Big Ed

I have 2, 7" Tinfoil Barbs that are very sick. It started with one and has spread to the other. It seems that their faces are rotting away. I am not sure how to treat them at this point. Do they have a chance? They are not eating.

My tank also has 9 Red Eyed Tetras, and 1 bala shark. They are doing fine.

Any Advice would be appreciated!

Isabella

How exactly do their faces look like? Did you notice anything else anywhere on their bodies, such as gray films or some cottony growths, etc ... ? The disease seems very contagious. Do you have a separate tank where you could quarantine the sick fish (in order to prevent the spread of the disease to the rest of the fish in your tank)?

Read the "freshwater fish diseases" section on Fish Lore and see if any symptoms match those described there so that we could determine exactly what disease your fish have and to see what the best treatment is.

At this point, if you're uncertain what disease it is, the best thing to do is to perform a larger water change (30-50%). Water changes are always a good idea when fish are sick. Another natural treatment is aquarium salt. There are varying opinions on how to use aquarium salt. However adding 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water is safe. Another way to use salt as treatment is this: http://www.fishlore.com/Forum/index.php?topic=1111.0

Mike

hmm, sounds kinda like "hole in the head" or head and lateral line disease. This is usually brought on by poor water quality and a poor diet and is even thought to be attributed to using activated carbon for prolonged periods of time.

Questions:
How big is the tank?
How often do you change the water and what percentage of water is changed each time?
What are your water parameters (pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate)?
What do you feed them?

As Isabella suggested, I would do a partial water change and try to quarantine them if possible. Giving them vitamin enriched foods will help too.