Harlequin rasbora appear to be dying. Baffled...

cab395

cab395

AC Members
Aug 28, 2011
129
0
0
Hi everyone, something's going on with my Harleys. I only had 4 in there, now I'm down to three, and I think this number may continue decreasing.

Yesterday I found one dead on bottom, and today I see one hanging near the top swimming weakly, with a slightly torn tail fin, and the other two, though eating, also appear to be unwell and weak. They are in a 30 gallon with two German Blue Rams, and 6 Marble Hatchetfish. Everyone else seems to be doing perfectly fine.

Water parameters are:

pH: 6.4-6.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 30-40 ppm (doing daily water changes to correct this, also have live plants arriving later this week to hopefully help out).

What is going on here? Maybe the rams are picking on them? I'm confused...

As I look at the tank now, at least two of them are swimming around erratically while the third is swimming weakly.
 
I had also noticed about 4 days ago that they were not eating as veraciously as one would assume.
 
How long have you had them? I'm assuming they are from the same source?

The rams MAY be picking on them, but harlies are pretty quick and hardy enough that I wouldn't think that would be the main issue. Also consider conspecific aggression...personally, I wouldn't do less than 6 of them so that any hierarchical issues between them can be evenly spread out.
 
jpappy789 said:
How long have you had them? I'm assuming they are from the same source?

The rams MAY be picking on them, but harlies are pretty quick and hardy enough that I wouldn't think that would be the main issue. Also consider conspecific aggression...personally, I wouldn't do less than 6 of them so that any hierarchical issues between them can be evenly spread out.
Click to expand...

+1. Half dozen is a good rule of thumb as a minimum for schooling fish.
 
Yes, I know the half dozen rule, and that may have been it. My plan was to get 7 more to have a school of ten. They are from the same source as well, do you think they may have a disease or something? It's just very strange that they are the only ones afflicted right now. All of the fish in the tank are from the same LFS, actually, but yes, the Harleys all came together, except for one that was already in there, but he doesn't look too good either.
 
You can never rule out weak stock, even if there is no diagnosable disease. Personally, I would try from a different source so long as it is still reputable and see if you have better luck. Also, it can help to wait until after they get shipments in...oftentimes if you purchase right after they arrive you can get some of the ones who just barely made it through the shipping and acclimation process.
 
jpappy789 said:
You can never rule out weak stock, even if there is no diagnosable disease. Personally, I would try from a different source so long as it is still reputable and see if you have better luck. Also, it can help to wait until after they get shipments in...oftentimes if you purchase right after they arrive you can get some of the ones who just barely made it through the shipping and acclimation process.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good idea. The three I purchased were the last three harleys he had, which is why I didn't get more. I just turned on the lights and found another little guy dead stuck to the filter. On a side note it was neat seeing the GBR sleeping in the little pits they made. I'm wondering what's going on here. The only problem with purchasing them from somewhere else is that there really is nowhere else to purchase from, maybe I'll have to take a roadtrip?
 
AHH!! I'm so excited! Just found a very LEGIT looking LFS that's only 30 mins away, and only 5 mins past the one I usually go to! Can't believe I didn't know about this place! Going first thing tomorrow!
 
Good luck tomorrow!
 
Thank you!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom