Something fishy...(no pun intended)

carriej · 03-29-2008, 07:45 PM

I'm stumped.

Really stumped...

So usually when something is up with my fish I have a pretty good idea what's going on and how to treat it. I've had some of my fish go listless, here's a list of the casualties...
1 female swordtail
1 male swordtail
1 6 inch rainbow shark *tear*

And I feel a second male swordtail is on the way, showing the same symptoms. What they've been doing is fin clamping, and being listless and doing what I call the "stiff swim" where they wriggle their body slowly and hardly use their pectoral fins. Right now the only fish doing this is one of my other male swordtails. I noticed my bolivian ram "flashing" but he only did it once, and it was right after a water change. My params are good ( 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 5 nitrate) There are no signs of any fungus or ich, on any fish. My only guess is some sort of bacterial infection. Which one is my question? I have used garlic in the past with success, but I'm not really sure what to do here. Any ideas? My LFS is closed, and is not open on Sundays. The only meds I keep on hand all the time are Pimafix and Melafix. I hate using meds as well. Any help would be appreciated!

Carrie

ffffrf · 03-29-2008, 08:42 PM

i know what it is nitrates at 5 is very very deadly even one is deadly do very large water changes

Quote:

Please fffrf...be more careful of your facts and recommendations. I am disappointed with the misinformation posted here. I did not delete this post because others have challenged and corrected your input

Jay
Forum Moderation Team

gregpape23 · 03-29-2008, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ffffrf

i know what it is nitrates at 5 is very very deadly even one is deadly do very large water changes

5 nitrates is deadly?? I don't think that would be a problem, I think they can get much higher than that and not be harmful.

carriej · 03-30-2008, 09:39 AM

I think you have confused nitrItes with nitrAtes. Nitrates are relatively harmless unless they are present in large concentrations. Nitrites on the other hand are harmful even in small quantities.

Jay · 03-30-2008, 12:06 PM

Hey Carrie...

IMO I would go ahead and use the primafix.

Check the water surface agitation to be sure there is good O2 exchange, and good tank circulation.

Is your tank temp ok?

Have you used any new additives lately?

Also...

Clamped fins is generally an indication of stress, either environmental or biological. A six inch rainbow shark in a community tank could be the source of serious stress to the gentle live bearers.

Regards,
Jay

carriej · 03-30-2008, 08:27 PM

The rainbow shark is one of the fish I lost due to the "fin clamping" symptoms, so there is no big fish in the tank anymore really. He was one of the first fish I bought way back when I knew nothing about fish and thought he looked cool. That's why he was special, I guess. The O2 exchange should be fine, the temp is a constant around 78.5 F . Another thing I was thinking is the flow in my tank is quite powerful. Not extremely powerful, my fish don't get blown around, but there is one area of the tank that is quite strong. I was wondering if this what may be stressing the fish out. Most of the fish "play" in the current, while some avoid it.