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My tf barb who i have had for over a year now is swimming upside down and gasping for air!! what is going on?

chelle

Off the top of my head...swimming issues can be either neurological or issues with the swim bladder. Can we get tank stats including size, occupants, ammonia, ph, nitrIte, nitrAte, filtration and temp?
Any other symptoms?

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the [link=pain]http://babelfish.qwertydigital.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] you feel.
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The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
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55 gallon, 0 ammonia, all others @ desired amounts, treating with melafix for a skin problem on my salt and pepper cories that i have lost within the last week one at a time. I had 2 and bought 2 babies from walmart last week. I guess they were diseased, because they started losing their skin and shortly after my other two adults did the same. they were acting neurotic and now my two pictus cats are acting crazy and tf is upside down. i did a 50 % water change yesterday and a 25% water change today. I got home from work and all 3 cae's were dead. I'm distraught here!

chelle

i agree with babelfish it is most likely a swimblader problem and in my experience its a dificult thing to cure and my LFS tells me normaly its got nothing to do with the aquarist and is just some thing waiting to hapen cause that fish may have been born with that defect

78 deg. He was FINE yesterday!!!! He has made it through me killing everyone else with ammonia levels and is one of my first fish!!!! i know he's getting too big for the tank, and i had planned on trading him anyway but i dont want him to DIE!!!!

chelle

what do i do? he's suffering!!!

chelle

actualy it probly isn't a swim bladder thing probly neuro thingy

well its normaly incureable but if you realy don't whant the poor guy to die then maybe a salt bath could do the trick i'll get back to ya with the details of this treatment

hey wait a minute you said gasping at the surface that means it may be merely a deficient oxygen level wich can effect brain functions and motor control so try and increase the airation

not at the surface, he's just gasping while upside down on the bottom...

chelle

am i going to lose all my other fish from this? any ideas on what could be going on?

chelle

Well we've got a number of issues going on. Havent got as much time as I'd like to post on it but breifly and in no paticular order
1.melafix is not strong enough to treat "skin" problems. If it's a fungus try something like jungle labs fungus clear tank buddies or Furan-2. You're looking for active ingredients of Nitrofurazone, and fruazolidone.

2. Next we've got a lack of quarentine issue going on. Stores like wlmrt I just dont trust. Most of the chains I've been in are okay (ptsmrt ptco) but I've had more than one bad experience in one to know that they just don't care for the fish properly (yes thats a generalization). Wlmrt I trust even less. Whatever the fish had on them they got it into your tank.

3. Swimming issues is a symptom of neon tetra disease NTD, as well as other diseases. It's named for neons only because that was the first fish it was discovered effecting. It will be contracted by any and all fish and there is no cure. You may want to do a google search on NTD.

sorry I cant spend more time on this tonight....keep an eye on him. And if it really looks like he wont make it do the humane thing and euthanize him. Sharp blow to the skull or a severd spinal cord is the fastes and most painless for him if it comes to it .

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the [link=pain]http://babelfish.qwertydigital.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

thanks:#(

chelle

well...i have to agree with babel...lesson learned the hard way eh....but, i hope some miraculous thing will happen and ur tf barb will be spared as well as ur other fishes. best of luck

well, he's gone and i am left feeling terribly guilty! I am just hoping now that the rest of them are not infected or whatever is going on in there does not get them!!!

chelle