Sick albino rainbow shark

[Meeky1982]

Hi all,

Looking for some help with an albino rainbow shark I acquired a few days ago.

I got him from someone who had him in a dirty tank, with no heat or light. They had fed him algae wafers daily and looked like a massive build up of this in the tank.

He was fine when I got him, looked slightly bloated but just thought he may have been over fed.
Within a day of having him he firstly started floating sideways at the top of the tank and then Swimming to the bottom and floating back up again, he had got more bloated at this point, so I thought maybe he had swim bladder.
Then he seemed to right himself a bit, and started sitting at the bottom of the tank but facing upwards towards the tank (my partner described it as being in portrait mode ?)

Then the next day he started to get red marks appearing but only around his tail end, almost like bruising, it started on his underneath and has now spread in a circle around his bottom fin. Also his scales have raised and lifted but only on this section also.
When the red marks/bruises started to appear he pooped white.

I have him now in a 30L biorb until I can get something more suitable (if he survives) he was previously in a 45L rectangular tank and was on his own.

Tank parameters in the biorb are all showing ok, just slightly high on nitrates (I only have a dip test kit to check this)
The temperature is 78F

He is the only fish in the tank.

I’ve added pictures, hope someone can help. Thanks ?

 

[Aiken Drum]

A few points.

Fish stores arent going to overfeed fish because they are going to do everything they can to ensure waste going in their systems is as low as they can get away with. If the fish was bloated on the store, its probably because it was sick. If you have any doubts about a fishes health dont buy it.

Even temporarily your fish is too big for 30 litres. On top of that rainbow sharks are bottom dwelling fish and a bowl type tank has very little territory available to it. These will combine to cause a lot of stress to your fish, and wont be conducive to making a recovery.

IMO biorb tanks have no place in the hobby. Their filtration system is terrible. Biorb know there is a simple fix to this but refuse to implement it because they make more money in aftersales selling product to put a bandage on the issue rather than just selling a product that works properly.

You mention testing strips. While these are not accurate can you post the actual results in numbers? Also those 5 in 1 / 6 in 1 testing strips dont include ammonia and ammonia is the most likely thing to be wrong. Do you have the seperate strip for ammonia?

If you arent able in the very near future to get a suitable tank for the fish i would return it. If returning the fish isnt an option then for now 2 x 50% water changes every day.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Just picked up that you got the fish from another hobbyist that didnt care for the fish rather than a fish store.

All the above still stands though. I think the fish was already sick before you got it.

If its genuinely a swim bladder issue then its not treatable. If its bloat/ constipation then dont feed the fish for 3 days. If that doesnt help with its swimming then try feeding a boiled pea to see if that free up anything. Is the fish pooping OK?

That mark behind the tail looks like septicemia or some other interior infection. Depending on what medication is available in your country of origin that could be difficult to treat.

Without improving the fishes living conditions everything else is just playing around the edges and wont achieve very much. Lots of water changes can resolve poor water conditions in the short term.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

The red wound is blood and is caused by a bacterial infection. The fish might have been injured where the red is and that has allowed bacteria in to grow.

A broad spectrum medication might help (something that treats bacteria, fungus and protozoa), but it might be too far gone if the bacteria are in the fish and not just in the wound.

If the fish can't swim properly and isn't eating, then it's probably best to euthanise it.

 

[Meeky1982]

Thanks for your replies.

I will try a medication and see how it goes. Other than that I think I agree, it may be a bit too far gone.

It’s a shame, as I was trying to do the best for the fish getting it out of what looked like a bad situation.

I ordered a water test kit today to make sure the parameters are good and whilst I know having it in the biorb tank isn’t the best, in this situation it’s the best I can do for the moment. I had only previously used it for goldfish.

Fingers crossed I can turn it around but I think only time will tell.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Just for future information. Goldfish get to around to 12 inches long and will live decades. Imagine that living in a 30 litre tank. Minimum tank size for a goldfish is 120 litres.