New tiger barbs dying, anything i can do?

jac8724

jac8724

AC Members
Dec 1, 2006
218
0
16
Chicago
I bought 5 tiny tiger barbs from the lfs a few days ago. 2 are albino.

Within 12 hours one was dead. Ill just chalk that up to the fact they were babies and i guess not everyone can handle a home switch. Now, its 3 days later, and another one is dying.

My tank started off with perfect specs- 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 40 nitrate, 7.6 ph. All the tests ran likewise for the next 2 days. Today, when i noticed another one dying, i checked again and had 0.25 ammonia, 0.25 nitrite, and the rest the same.

I have them in a little 2.5 gallon quarintine tank before moving them into the 55. So i began removing water from the quarintine tank, and adding water that came from the 55 gal (all specs fine there). Then i thought, well maybe i should be replacing it with fresh water? so then i did a 30% change with that. The fish who is dying has boyancy problems and a clamped left fin. Is there anything i can do? Im thinking of maybe going out and getting some bottled water since my home ph is alittle high like 7.7. Im also gonna test the nitrites every few hours and do partial water changes.

Is fish loss just a fact of life? Am i doing something wrong? missing something here? Ive NEVER had luck keeping new fish alive. seriously, they have a one-in-three chance of survival with me in the first two weeks, but im really trying here:help:
leave any suggestions you can think of!!!! thanks!
 
jac8724 said:
hen i thought, well maybe i should be replacing it with fresh water? so then i did a 30% change with that.
Click to expand...

This may be a stupid question. But gotta cover the basics.

When you added the fresh water did you condition it?
 
ive been using the instant de-chlor. it is kinda old, maybe 3 years since the purchase. theres some crusty white stuff floating in it too, i wonder if its expired. doesnt say on the bottle...
 
jac8724 said:
ive been using the instant de-chlor. it is kinda old, maybe 3 years since the purchase. theres some crusty white stuff floating in it too, i wonder if its expired. doesnt say on the bottle...
Click to expand...

Do your self a favor. Pick up a bottle of prime. A little goes a LONG way.
 
yea i need to replace the old dechlor anyways, and i found some stress coat so i added that too.

now im noticing 1, maybe 2 white dots on the sick fish. nothing on the other 3fish. along with the clamped fin. would it be safe to call this an ick crisis? can ick even show signs in only 3 days of having fish? should i treat for it now and maybe my fish will live thru the night?
 
The best cure for ick that has worked for me is a combination of two things. Quick Fix medicine is awesome! But will stain the silicone on the inside of your tank for many months (it does eventually seem to clear out). The other thing is temperature. Seriously make sure your quarantine tank is at 85 degrees for a couple of days. That might seem high, but your fish will be able to tolerate it as long as it isn't forever. Some people also have said salt baths also work. I have only added the recommended dosage on the aquarium salt box, however, never more as I am skeptical of that. And of course, water changes.

The most important thing, however, is heat. Ick cannot tolerate heat. Do you have a heater in your quaratine? If not, it would definately help. And I agree with whoever said 2.5g quarantine for that many barbs seems way too small. But I have seen ick clear out in a day just from heat and quick fix. But heat is the best way to ensure the ick never returns, as it does hibernate in your tank. There's a good article somewhere on this site detailing this. Try a search...I think I even remember it mentioning to make sure the ick never returns you must keep the temperatures at 85 degrees for two weeks. It might have even been a little higher.

And yes, ick can show signs in one hour of having fish...especially in cold water.

Heat heat heat...it worked for me and I have never seen ick again in any of my friends' tanks who had ick problems.

Still, I think clamped fins might be another concern.

And just to be on the safe side, you should definately take some substrate from your 55 tank and throw it in the quarantine. This might solve your cycling issues there since it's such a small quaratine.
 
Thanks for all the tips!

i dont have Quick Fix, but i do have Rid Ich. its a combination of formaldehyde, chloride, and malachite green. is it similar? have people had success with this? its worked iffy for me. i can get to a LFS tomorrow, but i just dont know if this little fish will make it thru the night.

and no, i do not have a heater in this tank. since it is only 2.5 gallons, the bulb at the top keeps it 76 deg. but then once i put fish in, i was like, hm, what am i gonna do at night. so ive just been turning it off for 3 or so hours at night. I will get a heater for sure, since im infamous for getting ich with new fish, so i should have one for the quarantine tank.

and you say ich hibernates??? ive never read that. hm maybe thats why i always get it reoccurring with new fish. should i turn my regular tank (the 55 hex) with no 'current' ich problem up to 85 for a few days to kill it for good?

and i realize the 2.5 gallon is small. i was only planning on getting one or two fish at a time, since its a quarantine. But when I went to the lfs, I really wanted a small group of school-ers and the barbs were so tiny I went for it, thinking it would be fine.

the sick barb is now looking really bad, so im gonna wrap a heat blanket around it till its a constant 85 deg. and see what happens. wish me the best!
 
UPDATE

new little tiger barb just died. never saw the exact moment a fish died before. pretty sad. what do you guys do when you know a fish IS going to die (ie floating upside down yet still semi breathing)? let nature take its course? i feel horrible. i have a heat blanket around the tank so if it actually IS ich, ill have it to 85 so no other fish get sick/die. i dunno, feeling pretty crappy right now, gonna go to bed. thanks for all the help.
 
jac8724 said:
new little tiger barb just died. never saw the exact moment a fish died before. pretty sad. what do you guys do when you know a fish IS going to die (ie floating upside down yet still semi breathing)? let nature take its course? i feel horrible. i have a heat blanket around the tank so if it actually IS ich, ill have it to 85 so no other fish get sick/die. i dunno, feeling pretty crappy right now, gonna go to bed. thanks for all the help.
Click to expand...

raising the temp should be done fairly slow.

heat blanket??? are you using a heater made for aquariums?

does this heater go to 85-86? if raising temp add air as warm water hold less O2.

rid ick works ...that and raising the temp should do the trick. tho with rid ick it may not be needed.
please read up on rid ick..it works but the chemicals used can be toxic .

here's one link to help you with this.

http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/treatments/malachite.htm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom