valen

I got a new 10 gal. tank and set it up 21 days ago and had 3 Zebra Danios and they were fine for about a week and then I lost one. A week later I lost the second one. I have one left.

I am using products from a large Canadian Aquarium chain i.e. store brand. The water conditioner treats chlorine and Cloramine and has Aloe Vera for "slime coat" enhancment. I also used a Bio-support product that has beneficial bacteria to get the bio-wheel filter going.

Here are the details using API test kit:


- ammonia is 0
- nitrite is 0
- nitrate is the lowest color or next to lowest
- pH 7.5
- Water Temp was 77 now 75

The symptoms were the same for the two dying fish (a week apart):

- Tail droops up a little. They swim tail is straight, they stop tails droops up, they swim some more etc.
- Color is not very vibrant. They look a little pale. Not obvious white spots unless the whole fish is covered with a light haze but its hard to tell because I don't know what I'm looking for.
- Gills are red but not all the time it seems.
- Fins and tail look a little "flimsy" for lack of a better term but maybe that's normal for this breed, I don't know.
- They start treading water in the middle of tank and stop eating for a day or two later they tread water about an inch from the top and then die.


I am stumped. I know I got something going in there but I can't identify it. Is there a place where I can see photo's of disease so I can identify it ?

angelfish220

Where they skinney? Did they eat often? How long did they seem sick before death?

valen

Yes they were faily skinny and somewhat "dehydrated" looking but not excessively so. I think I can see the shadow of their internal organs when they go under the bright light but I don't know if that is normal or not. They were sick for maybe 3-4 days or so before death. First they started treading water in the middle of the tank (not near the top) but still eating, then a day or two later stop eating then die a day or two later.

Did another series of tests yesterday and there no ammonia or nitrite in the tank at all and probably little or no nitrate (hard to tell the color). Water is very, very slightly cloudy, i.e. not crystal clear.

Yesterday my remaining ZDanio was swimming back and forth in front of the back wall, passing between the filter intake , heater and back glass of the tank. I could not tell if he was brushing himself against anything or not. If so , it was not very obvious.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Is there a general parasite medication that I could try that would hit a large variety of the most common diseases out there ? Can it do harm to the fish ?

Leokiss

Hi valen i have experienced the same problems with these fish out of owning 10 i only have 3 left,with all conditions perfect and no clear symntoms.The other fish in the tank always seem fine and they are supposed to much less hardy fish to keep ive never lost another kind of fish.As for treatments i tried sterazine and lost some while using this,and then tried protozin which seemed to do the trick as i think i ad velvet.The 7 that died didn't all go the same way.I wonder if this fish just isn't as hardy as it used to be? Even now mine remaining 3 keep getting sick.
If u see scratching go with protazin,for velvet,whitspot.Sterazin for gill parasites,flukes n worms. Or Myxazin for bacterial infections,ulcers,pop eye.I guess u need to try to id the correct symntoms which isn't an exact science i know but keep going u'll get there in the end.Check out the fish disease chart.

susitna-flower

Welcome to fishlore valen.

Have you been doing any water changes? A 25-50% change may perk your fish up. This should be a part of your regular tank maintenance on a small tank.

When testing with the API test kit, it is very important to shake the second bottle of the nitrate test VERY well to break up crystals in the solution, for the test to be accurate.

I wouldn't just treat your tank without knowing what the problem is. MOST often with a new tank it is the water conditions. Symptoms of your fish don't really point to anything else. Stress whether it is water conditions, or temperature can allow parasites or bacterial infections to take hold.....but without an idea of what you are treating, it would be worse to add chemicals.

Good Luck

angelfish220

I think the problem is that some strains are starting to inbreed to much thus weakening the immune system, sometime they live forever nomatter what and other times they simply waste away.

0morrokh

I dunno, but it sounds a lot like some sort of internal infection, either bacterial or parasitic. Would it be possible to post a pic of a sick fish? Or else describe what their body looked like just before they died...was the spine curved or sticking out? belly sunken in? ect? It can be very difficult to diagnose this type of problem unfortunately...

valen

I am doing about 15-20% water change once a week. If I step that up to 25% once a week am I risking getting rid of too much "good" bacteria ?

I now have just one left and I'm not buying more until I figure out what is going on. The last one seems to be eating slightly less and less everyday but he is still eating which is a good sign.

I feed twice a day but only as much as he will eat, nothing falls to the bottom.

Problem is that I have nothing to compare to in order to judge the visual symptoms. The other problem is that this breed moves around a lot so I can't really get a good stable look at him. I'll try to get a pic but typically these turn out blurry.

It would be really cool if the disease page on this site had pictures of ick,velvet,hole in head etc. so newbies like me would have something to compare to.

Gills are still red. Ammonia and nitrate are still zero. Water is at 75F. I really appreciate all your tips.