Male dwarf rainbowfish darker, bloated & gasping

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank?
29gal

How long has the tank been running?
Started Cycling August 17th, 2019
Fish introduced Oct 1st, 2019

Does it have a filter?
Yes (AquaClear 70w)

Does it have a heater?
Yes

What is the water temperature?
76-78F

What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
7 Praecox (dwarf) Rainbowfish (3M/4F)
1 Bristlenose pleco

Maintenance
How often do you change the water?
once a week

How much of the water do you change?
30-40%

What do you use to treat your water?
2 capfuls of Seachem Prime, add Boyd vitamins after every WC

Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water?
Vacuum the substrate

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?
Yes

What do you use to test the water?
API Master Freshwater Test Kit

What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5-10ppm
pH: 6.8-7.2

**Haven't tested recently after cycling but will update tonight**

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish?
once a day

How much do you feed your fish?
3 pinches of food

What brand of food do you feed your fish?
HikarI micropellets, hikarI miniature cichlid pellets (used to have bolivian rams that died of a wasting disease, RIP, and they seem to like this food), freeze-dried mysis shrimp, freeze-dried bloodworms (always soaked before fed)

Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods?
once a week or so I will feed soaked freeze-dried foods but usually I feed pellets/wafers

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish?
since Oct 1st

How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?
1 week

In a few words, can you explain the symptoms?
One male rainbowfish is darker than he used to be, bloated, and gasping.

Have you started any treatment for the illness?
I tried de-shelled peas for the bloating.

Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase?
no

How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all?
Aside from the gasping and not eating this morning, he has been pretty normal.

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)
I noticed one of my male rainbowfish has turned darker than he used to be in certain places (not everywhere). He is also bloated (no pineconing) but was eating fine until today where he did not come out to eat (this isn't totally unusual... sometimes one or 2 will get in a weird mood and be too afraid to come out.. usually they come out the next day fine). I fasted them for 2 days when I noticed he was bloated, and then gave them de-shelled peas for 2 days (did not see him poop), fed regularly yesterday (he ate). He also seems to be opening his mouth a little more/faster than the others. Seems to be swimming fine, not staying at the surface or anything.

I'll get parameters and try to get a picture when I go home tonight but figured I would post in case anyone had any ideas.

It might also be worth mentioning that a few have tiny white dots on their lower lips (but they all eat fine and are active). Another male rainbowfish also has a thin red line that seems to come from his anus but it is always there, never moves, stays there while pooping etc. so I'm not sure if it is a fin or a worm or??? But he eats fine, is active etc.

 

Hard to tell by the description. Can you put up a few pics.

 

Shows bloating.



Shows speckles of dark spots and overall darker color



This is him (bottom) compared to a normal male(top).



This is him(bottom) compared to a normal female(top)

 

Just an update... he skipped breakfast again
86 ssinit

 

He doesn’t look bad. May be getting pick on by the other males but still not bad. He may be eating off the bottom. If you think he’s stressed put him in a 5 gallon tank with the temp at about 80 and add 5 teaspoons of salt. Add the salt slowly like one an hour. See how he does for a few days.
For the 5 gallon take the water from main tank and add media from main tank to filter.

 

He doesn’t look bad. May be getting pick on by the other males but still not bad. He may be eating off the bottom. If you think he’s stressed put him in a 5 gallon tank with the temp at about 80 and add 5 teaspoons of salt. Add the salt slowly like one an hour. See how he does for a few days.
For the 5 gallon take the water from main tank and add media from main tank to filter.

I feel like moving him to a different tank (which I don't have... so it would be a bucket on the floor) might stress him out more, no? The other males generally leave him alone (he is the second biggest). The biggest one is usually chasing around the smallest male because he likes to flirt a lot but I've never seen them actually hurt each other.

I was passively worried about the strange change in coloration.... but definitely more actively worried about the bloating/gasping & now that this usually food-crazy fish is obviously uncomfortable enough to skip mealtime twice :/

I think I'll try your suggestion of an epsom salt bath to help and go from there

 

Ok sorry I thought I was in a different thread. Another member was talking about these fish. I had these fish. I had 12 that I bought from 2 different stores. They only lasted 2 yrs. 1 by 1 they would drift off and die. At first I would remove and qt the sick fish. But they still died. No clue as to why this happened. May be there lifespan or something with breeding. Not my water or tank. Same tank has 5 yr old bosemanI rainbows that are still fine and 15 other fish. It was just the neon rainbow that died off. Nice looking fish but I won’t get them again.

 

Ok sorry I thought I was in a different thread. Another member was talking about these fish. I had these fish. I had 12 that I bought from 2 different stores. They only lasted 2 yrs. 1 by 1 they would drift off and die. At first I would remove and qt the sick fish. But they still died. No clue as to why this happened. May be there lifespan or something with breeding. Not my water or tank. Same tank has 5 yr old bosemanI rainbows that are still fine and 15 other fish. It was just the neon rainbow that died off. Nice looking fish but I won’t get them again.

Did a similar thing happen with random discoloration, bloating, gasping etc. to your fish or was it different stuff each time?

I tried the Epsom salt bath (15min in 2gallons with 2 tablespoons, 4min acclimation with 1/4 Epsom mix, 3/4water and then back in tank) but he didn't poop and it doesn't seem to have helped much but I'll see if there is some improvement tomorrow

 

Hate to say it but yeah. They started bloating and than just hiding and than died. I’d say from first to last may have been a year. Thought it was some sort of parasite so added a uv steralizer. But they still kept dying. I think it’s something to do with breeding. As I said the bosemanI are fine.

 

Hate to say it but yeah. They started bloating and than just hiding and than died. I’d say from first to last may have been a year. Thought it was some sort of parasite so added a uv steralizer. But they still kept dying. I think it’s something to do with breeding. As I said the bosemanI are fine.

Ugh That is sad & makes me nervous. My poor fish (his name was Perses) died overnight so .... I can only hope the others stay healthy.

Thanks for your help though - I really appreciate it!