Sick Rainbow?

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hoppingtetra30

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Apr 15, 2015
Messages
50
I have noticed that one of my Dwarf Neon Rainbows is acting a little odd. They normally all school together but this guy is keeping to himself. He seems to be breathing very fast (mouth constantly opening and closing), and over the last couple of days he has become bloated.

I dont really know what to do with him...the tank is heavily plated/decorated and it seems impossible to get him out and isolate him...
 
Thats what I was thinking....what can I do about it?

Dropsy is a symptom, not a disease. It can be caused by a whole bunch of different pathogens including bacterial and viral. Your best bet is to set up a quarantine tank and treat with your prefered antibiotic. If possible medicate your food even. If it's bacterial this may help your fish. If it's viral, your fish is as good as done.

Do you have any pictures of the fish? Let's not rule out other possibilities. What is your water quality? Tank size? All of the information you're supposed to give according to the sticky in this section.
 
1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).

See above

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.

O ammonia, 0 Nitrites, 5ppm Nitrates, 75 F, 7.0 PH.

3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?

75 Gallon, about 4 months.

4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.

Filstar XP2, Aquaclear 110

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?

5 x Diamond Tetra
5 x Lemon Tetra
5 x False Julii Cory
4 x Oto
5 x Glass Catfish
2 x Siamese Algae Eater
6 x Neon Dwarf Rainbowfish
9 x Zebra Danio

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?

I do about 30-40 % bi-weekly and rotate cleaning the filters with the water changes. I do a light vacuum when I change the water...getting in deep is not good for the plants.

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?

2 months or so. Acclimated slowly...added a cup of water to the bag every 10-15 minutes and released after 90 minutes.

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?

No...though there is a bit of a snail outbreak recently.

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?

Flakes in the morning, different kinds of frozen in the evening (brine shrimp, blood worms, daphnia). Pellets or wafers for the bottom feeders. Diet is a steady rotation.
 
Here's a couple pictures...hard to get one from the front view as he's always hiding in the back...you can kind of get an idea of the bloating in the second one...

img_3244933_0_d4a7c9075bf5f6aabaf1c1ba227042e1.jpg


img_3244933_1_6b920b0717b1a32654cb7c15aa397716.jpg
 
If it is dropsy and you see pine coning it is too late IMO( and a few others!)
There is no real going to work even 50% of the time cure for it!
Further more(and I know most will not like this..BUT);

You may medicate a beloved sick fish if you wish, but don't return to a community aquarium a fish that has "recovered" from symptoms of bacterial disease once its outward symptoms have been alleviated. "Dropsy" is a case in point. Sometimes a fish recovers enough from a bout of severe ascites to lead an outwardly-normal life. Then the "cured" fish is returned to the community aquarium, where it may become a sub-clinical carrier of bacteria, free of visible symptoms. A sub-clinical carrier remains a source of infection for all your other fish. When it dies quietly among the plants, a couple of months after the episode of "dropsy," the two events may not seem connected. Initial quarantine, even a full four weeks' time, may not be long enough to identify weakened fish that are bacterial carriers before they enter your system. It's quite probable that all your fish have already been exposed to a variety of bacteria that could be pathogenic, given the right circumstances.
Encourage a low-stress environment, to keep immune systems responsive. Keep levels of dissolved organics and metabolic end-products low. Encourage bacterial diversity in the aquarium. This may be unfamiliar advice. I encourage bacterial diversity in several ways. I add a pint of water drawn from a fish-free plant nursery to each aquarium, from time to time.
I also vary water temperatures, keeping within comfortable tolerance ranges of the fish, of course; after a couple of months at 77°F, for instance, I might re-set the heater to 74°F for six weeks or so. Why? Well, our constant thermostatically-controlled temperatures favor the success of whatever strains of bacteria are the most ideally-suited to that particular temperature. Mycobacteria marinum reproduces best in the lab at a steamy 33°C. Varying the temperature may avoid inadvertent culturing of dominant strains of bacteria. Seasonal variation of temperature — within the limits tolerated by the fish — seems to have a protective effect: Dr. H. Reichenbach-Klinke was suggesting in the 1960s (Diseases of Fishes, TFH, 1965, p. 23), "Obviously the adaptability of the fish has to be considered, but attempts to protect them by varying their temperature seem to be well worth while." I think we've ignored this sound old-fashioned advice, which I first read in William T. Innes' Exotic Aquarium Fishes. As far as tropical fishes are concerned, the difference between surface waters in a slow-moving stream at dawn and at mid-afternoon may be as great as any seasonal differences. "Night is the winter of tropical waters," I recently read.
Taken from
Bacterial infections | The Skeptical Aquarist
sorry!
now IMO I don't see pine coning.
Could the bow be carrying eggs?
many disease will have separation as a symptom and good for you seeing it,but some fish hide like some fish itch?
Your water parameters seem outstanding IMO!(y)
if it is dropsy remove fish asap.
 
Thanks for all the info!

Cant be carrying eggs, its a male. None of my rainbows have ever separated from the pack and hid like this one, and I don't see much pine coning either, but he is definitely very bloated...maybe he's got dropsy but not too far along yet. I wonder if maybe something stressed him out while I was away for 4 days...someone else was feeding them for me.

He still eats too, dont they typically stop eating with dropsy?

Not sure what to do, but I cant get him out. I tried 3 times and I would have to take a LOT of stuff out to get him I think....its really difficult because of all the plants (Im starting to see why people might like a more empty tank).
 
Honestly I suspected not-quite-yet-pineconing dropsy. But coralbandit is a fishgod, take his advice :lol:
 
Look into Epsom salts as they will help if fish is constipated or having osmoregulation issues.
usually by the time swelling and pineconing is noted it is too late.
You may be in time but heed the warning of the 'passive carrier".
Many are completely unaware of this and most hobbiest will not tolerate the deal.
Euthanasia is what it comes to for many issues.
It is hard.
The many over the few.
Most of you have one tank and fish in low double digits at best.
Me, 1,000+ gallons, over 300 fish and breeding healthy fish as much as possible.
If one has to go it has to go.
As always look harder and farther then the spec of info I provide and make the best decision for you and your fish.
It is not always black and white and we all learn from our and others mistakes.
Good luck and Dela should jump in soon(I hope).
 
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