capekate

Wondering if anyone has heard of an aquarium fish disease that would be attributed to the wasting appearance of my rainbow fish? My second batch of rainbows that I bought a few weeks ago are not looking very well. My first batch of rainbows are fat and happy, but there are four of the new batch that has slowly become so skinny. And not just skinny but even under the lower jaw were the gills are are even indented from the lack of fat. they are like pencil thin with no shape at all. they hang around one corner at the top of the tank and do not seem to eat at all. At first I was wondering if the healthy bigger rainbows are getting all the food first, but I have put food above them but they do not seem to have any interest. I found one of the thin ones dead this am, among the frill plant. I am sure that another, a very large and long male will not make it through the night.
Is there a disease that has a name for this wasting away appearance? And is there anything I can do? Im hoping that what ever is wrong with them will not infect the healthy rainbows or the Discus or any of my other fish in the 55g tank.
Any suggestions on what can be going on? And what can I do about it?
Thanks so much...for any help at all.

~ kate

sirdarksol

http://www.loaches.com/Members/shari...ing-syndrome-1
This, along with a few places that said it was caused by a bacterial infection (these were places that sold antibiotics, so I'm not positive about that one), is all I could find.
Hope it helps.

capekate

Thanks Sirdarksol for that link. I bookmarked it after I read through some of it. It doesnt sound like my fish have a chance. Seems to be some kind of fish TB. Im going to see what else I can find on it and figure out where to move these guys for treatment. I sure hope that it doesnt go through the whole tank... This doesnt look very good...

~ kate

sirdarksol

Sorry about the bad prognosis (I actually didn't read much of the info on the page. I just found the one link to actual description of a wasting disease, checked to make sure it looked halfway well-written, and posted it).
I hope you can get them isolated from the rest of the tank, and hope that your current fish do well.
Remember that excellent water quality and nutrition will help your current fish fight off the infection, should they get it. If you don't have any vita-chem, you might want to get some.

COBettaCouple

They've not gotten any curvature to them, have they? Usually I think fish TB cases will have that as a symptom. I would quarantine them if possible and liquid vitamins along with liquid food might help.

capekate

Hi Sirdarksol
That article was very informative and one that I am saving for any future references. It said that once they start to show the symptoms the success rate for treatment is minimal. Also noted in the article is that even tho some of the fish can have the TB other fish can be healthy. Unless they happen to eat off of a dead infected fish, they can contract the disease.
They are in the Discus tank and that tank has terrific water quality and is vacuumed with water changes regularly. I give the fish a great variety of foods but have no vita-chem for them. I think that is something I will have to order online as the stores around here do not carry it.
Thanks so much for the link and your help!

~ kate

capekate

I read about the curvature in their spine late in the disease. I would like to quarantine them asap. There is a dilemma tho. The 29g tank right at the moment is home to four zebra danios who prefer a much cooler temperature around 75*. The tank where the rainbows are in now is around 81-82*.
I know that the drop of temp will most likely kill off these sick fish. If I raise the temperature before bringing them over to that tank, the zebra danios will suffer from the higher temperature. I really do not know what to do with the zebras so that i can get those rainbows out of the 55g community tank.
Im not sure if the zebras since they are so tiny can go in with the angel fish. Im betting that the angels would have them for a snack. They cant go in with bettas can they?
Any suggestions on what I should do at this point?
thanks,

~ kate

COBettaCouple

You could get a large rubbermaid container or a 10g tank, move the filter, etc for the danios to it along with the danios and then treat the sick fish in the tank.. or you could treat the sick fish in the new container/tank.

I'd probably do the later.. a big enough container or a 10g tank for the sick fish along with a small filter like the azoo palm filter and a submersible heater.

capekate

That all sounds good Dave, but right now I do not have the funds to go out and buy another filter and another heater, which is what I would have to do in order to put either group into another tank or bucket.
After moving the sick rainbows to the 29g I got a clearer view of whats going on with them. The light in the 29g is much brighter and I was able to see what looks like velvet on a few of these sick fish.
Im treating the tank with jungle lab fungus clear right now. And hopefully that will help the fish. It may not be fish TB after all. But the problem now is that I more than likely will have to treat the 55g tank as well.

~ kate

sirdarksol

Sorry you don't live closer to me. I've got a bunch of extra equipment (including tanks and/or plastic containers) that I'd be willing to loan as a quarantine setup.
I've bought a bunch of aquariums really, really cheap (like four dollars for a full setup), sometimes just to get the extra light or filter or whatever. So I have the makings of a full tank and then some.

capekate

Thanks Sirdarksol... If you lived closer, Id take you up on the offer. lol
I have bought tanks and set ups at yard sales this summer and also bought new. As you can see in my siggie.. that all six tanks are being used at the moment. I did have an extra heater, til one broke recently and now I have no back up for awhile. But Im glad I had the one handy.
I will have to restock my equipment again next summer, or check in the newspapers for extra supplies.
~ kate

COBettaCouple

I wish you were closer to us too, we have a bunch of spare heaters and filters at the moment since we've got 7 tanks shut down until they're needed for fry (or irresistable fish at the fish club auctions ).

Since it looks like velvet, do you have them in the dark? Are you able to find Rid-Fungus there? I've had the best results with it, even over Fungus Clear tabs, with none of the meth. blue dyeing.

capekate

Hi Dave,
The large male who is almost four inches long is still trying to hang on. With every hour that passes I hope that he gets the medicine thats in the water and heal. He is so thin that he almost looks eel like when he is trying to swim, as if there is no vertebrae at all. Sometimes he sinks.. then gets back up again and repeats this pattern. I really thought he wasnt going to make it through the night. I dont have them in the dark.. should I? I will go and look for the rid-fungus this morning. thanks for the tip!

~ kate
Ohh and I lost Casper the tiny Discus last night. Poor little guy. He never was right and never grew from the time I got him in July. I measured him at just two inches round. He should have been a lot bigger by now. He must has succumbed to what ever is going on in the tank.

COBettaCouple

He really sounds like he's got fish tb, unfortunately, even if he has velvet too. Part of treating velvet is to give them less light.

capekate

Hi Dave,
thanks... I didnt get out today for the rid-fungus. A rare migraine kept me under the covers most of the day. But the course for the next dose of meds is not til tomorrow anyway so I will go out tomorrow and pick up the new meds.
he is still hanging on... same as he was earlier today.

~ kate

capekate

You know.. we have to listen to our gut more often when it comes to buying fish. I knew when I looked at the fish when the girl netted it out that something didnt look right about it. He looked kinda tattered and not very healthy. I should have passed him up. Now it seems that its possible that I have brought a disease into the tank that I may not be able to cure. the outcome can be horrible... Im keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of the 55g tank inhabitants will be ok.

~ kate

Drea

Hang in there Kate I know what it is to be unable to function, as I have a chronic pain condition from a MV collision where I was in the right place at the wrong time, and was violently crashed into the rear end of my SUV over 3 yrs ago. I hope you feel better, we all know here at the FF, you want the best for you finned family

capekate

Thanks Drea. Im so sorry that you have to deal with Chronic pain. Its an awful thing to have to deal with, I totally understand. I had failed back surgery over ten years ago and have chronic pain still. Some days are good.. others bad. We do what we can when we feel up to it.. other days know enough to not over do it. ( hopefully... lol)
Thank you for the kind words... and I wish you well.

~ kate