rileyrk190

I had to euthanize my tiger barb on Saturday because it was corkscrewing around the tank. I had an idea of what it was but wanted to make sure, so i did a search. It was very hard to find info because the site was down, but what i did find said that whirling disease is a parasite, terminal, and the fish should be immediately removed. i am very worried, because my other tiger barb has been acting oddly. Is there anyway to prevent this from spreading to any other fish? Also, how was this protozoan spread to my tank? I havent added any fish in months and my readings are: ammonia 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates at .10, pH 7.6. My temperature has been in the 80's for a while, and i think this is stressing out the fish. Some days it has reached 86 degrees, so i try to cool it down.

Lucy

I'm really sorry about your fish. That must have been terrible for you and your fish.
Sorry you had to make such a tough decision.
I don't have advice. I've only read a little about whirling disease.

rileyrk190

Yes, it was terrible. It was two in the morning, and i was up. What made it stressful was that i could see all the information this site had on a google search, but i couldn't get to it. I didnt have clove oil on hand and wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't stay in the tank. I really hope the way i euthanized him was painless for him, and if the way i did wasn't, i don't want to know because the guilt would be awful. I have clove oil on hand now, and will never try this way again. All i could find online told me to use a few drops of rubbing alcohol, slowly adding more over time. I was told it would essentially intoxicate the fish but it would be painless. I did that and put him in the freezer to help put him to sleep. He did seem to just slowly cease, so i hope i did the right thing. I have used clove oil before, but it was at my grandmothers house. I left it there when i had to put down her betta after it didn't respond to medication. I just still am baffled, because all my fish look as healthy as ever. I add vitachem once a week to the tank, and they seem very active.

heather84

ive actually seen injured fish doing the whirling thing......my neon was doing it and i noticed his eye was injured.

none of my other fish had any problems and havent yet so dont think it was connected to any disease