Disease epidemic, advice needed

Blinky

Blinky

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Jun 22, 2004
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Hi guys, I really need some advice. I posted a couple days ago about my angel being sick, now others in the tank are showing similar symptoms. I've looked this up in all my books as well as on the internet, and can't find anything concrete.

Symptoms:
Laboured breathing
Bloating (not severe, and no scales sticking out)
Refusing food
Listless
Not reacting to things (I can pick them up with my hand)

They're in full colour, not really hiding, just hanging still. The neons/cardinals are in a group - they usually swim around independently. Other than their listless behaviour and some of them being bloated, they actually look very healthy (my husband said last night he has no idea how I even know they're sick, they look the same as always to him).

It seems to have come on suddenly, so I suspect it's bacterial. The Handbook of Fish Diseases mentions these symptoms being associated with an internal bacterial infection of an organ (liver, spleen etc.) but there's not really a specific treatment method recommended. They say if all fish are lost, sanitize the tank and destroy all plants - basically it sounds like this thing is going to wipe out the population and I'll need to start again.

Nothing in the tank has changed recently and the water parameters are the same as usual - NH3/NO2 0, NO3 ~5, PO4 0.5, Fe 0.25, CO2 ~25 - 30ppm, pH 6.6.

I'm debating euthanasia for all the inhabitants - my angel was the first to show symptoms and is the worst of them (lying at the top on his side right now), but it looks like they're all displaying symptoms this morning. I don't want to see them all suffer, I have no idea what to do. Any advice is appreciated.
 
OMg! Blinky. I'm so sorry. I do recall your problem with the little neon. Could this be related? I wish I could be of any help.. I would euthanize the poor angel, he sounds critical. I'd keep an eye on the others. All the best.
 
My husband is going out to the drugstore to get clove oil so we can euthanize our angel. I'm devastated - I love this fish :(

I'm not sure if this could be related to the neon or not. That one really seemed like an intestinal blockage - it took quite a while for her to get really sick. She became progressively more bloated over time, all the while behaving normally. She was eating and hanging out with the other fish until the day she died, whereas whatever is going on now came on suddenly and has caused them all to become listless and refuse food.
 
Have you introduced anything new? I'm pulling at straws here. I don't have a clue... It sounds like a viral infection, as in humans, or a toxin. But, I'm sure your levels are safe so...... I'm at a loss for anything else to say. Afterwards...go do something nice for yourself ok?
 
Blinky, I remember a while back that you mentioned that you cannot vacuum the substrate deeply due to the number of plants in the tank. I wonder if removing the plants (keep them aside in a bucket near a window.. I did this and while the plants suffered a bit, it kept them out of the tank while it was being treated), doing a deep vac and treating with salt and for a bacterial infection would stop the epidemic. Granted, this is not what you'd call small changes over time, but I don't think there is the time for it. I'd keep the light off too, and raise the temp. Removing the plants is going to cause some stress to the fish, as is a deep vac.

Alternative: Is there a way you can take out some of the tank water and put the fish in a smaller isolation tank? That way, you can clean the main tank and treat the isolation tank without causing the fish unnecesary stress.
 
Thanks for the support SF, I really appreciate it.

Nothing's changed recently - fish, plants, chemistry, all the same. Water changes have been on schedule, no new foods, absolutely no chemicals near the tank (we don't spray any aerosols or cleaners in the house unless we're in another room behind a closed door). No one here smokes, the CO2 hasn't gone up...
I've wracked my brains, there's nothing I can find that could have set this off. I haven't been successful in finding either cause or cure, it's really sad to see them suffer and I feel completely helpless.

[edit] Pl*co, you're right, I don't do deep vacs. I do vaccum weekly when I take the stem plants out to replant top cuttings, and there are some bare areas of substrate at the front right now that get vaccumed as well, but most of the tank I just stir up the surface and skim the dirt off with the gravel vac.
I can remove the plants to a Rubbermaid container to treat the fish (there are too many to move into my only spare tank which is a 10g) but it's honestly starting to look like a lost cause. The tank looks empty right now because the fish are all on the bottom or at the top lying still - it's as if they're sleeping.
 
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Do you think it would hurt to treat the tank w/ salt and melafix and give it 48 hours? (although the angel does sound like it needs to be euthanized) SORRY!
I'm so sorry about this! - I'd be crushed too!
 
It's worth a try I guess, though I'm not sure anything will help. MelaFix and salt shouldn't kill the plants, so I'll leave them alone to stress the fish as little as possible.
I'll vaccum as much as I can, do a water change, add salt and MelaFix now, and see how they fare - thanks for the suggestion.
 
HI again. Can you get the fish out so you can vac without stressing them i.e into the 10 gallon?
 
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Oh, Blinky, I feel for you. I suppose you are hard at work at this very moment trying to save those fish. I wish I knew what to say to help. I suppose the metro never got eaten by anyone either?
 
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