Zebra fish

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Weedge

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Sep 13, 2011
Messages
55
Have a zebra fish that is sickly looking his spine is curved and he stays close to the top of the water all the time. I'll try and post a picture. Tho I don't think I'll figure out how.
 
Do you mean a zebra danio? If so, they are common to getting this issue. Many will have swim bladder issues along with spinal issues. This is all due to not having a diverse enough gene pool and the ease that these fish are allowed to make it through and get to this stage. Some bacteria can also cause this problem.

How long have you had him and has he always been like this? Or was it an change? If it is a change, it will be most likely some sort of internal bacteria, I can't remember which was the one to cause this. Or maybe an injury from another fish? What else do you have in the tank? If he has always been like this, he will most likely be completely fine, maybe have a little issue competing for food.
 
Here is a picture
 

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He has not always been like this. I am a very new hobbyist. I don't know fish names. I can tell you I have some algae eaters. And 3 gold fish my son won at a county fair. Along with a real nice rainbow shark I think it is. And a few other random stuff. It's a 55 gallon tank and there is plenty of room tho I want to get rid of the gold fish.
 
Yea, the goldfish are not compatible. They are most likely common goldfish that get well over a foot long. That is a zebra danio. Do you have others? And you could post pictures of your algae eaters? I can ID them for you.

When did he start showing signs?

It could have been something the goldfish brought in. The quality that fairground-won goldfish is very low. They are frequent to carrying diseases and all kinds of bacteria.
 
I'll add pictures. I couldn't get real good shots of them all some stay hidden well.
 

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More pics of the fish in my tank.
 

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Yup, that's a common goldfish. They are much more suited to ponds, they get to be very large and active fish that need a lot of room. Not suited at all for a 55g.

If you want goldfish, you could try some of the fantail goldfish. They will be fine in there.

But, your main issue is this zebra danio. Did you get the goldfish after he was already in there? This could be fish tuberculosis or some sporozoa or whatever else. Disease is not good in a tank, because your other fish might get it too.

What is your exact stocking list?

? X Zebra Danio
3 X Common Goldfish
3 X Algae Eaters (which a picture of would really help)

Anything else?
 
So, from what I can tell, you have a pleco? Google "common pleco" and see if that looks like the dark one hanging in the back. And the other smaller silver algae eater is either an otocinclus or a Chinese algae eater. Could you Google those too to see which they look like? I'm sorry, but it is kind of blurry and I cannot make out for sure.
 
1 zebra
3 gold fish
2 Siamese AE
2 black AE that I can't name they are hard to get a pic of.
1 chinese AE.
2 fish that are blue i did post a pic of 1 of them.
1 rainbow fish
1 shark

Goldfish has been in there very long time. Only thing that gas been longer is Chinese AE and rainbow fish. They been in since brand new tank 2.5 years.
 
Oh and then that 1 clear fish with the orange top I posted a pic of him I think.
 

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The placo is right. I have a Chinese AE. But that pic of that little guy is a Siamese AE I have 2 that size.
 
Chinese algae eater needs to go. They are very aggressive fish that will attack your other fish. They will take out pieces, scales, slime coat, or even just batter your fish.

Honestly, I think that's what happened to your zebra danio. This is a common thing you see on the forums and it happened to one of my fish when I was a newbie. They need to be in a large species-only tank.

The Siamese algae eater's numbers need to be upped. They are a schooling fish and will be much happier and healthier in a group.

The blue fish is like a platy or molly. Some sort of livebearer. I have no experience with them whatsoever, so I can't help you out there.

The rainbow shark should be fine, needs hiding spots though. They can become territorial over a particular rock or cave and attack others that come near, so watch him.

The goldfish, like I said, you need to contact a LFS or find a home to take them in. Or upgrade to a much, much larger tank. I would recommend 200g+

And a shark? Could you post a picture of that?
 
We keep posting at the same time! haha

Anyway... the plecos need to go. They get huge too and are suited to large tanks or ponds.

The clear fish looks like a painted glass fish. So, it's a tattooed fish...
 
He's there in the picture of the clear fish with the orange top.
 
Ok so I have move the placos to an out door pond before when they get large. These 2 are tiny ATM I I'll move when they are big enough. As far as the gold fish. I can't put them in the pond. The pond has coy and the owner don't want gold fish in there. So I'll have to give them to the pet store. What else should I do?
 
I'm also considering getting a male and female American flag fish to take care of the hair algae.
 
Yea, koi and goldfish don't always mix very well...

Anyway, the chinese algae eater needs to go. They get very aggressive and is probably what caused this to your danio. I don;t think it is bacteria anymore.

And you should pick up three more siamese algae eaters (SAEs). With fish, five is the magic number to have a mini school. Many fish at this point will direct their attention to schooling and not other things and it makes them happier and healthier. SAEs can also show aggression when not enough food is around or they aren't in a school. Make sure you have algae wafers for them to munch on.

Now, if your zebra danio makes it, I would encourage you to get more. They are also schooling fish and are very active when they are in proper numbers. With your tank size, I would say go for 9-10.

Once you get all situated, you could add more fish, like a school of tetras or something.
 
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