Sick Pineapple Swordtail

Hey everyone,

I have a 20 gallon with 2 pineapple swordtails, 1 high fin red tux molly, 1 glass catfish, 2 rock shrip, 1 chinese blood sucker and 2 bronze corys. Two days ago I was taking the swordtails and molly to trade in and put them in a bucket. Before I left my place I decided to call the pet store just to make sure it would be ok, they said they were very busy and to do the trade in another day. I put the swordtails and molly back in the tank, last night (2 days after) I noticed the female swordtail laying on the side of her belly with her fins still fluttering. I immediately put her in a bucket with an air pump in it. She's been in it over night and when I tap on the bucket she flops up, swims for a bit, then lays back on her side. She's alive but I'm not sure what's wrong with her. If its stress induced, only time can tell, but if its an infection I'm worried to put her back in the 20 gallon and infect all the other fish. What is the best way to diagnose this fish? And what is my best option?

Thanks!

PS I have no quarantine tank

 

Hi!
It sounds a lot like stress. I have lost a sword-tail in the past from moving her from one tank to another.It just seems too coincidental to be anything other than stress. I would try her back in the tank, at least it is heated and filtered and I would turn the heat up is possible to boost her immune system. If you had a Q tank, it would be advisable to place her in it for a few days, but a bucket is not a good environment for her long term. It is not heated or filtered and may contribute to her malady. Let us know how she is doing. Just a thought, but what are the water parameters in the tank? It seems to be the case that pristine water will often aid in the recuperation of a fish where medication has failed. Can you test the water?

 

Hi!
It sounds a lot like stress. I have lost a sword-tail in the past from moving her from one tank to another.It just seems too coincidental to be anything other than stress. I would try her back in the tank, at least it is heated and filtered and I would turn the heat up is possible to boost her immune system. If you had a Q tank, it would be advisable to place her in it for a few days, but a bucket is not a good environment for her long term. It is not heated or filtered and may contribute to her malady. Let us know how she is doing. Just a thought, but what are the water parameters in the tank? It seems to be the case that pristine water will often aid in the recuperation of a fish where medication has failed. Can you test the water?

+1

 

Hey,

Thanks for the feeback. She's dead now. To answer your question about the parameters of the tank, I just cleaned and changed 25% of the water two weeks ago, the ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are all good. I think it was definitely the stress and my idiot move of putting her in a bucket were the cause. The turning up the heat advice sounds like it would work, I'll try it if this happens ever again.
Thanks again everyone!

 

Good morning,

So sorry that you lost one of your fish.

I have moved your thread to the Freshwater Fish Disease section of the forum.

Ken