Is he sick? (Cosmic Blue Danio)

[bethanyandelin]

New to fish here and am starting with a small 10 gallon tank that is in the end phases of cycling (I hope). In my research, I happened to read about fish TB. The symptoms listed made me worry, thinking about one of my own new fish I recently purchased. He looks similar to some of the pictures I saw. Is he sick? Should he be quarantined? What is the cheapest way to set up a separate quarantine tank? (I'm in school rn, & feeling really poor at the moment).

Not knowing enough about what is normal or not, I wanted to ask some more experienced people. Thank you!

 

[bethanyandelin]

A couple more pics of the same Cosmic Blue Danio

 

[Andy Sager]

Unfortunately, many farmed fish can be carriers of fish TB due to their breeding, while not being infectious. This is why you should quarantine all new fish before introducing them to your main tank. Fish TB can be transferred from fish to humans so you want to be careful and not put your hands or arms in the tank water if there are any cuts or abrasions on them. Make sure you wash any parts of your body that got tank water on them with soap and hot water just to be cautious. If you get a positive diagnosis of fish TB, it is extremely expensive to cure and not always successful. Usually the costs of the meds is more than the cost of a replacement healthy fish. In your fish, the skinny can be from lack of eating or not enough nutritious food being offered as it could be Fish TB. How often do you feed the fish? What foods are you feeding the fish? What other fish are in with this Danio? Are you adding any liquid vitamins to the food(s)?
As for setting up a quarantine tank, here's a thread I made describing both quarantine and hospital tanks. This should help answer your question. Quarantine tanks and Hospital tanks, are they really different?

 

[bethanyandelin]

Unfortunately, many farmed fish can be carriers of fish TB due to their breeding, while not being infectious. This is why you should quarantine all new fish before introducing them to your main tank. Fish TB can be transferred from fish to humans so you want to be careful and not put your hands or arms in the tank water if there are any cuts or abrasions on them. Make sure you wash any parts of your body that got tank water on them with soap and hot water just to be cautious. If you get a positive diagnosis of fish TB, it is extremely expensive to cure and not always successful. Usually the costs of the meds is more than the cost of a replacement healthy fish. In your fish, the skinny can be from lack of eating or not enough nutritious food being offered as it could be Fish TB. How often do you feed the fish? What foods are you feeding the fish? What other fish are in with this Danio? Are you adding any liquid vitamins to the food(s)?
As for setting up a quarantine tank, here's a thread I made describing both quarantine and hospital tanks. This should help answer your question. Quarantine tanks and Hospital tanks, are they really different?

Thank you so much! That's all really helpful! He's a new fish. I've only had him a few days, but I didn't quarantine him as I barely got my first tank up and running and hadn't thought of a quarantine tank yet. I guess I saw this tank as my quarantine tank as all of the fish are fairly new. The others are a couple other Danios, a couple glo-tetras, one tiny guppy and a kind of algae eater (I forget the name, but he stays small, only 2"). Anyway, I will quarantine this guy and feed him better, and see what happens.
Thanks again!

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you so much! That's all really helpful! He's a new fish. I've only had him a few days, but I didn't quarantine him as I barely got my first tank up and running and hadn't thought of a quarantine tank yet. I guess I saw this tank as my quarantine tank as all of the fish are fairly new. The others are a couple other Danios, a couple glo-tetras, one tiny guppy and a kind of algae eater (I forget the name, but he stays small, only 2"). Anyway, I will quarantine this guy and feed him better, and see what happens.
Thanks again!

Yes, if all the fish come in at the same time, you can consider the tank as a quarantine tank but once you get a tank and fish established, you want to quarantine in a separate tank or container.
In the future, I suggest you never buy a skinny fish. If the salesperson doesn't want to let you inspect what they caught and remove the sickly ones, find another store to buy from. Skinny fish are not healthy fish. They may not be skinny from being sick but could succumb to a number of issues because they don't have the stamina to withstand a disease attack. Look at this picture: The bottom fish is a healthy fish. The belly is full, there is good contour behind the head, the body is not sunken in. The fins are at full display. Look at the top fish. None of the characteristics of the bottom fish are in the top fish. I would not accept being sold that top fish. A healthy fish is full and " sassy". Those are the fish you want to buy.