Weird Symptoms...Any Ideas?

HI Everyone!! This website has been very helpful for me and I've really enjoyed browsing it!!! However, I have some peculiar fish behaviors that I wanted to ask about!! The first was unfortunately fatal: I had a male Betta that developed a light blue discoloration in his face and belly, which seemed to get better after a day, and the next day, most of his fins were gone, his whole body was sold light blue/gray, and he had died. His fins had never been in good shape due to him constantly swimming by the filter intake, but his fins were in really bad shape and deteriorated very quickly.

The next day (today), my bela shark didn't want to eat and is swimming with his head near the surface and his tail at an angle pointed towards the bottom of the tank. He still swims around ok, but his body stays at this odd angle. He is a newer fish (I've had him maybe 1 1/2 weeks now) and came with another bela which didn't survive more than 3 days after bringing him home.

I also have a very hearty rainbow shark that is very healthy and in good spirits.

Any ideas or suggestions? I would really like to have a healthy aquarium, but it seems like these weird things have been happening lately and wanted to ask about them. I hope someone out there can help me! I've had fish for 10 years or so (off and on) and have been very successful with them until now. I have cared for everything from small schools of tetras through bettas (one living about 7 years!) through sharks through plecos. I have saved a tank or 2 from ich and am absolutely at a loss with this strange string of maladies. Any help would be greatly appreciated for me and for my fish!!

Thanks,
Meghan (Maurice, rainbow shark and Fred the bela)

 

welcome to fishlore

were all these fish in the same tank? how big is the tank? what are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings for the tank? you may have an overstocked tank as far as the bioload goes and/or a toxin issue with ammonia or nitrites based on the bela shark's behavior. The betta sounds like he had fin rot.

 

Yes, all the fish are in the same tank. I currently have a 5 gallon tank (which I know is too small - I'll be getting a 28 gallon tank soon). I just did all the tests for the water condition, and everything came back 100% normal for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. My pH level is currently at 7.6, which I believe is in normal range for both of the remaining fish (the bala and the rainbow sharks). I just performed these tests a few minutes ago, so I know that its accurate. Any other ideas? My bala is still in the same condition as earlier (swimming at the funny angle, head pointed up, tail pointed down) but is no longer right next to the water surface, je has moved a little further down. The rainbow shark continues to look and act healthily.

Thank you!!!!!
Meghan, Maurice and Fred.

 

are you using test strips (they're infamously innaccurate)? You want for ammonia & nitrites to show 0 and nitrates 10 or less. higher amounts could be poisoning the sharks and the larger one is being affected first. A tank that size is unlikely to have perfect water chemistry numbers. I'd recommend using Prime to treat the tap water and doing daily partial water changes while they're in the 5g.

There is a chance the sharks may have stressed and/or attacked the betta but I'm not sure that would contribute to the bala's behavior. Does the bala have normal appetite? Does he move around a lot or tend to do more hanging out in a spot for a while? Does he have clamped fins or any other visible symptoms? Chilodonella is a possibility, but only a remote one. An internal infection, possibly of the swim bladder could be the problem too. Feeding him a peeled pea may help that problem. oh yea - is there anything unusual about the gills.. red or purplish coloring or white strings? do they seem inflammed?

 

I would guess the sharks killed the Betta. Sharks are very active and semi-aggressive, and would feel extremely cramped in that small of a tank, and a Betta's fins make an unfortunately excellent target.

What are the readings (exact numbers) for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

There could be one of several things wrong with the Bala, but the best thing you can do for him is to get him into a more appropriately sized tank.

Let us know how he is doing.

 

For my testing, I don't use any strips - it's a kit with small test tubes and a series of solutions to use. Here are the results from last night:

pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 40 ppm (the testing kit said that this level or lower was ok, but maybe this is too much for a 5 gallon tank?)

