# my uncle's sick fish



## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

My uncle has had his zebra danios for forever. He used to have 3 and now he only has 2. My mom is taking care of them while he is out of town. Yesterday, she asked me to come take a look at them because she thought something was wrong. One of them was actively eating but had a huge bubble looking thing coming out of his side, the other was laying at the bottom and would only move if one of the cory's ran into him. He is extremely emaciated looking and his spine is curved into an "s" shape. 
Like I said, my uncle has had this fish for many, many years (10+ probably), so I don't think he will be surprised that they are ill, but the one staying at the bottom, does it sound like fish tuberculosis? I don't think my uncle has a quarantine tank, but he does have other fish in there in addition to the other danio. He has 3 red live bearing fish, 1 male and 2 female. The females are very pregnant (I know, the young will get eaten) and the 2 cory's, and maybe a sucker fish. Are all his fish going to get it? What do I tell him? He's supposed to be back today.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

It could be fish TB or it could be aging out..... I would go ahead and remove that Danio and euthanize it. Treatment at that stage especially with an older fish-usually is not effective and more important to keep the other fish safe.

I would also make a 25-50% water change on the tank after you remove the Danio. Depending on the nitrate and/or age of the system-Since we don't know the tank size, filter/filter media care, general husbandry and total stocking-If the nitrates are over 80ppm or the tank has been neglected-you don't want to change too much water at one time. Start with a low percent and increase by 10% every other day-until you reach 50%-Then make daily 50% for 2 days. Otherwise you can shock the other fish-especially if it has been neglected or it had high nitrates long term-since that can cause immune response issues.

Be sure and wash hands really good before and after handling the Danio and working on the tank.


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

He keeps pretty good care of his tank and is very particular about how it's cared for. He's very wary about anyone doing anything to it except feeding the fish. I know he did a water change fairly recently because the trashcan he keeps his treated water in is empty, but still is wet in the bottom, so it was probably done before he left town on Wednesday. I think it's a 35 or 40 gallon tank. I don't know all of the nitrate levels, etc or the filter type. He will be back today, so I will tell him what you suggested. oHe has live plants in there as well and some pond snails. Thank you, the Danio is dead now, so we've removed it, but I will suggest my uncle does a water change when he gets back. The other Danio is still swimming and eating fine, but just has a huge lump on it's side, it's probably a tumor. But now I have some good information to give him when he gets back. Thank you


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

My uncle just got home and I told him about the fish. He told me that they were having trouble before he left. He also told me that one of his grandsons dumped some metal stuff in there and he thinks that may have contributed to a lot of their problems. The Danios were pretty old though, so it could be old age too. The others seem to be ok, but he is going to do a water change today and keep an eye on them.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I think we need more care info.


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> I think we need more care info.


Like I said above, it's not my fish tank, but I know that he tests it regularly with the api water kit (he told me that the ammonia and nitrates were all 0) and keeps it in the mid 70's (he does not have Bettas and the fish he has do not tolerate higher temps). He also does a 25% water change once a week. It's a 35 gallon tank with live plants and a filter. Also, I also mentioned that he discovered that his grandson had dumped some metallic objects in the tank. All of his bottom dweller fish are sick now as well as the danios. His other top dwelling fish are fine, but he's treating the whole tank with aquarium salt and medicines, and of course he removed the metallic objects.
He told me that the danios are about 5 or 6 years old.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

For the Bettas I doubt old age they are bot that old if I read right.


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> For the Bettas I doubt old age they are bot that old if I read right.


No Bettas in his tank at all. Just Danios, catfish, some brightly colored live bearing fish, a cory, and 2 algae eaters - all are sick except the live bearers.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

What kind of algae eaters if its chineses we found the problem.


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

nope, not they're not chinese, he got them at the same time he got the danios - 5 or 6 years ago, so if they were going to cause a problem, it would have happened a long time ago. He's pretty sure it was the metal his grandson dumped in, because none of his fish were ever sick until that happened.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

If there Otos I have heard cases of them eating scales.


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

not really sure what kind they are, but no scales have been eaten, and the algae eaters are sick too.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

High Nitrates?


