Sick fish! Please help

[SKAPSYCHO]

Hello.
I have a sick cherry barb in my 5 gallon dorm tank. It hasn't been easting for a few days, seems bloated, and was just sitting on the gravel in an upright position last night. I just saw it now more and swim around, but it is breathing more heavily than the other fish. There is no fecal matter that I can see... Water parrameters: pH 7.1, ammonia = 0, nitrites = 0, nitrates = 7 ppm ( I run CO2).
Any ideas?
Thanks,
~MattJay

 

[OrionGirl]

Any thing new in the tank? Change of food? Do you feed a variety of foods? It's a 5--how often do you do water changes, and how many fish are in there?

Could be something minor--could be a female laden with eggs. If so, it's likely they'll be reabsorbed and her activity level will perk back up. Many females have reduced appetite when they're with egg--it helps reduce the odds of Mom snacking on her young.

I'd watch closely, and see if she gets worse. Sounds like your tank is in good order, and planted, so it could be a little blip and the fish will bounce back.

 

[josh]

two dead, two alive

Hey-

I 've been treating my cherry barbs this week for gill flukes. The funny thing is that none of the other fish seemed to get it... Imagine that!

here were the symptoms:

heavy breathing, inactivity most of the time, some of the time really jerky motions swimming around erratically, flashing on things trying to rub gill plates, not eating...

with a little aquari-sol the problem is seeming to clear up. I didn't figure out what it was untill two were dead though, unfortunately... I tried using maricide, becuase i thought it was ich at first (which they also had) but it got rid of the ich, not the behaviors. Then Using aquari-sol, which is soluable copper, the problem seems to be going away.

I hope you don't have the same problem, but i the info helps if you do have the problem!

-Josh