Help with my FAVORITE Fish Death Diagnosis

S

silentconquest

AC Members
Dec 2, 2004
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Hello Everyone,

Ok, so I had a rainbow trout who got sick VERY suddenly and died today.

Specs:
55 gal tank
0 mg/l nitrates and nitrites
2 bala sharks (3 in each)
1 other cyprinid (4 in.)
1 rainbow trout (now dead)

When I went to feed today, trout was swimming highly erratic, mainly upside down. He died within 20 minutes. I dissected him (which sucked since he was my favorite) and had no lesions or things identifiable by the naked eye.

The balas were added about 1 week ago and I think they infected the tank, but noone else is sick (or at least doesnt appear sick). Any ideas on what I should do. My plan is to monitor the tank and fish behavior for a few days and see if they are doing anything.

One thing that i do notice is some very small white dots on teh fish, but not in typical parasite locations (base of fins, gills, etc). HOwever, these may be bubbles form the large aerator I needed for the rainbow, who is now dead DOH DOH DOH DOH.

ANy help is appreciated.
 
I don't think that a rainbow trout is very well suited for an aquarium, not even a huge one. These trout would have to be kept in a pond at the very least. Trout are large and actually pretty delicate.
The spots on your fish sound like ich. If so salt is a good cure. Mix a proper salt water ratio in a small bucket and put any affected fish in for a couple of minutes (not much more than 2)
 
He was small

The trout was only about 4 inches (just a baby) so he fit well in to the tank. I wouldn't keep a big one in a tank because they wouldn't have enough room. I had him for well over 6 monthes in the tank and he was doing well. The white spots are very small (ie., half a mm or 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch)
 
Temp

Temperature was around 20 C (68 F) and the tank is very well aerated. I think that it is ick. Thing that makes me mad is i just noticed it now and never had a chance to cure it. Next time i get fish i am going to use hospital tank, treat them, and then add them to the tank. Maybe this is a better idea.
 
silentconquest said:
Temperature was around 20 C (68 F) and the tank is very well aerated. I think that it is ick. Thing that makes me mad is i just noticed it now and never had a chance to cure it. Next time i get fish i am going to use hospital tank, treat them, and then add them to the tank. Maybe this is a better idea.
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Quarantine tanks are always a better idea. Simply taking the time to give the fish a month long of good study will help you in so many ways down the road, to say nothing of how it protects your current stock. Q-tanks are cheap and easy to set up, and don't even have to be out all the time. It's been said by wiser folk than I that the only substitute for a Q-tank is luck. Personally, I don't hold much stock in luck, so I'll go with safe rather than lucky.
 
trout need massive water circulation, like 25 times per hour really clean water. and a massive amount of space to swim.
 
No, no they don't. 8 times per hour is fine in most circumstances, and as far as massive space goes, trout have been raised in glass jars packed so densely that they cannot turn around or swim, as long as sufficient water flow was maintained for respiration.

:OT:
This is not directed at anyone inparticular:
I always get a chuckle when people insist on massive habitats for some North American pond fish, while keeping species from the Amazon River in a 10 gallon tank. Do we simply ignore the magnitude of the natural habitats of imported and exotic fishes simply because we are so far removed from their areas of origin? Many come from bodies of water far, far larger than any inhabited by our "native species".
 
That's such a great point about the habitats Raskol.. I guess as hobbyists we have very skewed ideas about space requirements because its so hard not to pack a tank full of fish. We get collertor-itus and start keeping zoos.

I think our ideas about required space for fish comes from a major compromise between us and the fish. What we can possibly provide (money usually being the defining limit of tank size) and what the fish will adapt, as coming from anecdoctal evidence from hobbyists who have kept the fish before us.

I love your idea though that we think amazonian or other riverine fish dont need much space possibly becuase we dont really see them in the wild. :cool:

>Sarah
 
I for one do not abuse the tropicals or the natives on space, clean water, or oxygenation needs. But on most boards I am most often considered extreme because of my space/volume suggestions.
 
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