My bala shark is quite young and very small (no larger than 2 in.) and the rainbow shark is about 4 in. and I have had him for quite a while. I had the rainbow shark and the betta from the beginning of this tank. Here's a brief history from the beginning of this tank:

I started out with a betta (Lenny), a cory catfish (George), a bala shark (Jet) and a rainbow shark (Maurice). The cory died within 24 hours of bringing him home, and we took him back to the pet store and got a refund. He was a gift from a friend, and I didn't want to have the cory and the rainbow competing for food at the bottom of the tank. After having the tank established for about 4 months, I got married and had to move the fish. All 3 survived the move and after several days everything in the tank calmed down. About 1 month ago, my husband and I wanted to move some of their scenery around for something new, and after moving the fake plant and 2 rocks, the bala attempted jumping out of the tank. I have a very secure lid on the tank, and he continued to attempt to jump (you could hear his head hitting the lid) until he died. I assumed that he died from the impacts to his body from the lid. After Jet died, my betta became overly aggressive as I had never seen him. It was only him and the rainbow shark now, and he would relentlessly chase him and flare up at him 24/7 until the rainbow shark found a hiding place between the back wall of the tank and the lip of the filter. Our pet store suggested that we try to move the rocks and plant around again, as it might be a territorial issue. We removed the betta, moved things around, got the shark comfortable, and tried re-adding the betta after several days. The same thing happened. We then thought that the issue was losing the bala shark and the community was off-balance, so we got 2 smaller bala sharks (Fred and George). 1 died several days after bringing him home, and the other is our weird friend that is now swimming at an angle. The betta died about a week after the bala. The rainbow shark has remained unaggressive, as have the balas.

I checked the bala this morning, and he is continuing to not eat when I put food in the tank. (The rainbow waits patiently for the food to fall and then eats as usual). He is still at the angle, same as before, and doesn't have any problem swimming around. He freely swims to all areas of the tank (while staying near the surface). He does tend to get in one spot and stay in that area for a while, but he did that ever since I got him. None of his fins appear damaged, and his swimming doesn't look labored at all. The gills look normal, and his breathing doesn't appear to be any different from normal. No inflammation, no changes in color, no missing scales - other than swimming at an angle and not eating, he looks pretty healthy. It just seems very odd...

We are pretty sure that we will be getting a 28 gallon tank soon for our new home, and we would like to be able to move them once we cycle the new tank. However, I would feel very uncomfortable moving the bala in his current condition, as I don't want to introduce any additional stress to him. I know it will take some time to cycle the new tank once we get it, so I'm hoping this issue resolves itself somehow before we're ready to move them to a new, big home.

Meghan, Maurice and Fred

PS. Sorry for the lengthy post!! I just wanted to put up all the information I could think of for everyone!!

 

yea, 40 for nitrates is high - 10 or less is what you'd like to see. water changes & live plants can help bring nitrates down.. as well as treating the tap water with Prime.

It sounds as if those balas could've come from a diseased tank and brought it home with them.. that or a real set of coincidences to lose 2 fish and have another sick so close together. Either is possible. although it sounds like this bala has constipation and fasting him is what he needs. has he now or ever seemed bloated any? do you have a pic of him to post?

 

Thanks so much for the reply!! I think he may have come from a diseased tank (I haven't bought fish since from that store, and I won't be buying fish there again.) The bala does not appear bloated at all - he looks pretty sleek and slI'm really. I don't have a picture of him, and I hope it is just some constipation that passes in time. Is there anything I can do to help speed up that process, or should I just let him balance out? My husband and I found a 29 gallon aquarium and stand we really liked today, and next week we're going to get it and set it up to start cycling. I hope he is better by then so he can enjoy a bigger, better home!!

 

UPDATE:

My husband and I just discovered Fred in a rather bad state: he is swimming upside down/on his side on the bottom of the tank. I think he's getting ready for fish heaven!

Thank you for all your help, but I don't think he's going to make it! I have another post in the beginner's section about a new tank setup with fish if you have any suggestions there. Thanks again, and I guess we'll never know what exactly was wrong with him. My rainbow is continuing to do very well and is quite happy (although now lonely...)

Meghan and Maurice

 

well, he's definitely got a swim bladder problem.. either from constipation (unlikely if there's no bloating) or from an internal infection. I think the nitrates may have had some part in it, but not much. Trisulfa would be what i'd treat him with if he doesn't pass on.

 

Fred has officially passed on to fish heaven! He died about 1 hour after the post - here's to a successful new tank soon!!

Meghan and Maurice

 

:'( RIP Fred, we're sorry that he didn't make it.