White cloud mountain minnows wasting away?

Hello there,

I'm wondering if anyone could please help me, there's something strange going on with my minnows. I purchased 4 white cloud mountain minnows last September and now only have 2 left. The first one that passed away seemed to have a strange defect that developed very early on, at first I thought it was gravid as it's abdomen was enlarged. No babies arrived and in January he/she passed away still with the same enlarged abdomen. However, the other 3 fish seemed healthy and had a normal appearance until a couple of months ago, I noticed one started to have a slightly 'bent' or 'sloped' lower body and he/she would often stay at the very top of the tank regularly for short periods of time. A couple of days ago this fish sadly passed away. One of the two remaining fish has always appeared slightly on the thinner side than the others but nothing that seemed worrying, he/she appeared to be active and had a great appetite. Over the past few days I have noticed that he/she is now looking extremely thin, almost making the head look enlarged and appears to be losing colour (initially dark grey, now a light almost see-through grey colour). He/she still has an appetite and is active, however I have just noticed that he/she looks on the lethargic side and over the past day has been staying near the top of the tank at regular intervals. Parameters in the tank are all within normal range, the 2 amano shrimps that I have in the tank are thriving and the other fish appears to be very healthy. My filter is working as normal. Does anyone know what is going on here? Could there be an infection/disease that is causing them to go like this? I should mention, I had an infestation of detritus worms over the past 3 months due to me being unable to find a decent gravel cleaner for my small tank (I ordered so many + even now the one I'm using isn't great) + my slightly overzealous feeding.. (I have cut down now). The worms have all died out over the past 2 weeks which is great but also seems a bit strange as they all perished almost simultaneously. If anyone has some suggestions as to what is happening I'd really appreciate it, thank you in advance.

Charlotte

 

Have you noticed what their poop looks like? I am wondering if some internal parasites.

 

I had a similar issue with my guppies. Tank was cycled, water parameters were flawless and everything was going perfectly until my fish started dying. One would waste slightly and die within 2 days of initial symptoms and then everything would be fine with the rest of the school for a couple weeks until it happened again. I tried antibacterials, antifungals, general cure, and aquarium salt to no avail. I eventually got fed up with flushing fish and took the body of my most recent casualty to the biology lab on my college campus to take a look at him under a microscope. I found what appeared to be an infestation of parasitic nematodes. I just began treatment with flubendazole to kill the parasites and I haven't completed the course yet so I can't promise it will work, but it might be better than nothing.
Hope this helps!

 

Have you noticed what their poop looks like? I am wondering if some internal parasites.

Hi there, thanks so much for replying. They are quite light in colour, usually around 3-5cm in length roughly. Do you know if there's parasite treatment I can get?

I had a similar issue with my guppies. Tank was cycled, water parameters were flawless and everything was going perfectly until my fish started dying. One would waste slightly and die within 2 days of initial symptoms and then everything would be fine with the rest of the school for a couple weeks until it happened again. I tried antibacterials, antifungals, general cure, and aquarium salt to no avail. I eventually got fed up with flushing fish and took the body of my most recent casualty to the biology lab on my college campus to take a look at him under a microscope. I found what appeared to be an infestation of parasitic nematodes. I just began treatment with flubendazole to kill the parasites and I haven't completed the course yet so I can't promise it will work, but it might be better than nothing.
Hope this helps!

Hi there, thanks so much for this fantastic information! My fish are still alive but I think the one that looks ill is close to the end sadly, he looks more gaunt + thin than ever. Please do let me know how the treatment goes, if it's good I'll definitely buy some myself.

 

They waste away at tropical temperatures as they require cool water 14 - 22C (57 - 72F). Mine were at their most healthy when I kept them outdoors for the summer.

 

They waste away at tropical temperatures as they require cool water 14 - 22C (57 - 72F). Mine were at their most healthy when I kept them outdoors for the summer.

Ahh I see, my tank is not heated and the room is not particularly warm. Sadly my fish passed away, so I just have one left now who looks pretty healthy. Hopefully he won't suffer the same fate.