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

Nope, they are at 0, as is the ammonia


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

Like I said before, my uncle is pretty sure at this point that it was poisoning due to the metal his grandson dumped in the tank. (Yes, his grandson was reprimanded even though he claimed it was an accident and he is seeing how what he did is dangerous to the fish)


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Nitrites? Temp Problems? Diet Problems?


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

nope, nope and nope, nitrites are stable, temp is what it's been for 5 or 6 years, and they are eating the same food they've eaten for 5 to 6 years.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Then sounds like Metal it is that is the only thing that changed recently.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Maybe a big water change and some Prime conditioner to remove heavy metals from the water??


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## MyRainbowBettaFish (May 9, 2012)

i used to have danios, had them for about a year and woke up and BOTH danios had this weird curved spine. I didnt know what it was(i was inexperienced at the time) and removed the fish drained the tank and disinfected everything.

thanks for helping me understand what killed them and why they had bent spines


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

Tikibirds said:


> Maybe a big water change and some Prime conditioner to remove heavy metals from the water??


He did that when he discovered the metal in the tank, they're still pretty sick, but they're getting better. He's leaving town again tomorrow for 2 weeks, so my mom will be in charge of his fish again. I'm really hoping that nothing goes wrong and they all continue to get better.


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## emeraldmaster (Sep 6, 2012)

I hope that he replaces his precious fish, my aunt was the same way, she had a goldfish for as long is i can remember (i'm 18, so maybe 15 years). Her goldfish started to get sick last year and though it was a close call, the thing is still alive. Then again, she does wierd things to animals. She had a chihuahua for 25 years before it finally died. It sounds like he's the same way with animals as she is! I hope that the other fish get well, btw i think the the live bearers are guppies. bright, colorful, livebearing... Are they?


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

btw i think the the live bearers are guppies. bright, colorful, livebearing... Are they?[/quote]


Not sure what they are really, they stay at the top mostly, are bright reddish orange and have a black triangle shape on the back half of their bodies. I asked him once a long time ago and forgot. I guess I could ask him again. One of the ladies released her young a few days ago because she doesn't look like she's "waddling" through the water anymore. The other one, still quite big, I imagine it will be soon. With all the others sick, I wonder if the fry will have a chance - they won't get eaten as quick.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I wish your uncle luck with them and hope they recover.

Maybe the fish in question is an endler livebearer? I think their color patterns vary but I am not sure. Although it dosen;t really sound like ehat you described....


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## emeraldmaster (Sep 6, 2012)

rasboras? harliquin rasboras? do they look like this?


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

emeraldmaster said:


> rasboras? harliquin rasboras? do they look like this?



Yes, that's them, but the front part is a little more orange than this one, but that's definitely them.


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

My uncle's leaving this morning, and after doing a round of the medication and the aquarium salt, he's seen no improvement. He did a water change yesterday, so I guess I'll just help my mom keep an eye on them. I don't know what else to do for them at this point.


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## emeraldmaster (Sep 6, 2012)

glad to help. i wanted to get those and when i saw the discription, i was like.. really??? i like them and good luck on the fish sitting!


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## inuudo (Aug 21, 2012)

Harlequin Rasboras aren't live bearing.

Is it possible that the one danio with the bubble on its side was overfed? I have recently experienced something similar with a guppy. It developed a bump on its right side just behind the pectoral fin; unfortunately, what I initially thought was a surface bump was actually food emerging from a perforation in its side. :-( The guppy behaved normally apart from that horror.


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## emeraldmaster (Sep 6, 2012)

so sad, i had one that had a bump too, ot the booty hold. it rotted open in a matter of two days and made a smelly mess of blown up fishy! i hope that yours fares better.


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## sainthogan (Sep 27, 2012)

inuudo said:


> Harlequin Rasboras aren't live bearing.
> 
> Is it possible that the one danio with the bubble on its side was overfed? I have recently experienced something similar with a guppy. It developed a bump on its right side just behind the pectoral fin; unfortunately, what I initially thought was a surface bump was actually food emerging from a perforation in its side. :-( The guppy behaved normally apart from that horror.



I don't think it's over feeding, my uncle feeds them very sparingly and since he's developed that bump, he swims a little slower and is usually the last to get to the food. They get fed a small pinch of tropical flakes once a day.


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