are the store's fish may also be sick and the staff may know what the illness is and how to treat it.
I bought a pair of honey gouramis once that exhibited symptoms much like your barbs - nothing specific, they just stopped eating, grew listless, and died. I'd only had them a few days, and when I called the store they had lost almost the entire tank - they blamed it on 'shipping sickness' and said sometimes the stress of being shipped is just too much for them.

[plmnwater]

I am now down to one Tiger. He hasn't eaten in a day or so now either. The only possible thing I can think of is light grid that I used on the bottom to support the rocks. Has anyone had a problem with such a thing? I have found it suggested many places.