Sick Cherry Barbs-HELP QUICK

[fishygurl]

Two of my cherry barbs look really sick. They look way skinnier than the other barbs, and they aren't really moving. The only thing wrong with the water is that therre is a tiny bit of ammonia (like 0.2) I think its because i slightly overdid the sinking wafers for the cories because the gouramis were getting all the wafers so i put a bits extra. But i dont think its the ammonia because all the other fish look completely healthy, and these guys (well girls, its two of the females) look really skinny. I need to do something quick or else im afraid they might not make it. IM really worried.

TIA

 

[TCTFish]

Are the two that are skinny eating?
Have you seen their poop? If so, please describe.
How long have you had the barbs?
How long has the tank been up and running with fish?
How many gallons is the tank?
What type of filter?
What level are the nitrates at?
Did the skinny appearance happen over night?

It'd be a good idea to isolate them in a QT just in case they have something that can infect the other fish...unless this happened overnight and they are definitely female. They can appear plump one day, lay eggs, and appear very slender the next day.

To help with small ammonia spikes, just add in a dose of a bio additive like Cycle or NitroMax and make sure nitrates are maintained below 40ppm. The lower the better.

 

[fishygurl]

Not eating
No, i havnt
around 3 weeks
running with fish since mid january
24 g
awuaclear 150 (dont no the new number)
less than 20
Well i dont no if the skinny appearance happend over night, but the not deating did, as far as i can tell
I dont have a quarintine tank yet but im going to the LFS today anyways so ill see if i can pic one up. Will a five gallon work? Also i know the LFS has "homemade" As in they sell their products together for 20% off. Not the typical kit. So if I can get the kit with just the heater filter tank and air pump will that be ok. I believe its and aquaclear filter, will this work or do i need asponge filter? Also when i get them in the quarintine, can i feed them a bit of frozen bloodworms? They love those, and they might have a better chance of wanting to eat with out the other pigs (danios and gouramis) around. Any thing else i can do to covince them to eat? I will cut the filter sponge of my main tank in half, will that work to get the qt cycled until i can run some of its filter media on the main tank. Also, ill put some gravel in a panty hoe or something that should help too right? As you can see, im really worried!

EDIT: some more info: The barbs are not lying on the bottom or anything, just not moving. I dont thnk they are having toruble breathing, but how do you check? They are definately both female. They are skinny in relative to the other barbs. But i dont know how fat they are supposed to be. Also, is there anything else i need to pick up at the LFS? Im leaving soon. OH ya, and i have some plastic plants, should i put them in too for the fishies to hide?

 

[Devilishturtles]

A 5 gallon QT tank with sponge filter(or the AC) and heater would work, if that's all you can get. I would put the barbs in there, just incase. It can be hard to tell about what is wrong with fish when they show no external signs.

How is your temperature? Holding steady? Warm enough?

Go ahead and try the frozen bloodworms. They need the food. You can try freeze dried foods as well.

To cycle the QT, I'd run some gravel and filter media from your main tank into it, but you are still going to need to monitor ammonia levels throughout.

Are the gills moving rapidly? That is a good sign that they are having trouble breathing.

Plastic plants will be fine. Something for them to take cover in would be a good idea.

Good luck.

 

[fishygurl]

What do you mean by: if thats all you can get? Ill get whatever i need to, i just really wanna help the fish! Temperature is steady at 79. Ill monitor the ammonia and if it gets above .25 ill do a PWC shouldnt be a big deal with a 5 gallon. Anything else i should get? Any meds i should treat just in case?

 

[Devilishturtles]

What do you mean by: if thats all you can get? Ill get whatever i need to

I don't know what your LFS has to offer. What you mentioned is fine. If you can get an AC, that'd be nice. If all they have is a sponge filter, that would be fine too.

With no external signs, there really is no meds you can get, and be sure that they'd work. You can try medicated foods, which will work if you are having internal problems(which would be my guess) but if they are not eating, then that won't help you much.

 

[fishygurl]

Oh i can get the AC easy. Do i need an air pump?

 

[fishygurl]

Also, what are medicated foods, and are they normally sold at LFS? I think they might be more likely to eat if there wernt other fish in the tank.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Oh i can get the AC easy. Do i need an air pump?

Your AC pretty much is your "air pump", so no. No air pump needed.

Also, what are medicated foods, and are they normally sold at LFS? I think they might be more likely to eat if there wernt other fish in the tank.

They are fairly common, yes. I'd go for an anti-parasite medicated food. With the thinning of the fish, that is what it could be.

 

[fishygurl]

Ok ill look for those.

 

[Aquatopia]

If it turns out not to be a pathogen problem, consider stress issues. My Cherry Barbs like to be able to hide behind vegetation as a school when resting (otherwise they are out and about most of the time). Also what is the proportion of males to females?

Too disproportional could be an issue. I have two to one males to females and it seems to work (two of my tanks have no females at all). The Gouramis (Gold Barbs are worse) will hog the food for sure, if you distract them with bloodworms on the surface a slow sinking flake will have a better chance of getting to a mid-level school of Barbs.

I'm no expert but that's my experience. How often do you exchange your water? I think I missed that bit of data.