Tiger Barb sinking on the bottom of tank!

[tauquenmay]

Hello! I have 7 tiger barbs in a 55 gallon tank along with 3 pictus, 3 giant danios and 4 zebra danios, and one of the tiger barbs today was caught sinking in the bottom of the tank. At first, I thought he was really sick or worst dead! But when I tried touching him, it seems as if he's breathing heavily but he is still moving! He won't swim around like other tiger barbs, but instead, just sink in one place! Please tell me what to do, in this case, it's okay to assume that he's really sick.

Tank 55 gallon Freshwater
Feeding: Hikari micro pellets for tropical and small fishes
Ph: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate 10-15 ppm
Temperature: 76 degrees

[ellisb1]

This sounds like a swim bladder disorder from what i read. You should google swim bladder disorder and see if this is kinda what you are experiencing. Actually, here is a link.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Fish-1472/Molly-Fish-Sinking.htm
Your tank paramaters look good. I really hope this helps!

[ellisb1]

Forgot to mention this. Usually swim bladders issues can not be repaired or treated. I am not sure what to tell you to do for the little guy. Read the link and see if that is what you are experiencing. If so, you might want to consider putting him by himself if he is getting fin nipped.

[tauquenmay]

Originally Posted by ellisb1

Forgot to mention this. Usually swim bladders issues can not be repaired or treated. I am not sure what to tell you to do for the little guy. Read the link and see if that is what you are experiencing. If so, you might want to consider putting him by himself if he is getting fin nipped.

Thanks for the reply! And I indeed put him alone, fin nipping the poor little guy was so cruel so I took him to my other tank so he could be alone. The article was helpful too, the guy was having the same problem as I was with the fish. So right now, I"ll be doing the water changes as the answer to it. But again, thanks for the reply! I'll do and hope for the best for the little tiger barb.

[ellisb1]

I hope for the best too!

[cogburn]

i had tiger barbs once briefly... 5 of them... this happened to all 5... i tried everything... they all eventually died... i really hope you dont have the same result... best of luck

[tauquenmay]

Originally Posted by cogburn

i had tiger barbs once briefly... 5 of them... this happened to all 5... i tried everything... they all eventually died... i really hope you dont have the same result... best of luck

Thank you for caring... I'm so sorry for your tiger barbs too, I understand how these little monsters could be so hard to take care of, they fin nip way too much, and one eventually gets bullied the most and die and another and another one >.< it seems as if no matter how much you buy, they will always kill eachother >.< But since I own them, I have to look for other ways to take good care of them, but thank you again for hoping well for my tiger barb! And I hope the 5 of your fish Rest In Peace

[Pterois_volitans]

Originally Posted by cogburn

i had tiger barbs once briefly... 5 of them... this happened to all 5... i tried everything... they all eventually died... i really hope you dont have the same result... best of luck

I had the same thing happen, and was dumb enough to take the dead ones back and replace them from the store twice. I am convinced that the species in general have a tendency to over-eat, and if your other fish require more than one feeding a day, or a large quantity of food due to the number in your tank, it is likely the barbs are developing a digestive tract infection.

I noticed with careful examination of my final batch that every time I feed the tank in general, the barbs were so fast that they ate nearly 80% of the food intended for the general population. I would be interested to hear if other members of this forum who have successfully kept Tiger Barbs feed sparingly and in small quantities. Anyone care to throw in their two cents?

Btw, good luck to the OP...I hope your fish are doing alright, though I know this problem typically does not end well. godspeed.

[neil_04]

i feel the same way on the feeding issue my dwarf gourami have a hard time eating their share of the food my tiger barbs are tiny but the move like sharks when food is in the tank