They Know!!!

[Fishalicious]

ohhhhhhh manomanomanomanomannn

I feel absolutely HORRIBLE!!!

Yesterday I went out and bought 8 more Danio's for my 55 gallon.
A mixed bag of Zebras, long finned Zebras, Leopards and long finned Leopards.

Well when I got home, I put the Danios into the 55 gallon after the normal routine of adjusting my fish to my water temp/parameters. (My QT isn't quite setup yet)
Several hours later, I was inspecting my fish and to my dismay I noticed that one of them had signs of Neon Tetra Disease or TB. I disregarded it thinking maybe it isnt and maybe his spine is normally curved like that (it wasnt that bad). Today, when I arrived from work around 10:30PM I noticed that the condition had worsened and he was having much trouble trying to swim and his fins were clamped. All of the other fish were doing the norm (Swimming, Chasing, Grazing). I did some research to confirm my accusations and figured that the only way to prevent this disease from spreading (if it hasn't already) was to euthanize this poor fellow immediately. So I got the cup, the water and the clove oil ready and added a few drops to about 8oz of tank water. I netted him in one try and took him out. I looked at my tank and the other fish were still doing the norm. I proceeded to drop him in. The SECOND (and I mean the SECOND) that the fish went into the cup, I noticed that the other 11 Danios stormed across the tank and hid immediately. They looked sooo frightened! They were all looking for good hiding places and all hid pretty darn well (except for two of them, they hid right in the plants in the front) and they looked scared to death. One of them stayed completely still like he was playing dead. They were never scared of me and now they are..

Has anyone ever witnessed anything like this?
They couldnt even see the cup or anything! I did it above the fish tank on the hood.

This seriously spooked me out for some reason and left chills down my spine. I know it sounds crazy but I feel ashamed for what I did even though I was protecting them from spreading the disease. They look at me now like I'm some type of monster.
Maybe I am..

-Dan

 

[QTOFFER]

It sucks to have to put down a fish, but you did the right thing. AFAIK, fish TB is incurable and there is a good chance that the infected fish would pass it on to all the others.

Your story is kinda spooky, but I'm sure there's an explanation for it. Maybe you bumped the tank or tapped it with the net handle as you were dropping the sick fish into the cup? You WERE working on the tank hood, right? Vibrations freak fish out like nothing else can.

I doubt your fish view you as a monster. If you want to prove that to yourself, tomorrow morning, open the tank lid and reach for the can of tetra-min!

 

[Fishalicious]

hahahaha, We'll see tomorrow morning! I'm sure you'll be right!

But about them scattering like that.. I know for a fact it was because I put that fish to it's demise. There is no doubt in my mind. As FishFreeks signature says "Remember dont tap the glass, your fish will think you're an idiot".. Well I am sometimes that idiot and I have done a few slight taps and these fish never cared. They were always seriously fearless. I've let the hood fall accidently a few times and they would quickly get startled and then resume to their normal selves. When I say these fish hid for dear life, I mean it. No exaggerations! They hid in the craziest places and would not come out at all. A few of them just froze and played dead. I've personally never seen anything like it. It was literally like introducing a wild pirahna straight from the amazon after 4 months with no food and having them witness one of their buddies get munched 8O

::sigh::
I hope they'll be okay. I just hope they aren't TOO stressed and ALL start getting sick!

-Dan

 

[Menagerie]

You did the right thing, Dan. How are the fish doing today?

 

[Fishalicious]

They're doing good. They seem to be establishing who the ringleader will be and I can clearly tell who has his mind on being it! The old bully isn't liking it very much!

I busted out with something better than the tetra-color for these little guys the next morning. I figured I had owed it to them..
I gave them FROZEN BLOODWORMS!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO

Always a good time for these guys!

It looks as if another one of the leopards is showing signs of NTD. His back is slightly curved and it is alot bulgier than the rest of his body. He has energy and swims okay though so I dont want to be misdiagnosing here and euthanize this guy without knowing 100% but then again, if he does have it, he could be infecting the other 10 tank mates.
WhatWouldYouDo?

..Wishing my QT tank had been setup. That would've saved alot of grief!!

-Dan

 

[Menagerie]

Set up that QT tank ASAP and pull that ill looking fish!