My silver tip tetras got problems :o(

[SalMcNal]

Been away for the weekend and got back today to find that one of my silver tip tetras isnt very well. Have had a trawl thru the other threads and cant find anything similar.

Its only got the top half of its tail left and its face has gone strange, its gone pale and below its eyes has sort of swollen and even paler than its body. Its movements seem quite rapid and frantic but I was putting that down to only having half his tail.
Its in a 240L tank with:
4 Congos
4 Neons
3 other silver tips (which appear to be healthy)
2 scissor tail rasboras
2 zebra danios
1 molly
1 Gibbeceps
4 Gouramis
1 dwarf gourami
and 2 ruby sharks (I was told when i bought them they would be fine together but now they spend most of their time fighting)

Had the tank set up since april so well cycled, need to do a water change as the nitrates are up but not sky high and the nitrites are ok.
If anyone has any suggestions I'd be really grateful

 

[absolutangel04]

Been away for the weekend and got back today to find that one of my silver tip tetras isnt very well. Have had a trawl thru the other threads and cant find anything similar.

Its only got the top half of its tail left and its face has gone strange, its gone pale and below its eyes has sort of swollen and even paler than its body. Its movements seem quite rapid and frantic but I was putting that down to only having half his tail.
Its in a 240L tank with:
4 Congos
4 Neons
3 other silver tips (which appear to be healthy)
2 scissor tail rasboras
2 zebra danios
1 molly
1 Gibbeceps
4 Gouramis
1 dwarf gourami
and 2 ruby sharks (I was told when i bought them they would be fine together but now they spend most of their time fighting)

Had the tank set up since april so well cycled, need to do a water change as the nitrates are up but not sky high and the nitrites are ok.
If anyone has any suggestions I'd be really grateful

Welcome to the forum!
I am sorry about your fish. I have silver tips and I like them a lot. At a glance, it sounds like our fish had an injury. It was probably nipped by another fish or something. Do the remaining fins have white edges? That would indicate fin rot. It owuld also help if you post all you water parameters.
You should try to fill out your schools to 6 fish each to decrease any nipping issue. Silver tips can get nippy if they do not have a large enough school. Also, you will probably need to re-home one of your sharks. 55 gallons is the minimum for 1 shark and they do not get along well with each other. Sorry you were given bad advice. There is a chance that a disgruntled shark could harm your other fish. The aggression issues will increase as the sharks get older too.

 

[SalMcNal]

Thanks for your response
Current parameters are

NO3 - 50
NO2 - 0
GH - 16
KH - 3
PH - 6.8
Cl2 - 0

Have tried taking a pic but he wont keep still
Cant see any white edges on his tail but his face is .... puffy and very pale? not sure how else I can describe it
At the mo the sharks only seem interested in each other but will def look into rehoming one of them

 

[absolutangel04]

Thanks for your response
Current parameters are

NO3 - 50
NO2 - 0
GH - 16
KH - 3
PH - 6.8
Cl2 - 0

Have tried taking a pic but he wont keep still
Cant see any white edges on his tail but his face is .... puffy and very pale? not sure how else I can describe it
At the mo the sharks only seem interested in each other but will def look into rehoming one of them

Yeah, do more frequent water changes (like every other day) until the nitrate level goes down a bit. Do you have a kit that tests ammonia? That would be helpful to know too. Wihte edges on fins mean possible fin rot. With no white edges, the more likely culprit if an injury. the puffiness and paleness could also be from an injury. If both sides of the face were puffy, I would guess a bacterial infection, but if it is just the one side an injury is morel likely. It sounds like he got beat up by another fish. Increase the school size to 6 and that should help. Do you have a quarantine tank you could put him in?

 

[SalMcNal]

Sadly no quarantine tank, did have but it seemed to make them worse so stoppped using it.
Have got the 6 in 1 tetra test kit, no straight ammonia tho.

The puffy bit seems to be from eyes down to below his... chin i guess and consistent.
I have got a small breeding tank that feeds from the main tank, do you think its worth putting him in there to give him a break from the others?

 

[absolutangel04]

Sadly no quarantine tank, did have but it seemed to make them worse so stoppped using it.
Have got the 6 in 1 tetra test kit, no straight ammonia tho.

The puffy bit seems to be from eyes down to below his... chin i guess and consistent.
I have got a small breeding tank that feeds from the main tank, do you think its worth putting him in there to give him a break from the others?

Yep. Stress can be a big fish killer, so a chnace for him to get a break is good.
I do not have a qt either, but I have taken out fish and treated them in heated buckets or tubs. I would use a bacterial fix if I was you to help treat the puffiness and the fins.

 

[SalMcNal]

Have just moved him to the little breeding tank and managed to take a couple of pics showin his tail etc, his gills are going ten to the dozen it looks like one of his eyes is bulging?

 

[absolutangel04]

Have just moved him to the little breeding tank and managed to take a couple of pics showin his tail etc, his gills are going ten to the dozen it looks like one of his eyes is bulging?

Its a bit hard to tell form the picture, but it does look like he might have pop-eye. Treat with salt (google the amount of salt per gallon to treat pop-eye since I do not know the dosage off the top of my head). That will help equalize the pressure to make him more comfy. Pop-eye on one side is typically the result of an injury. Try that with daily water changes for a few days first. I have fixed pop-eye by doing it before. If that doesn't work, try a bacterial medication that says pop-eye on the bottle. I have used melafix before (I think). Honestly, the salt and clean water will probably be the most helpful in this situation. His rapid breathing may be from stress or a result of the high nitrate level. Fish are more suceptable to small water quality issues when they are stressed or injured.

 

[SalMcNal]

Thank you so much for your help, will try with the salt and changes etc and see how he goes.
Thanks again )

 

[absolutangel04]

Whoops, I should have added that I meant epsom salt specifically. Also, I looked it up and saw 1 tsp per 5 gallons of water. You can use the salt in conjunction with other medications also if you want. I have not always found thet to be necessary though. But, our poor little guy is in tough shape. Like I said, clean water will really be his greatest ally while he is healing.